Get fault tolerant virtual servers

  Now that you've loaded non-critical Web, file and print servers onto virtual machines, you're probably itching to consolidate even more of your hardware into a virtual environment. But you're probably hesitating because some of those servers run business-critical applications that need failover systems.

Well, check out Marathon Technologies Corp.'s everRun VM software now in beta. Steven Keilen, vice president of marketing for the Littleton, Mass.-based company says the new product lets you choose from three levels of failover protection-basic failover, component-level fault tolerance and system-level fault tolerance, called LockStep. According to Keilen, you install everRun VM on two x86-class servers, choose your level of fault tolerance with a simple radial button and the software checks the two systems to assure that the hardware has the necessary components for the level you've chosen. He claims the active-active technology lets you use everRun VM in different geographic locations for disaster-recovery purposes.

Marathon's everRun VM works with the Citrix XenServer Enterprise Edition hypervisor and will be available in late April. The LockStep option will go gold in early Q4. The software won't cost you an arm and leg, starting at $2,000 per physical server with unlimited virtual machines. A bundle with XenServer is $4,500 per machine. It's worth a look.