HP announced enhanced integration of new VMware software within HP’s Converged Infrastructure, delivering industry-first capabilities that will accelerate the path to an open, hybrid cloud environment for customers.

Specifically, HP is announcing:

* Improved performance, scalability and reliability through extensive VMware platform integration across all elements of HP Converged Infrastructure.

* Simplified maintenance and consistent security for dynamic environments with a unified security and management framework for VMware cloud infrastructure software across network, storage, servers and clients.

* Integrated turnkey solutions for virtualization and cloud that enable customers to transform their VMware virtualization investments into heterogeneous hybrid clouds.

* Single point of accountability with new HP services that provide comprehensive virtualization and cloud solution support.

Virtualization, an ingredient of many cloud deployments, requires optimized server, storage and network platforms to maximize performance, scalability and reliability. New HP product integrations with VMware’s new cloud infrastructure suite will deliver the following unique benefits:

* Reclaim up to 50 percent of capacity with the HP 3PAR Storage ASIC and zero-detect algorithm combined with new VMware vSphere Storage APIs for Array Integration capabilities.

* Enhance resiliency across multiple sites at half the cost of traditional storage area networkswith HP LeftHand Storage, which provides continuous availability of virtual machines (VMs) in the event of failure. HP pioneered this functionality and continues to collaborate with VMware to enhance resiliency across multiple sites.

* Reduce costs by consolidating mission-critical and general purpose applications on the same server and storage hardware with the upgraded HP P9000 Application Performance Extender (APEX). This capability allows customers to assign specific service level targets to VMs and prioritize all storage system resources to meet those targets.

* Virtualize large, complex workloads with VMware vSphere 5 increased server memory capacity support of 2 terabytes (TB) on HP ProLiant DL980 G7 and HP ProLiant DL580 G7 servers as well as the HP ProLiant BL680c G7 blade server, the industry’s only x86 blade with 2 TB of memory.

* Improve system reliability and efficiency with integration between HP storage, VMware vSphere 5 and VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5, which will provide high-performance disaster recovery and automated site failover.

Ensuring quality of service, consistent security policies and network performance in a cloud environment as shared resources are reallocated to respond to opportunities can be challenging. HP simplifies the orchestration of resources with the VMware platform to automate the complexities of dynamic environments, delivering integrations that:

* Accelerate service delivery, simplify operations and boost network availability with the industry’s first single tool for integrated network management across virtual and physical environments. HP Intelligent Management Center will leverage the Netflow integration in VMware vSphere 5 to deliver granular visibility and control over network traffic between VMs.

* Offer consistency, control and inspection of security policies for highly virtualized infrastructures with HP TippingPoint vController. A comprehensive intrusion prevention system for VMware vCenter Server and VMware vShield™ 5, HP TippingPoint vController ensures consistent security practices and automatic policy enforcement across virtual and physical environments as VMs are created, moved or changed.

* Improve quality of service with the upgraded server management tool, HP Insight Control for VMware vCenter Server 6.3, which offers a single-pane-of-glass management view across virtual and physical environments. This allows administrators to ensure performance, avoid costly downtime and improve flexibility when deploying, migrating or upgrading servers and storage in real time.

* Reduce risk when monitoring, managing and deploying storage and servers by integrating HP Storage with VMware vSphere Storage APIs for Storage Awareness, enabling administrators to update firmware directly from the VMware vCenter Server console.

* Reduce management costs and complexity of client virtualization implementations with the plug-and-play HP t5565z Smart Client, which includes support for VMware View™ with PCoIP.

Clouds must offer heterogeneous support for any application, from any source. This open architecture allows organizations to leverage investments in hardware, virtualization technologies and applications. Only HP offers solutions that enable clients to manage server, storage, networking and client hardware from multiple vendors via a unified management experience. As a result, clients can:

* Accelerate deployment of virtualized and cloud environments in as little as 30 days with the company’s open, preintegrated and optimized HP VirtualSystem and HP CloudSystem solutions, to be updated with the latest VMware cloud infrastructure suite integrations.

* Achieve a single point of accountability with HP Solution Support, which provides comprehensive accountability for Converged Systems, hardware, networks and software in virtualized and cloud environments.

* Speed time to market with HP Operations Orchestration, by automating repetitive tasks and processes across private or hybrid clouds. With more than 4,000 out-of-the-box templates and integrations, it helps customers rapidly provision applications, servers, storage and networking devices, including bridging private VMware vCloud environments or bursting into public VMware vCloud providers.