Roundup: Emerson, VMware, Riverbed

Here’s our review of today’s noteworthy links for the data center industry:

Emerson advances Avocent Data Center Planner. Emerson Network Power (EMR) introduced the next generation of Avocent Data Center Planner, a component of its portfolio of DCIM capabilities. The software solution enables data center managers to make informed decisions for the planning and effective management of their data center assets and physical infrastructure. Features of the new release include the ability to gauge real-world power usage, visualization for end-to-end connections, zone management, and Spanish language support. "The ad-hoc data center management tools that were effective in the past are increasingly difficult to maintain in today’s complex environment," explained Traci Yarbrough, director of product marketing, Emerson Network Power data center solutions. "Avocent Data Center Planner is an effective alternative to legacy management tools because it provides all of the detailed information that is required to efficiently plan and manage the physical infrastructure in one dynamic graphical interface. Customers realize an immediate return on investment because they no longer need to consult multiple point products to make decisions and plan changes. It also builds on our promise of delivering a simple and easy to use DCIM capability." Avocent Data Center Planner is available worldwide immediately.

VMware opens cloud solution marketplace.  VMware (VMW) announced the VMware Solutions Exchange, an online virtualization and cloud solutions marketplace where customers, partners and developers can converge to help simplify the process of evaluating and selecting business solutions through a centralized, self-service portal. Embracing both private and public clouds, VMware will enable customers to use search tools and directly engage with partners and developers to help ease the process of finding the right solution for their businesses. "With the VMware Solution Exchange, we are offering our robust partner network a new and centralized marketplace to promote their solutions and directly connect with customers to help expedite the sales process," said Parag Patel, vice president, Global Strategic Alliances at VMware. "For customers, our goal is to empower them to quickly and easily find the resources they need to make purchasing decisions to accelerate their journey to the cloud, while also helping our technology partners deliver and manage joint solutions in a single, self-service location."

Riverbed selected by MasterBrand Cabinets.  Riverbed Technology (RVBD) announced that MasterBrand Cabinets, Inc. (MBCI), a leading kitchen and bath solutions provider, has deployed 28 Riverbed Steelhead appliances, and Steelhead Mobile client software, across its operations in the United States and Canada and to its developers in India. Looking for a solution that enabled mobile workers and provided employees in remote offices around the world faster access to data and applications, Master Brand Cabinets turned to Riverbed. Its WAN-optimization solutions from Riverbed reduced data traffic by 82 percent and increased bandwidth capacity by four times – and in some cases by as much as six times during peak periods – in its private cloud environment. As a result of its Riverbed deployment, MBCI has been able to avoid upgrading its bandwidth, which will save the company as much as $1.2 million per year (based on adding four to six T1 lines at $800 each per month, across 21 manufacturing sites). At the same time, MBCI has experienced an 82 percent reduction in data across the WAN and increased bandwidth capacity up to six times during peak data periods. "We had two choices - add more bandwidth or invest in WAN optimization," said Jadd Miller, senior network engineer at MBCI. "We chose the Riverbed WAN optimization solution as it gave us the most value out of our legacy systems, while drastically improving the performance across our WAN. Adding additional bandwidth would have been a partial remedy, since it did not address the latency issues caused by distance."