Intel is set to deliver the industry's first hardware virtualisation support for desktop PCs. The company has debuted new processors that claim to offer businesses improved manageability and bolstered security. While virtualisation is currently found in some of Intel's Xeon processors, this is the first time that the chipmaking giant has extended the technology to the desktop.

Virtualisation allows a platform to run multiple operating systems or applications in independent partitions or 'containers' that can be tailored for specific needs such as IT management services and protecting networked assets. The technology also makes it easier to run multiple operating systems or applications in independent partitions on the same chip.

'With innovations such as Intel Virtualization Technology built-in, Intel is at the forefront of tackling some of the biggest IT challenges facing businesses today,' said Robert B. Crooke, vice president and general manager of Intel's Business Client Group. 'Analysts believe virtualisation is one of the most disruptive technologies to the PC in a decade, and our technology combined with our industry enabling efforts are going to help bring this into the mainstream.'

With virtualisation support, businesses can maintain full control of a portion of a PC to run security or management services without interrupting the end-user or allowing them to tamper with critical applications. Businesses can also better protect themselves from malicious code or viruses by filtering network traffic through a separate IT partition before it reaches the user. Configuring multiple partitions on a PC also improves manageability by providing support for legacy applications while testing and adopting new operating environments.

The benefits of virtualization can also extend to home and entertainment activities. In the future, home PC users will be able to create virtual 'partitions' isolating several user environments such as dedicated Web browsing resources, productivity software applications, personal video recorders and offering service providers access for remote diagnosis and repairs.

Intel Pentium 4 processor-based desktop PCs are being offered by Acer, Founder, Lenovo and TongFang. Lenovo is now offering Intel Virtualization Technology-based pilot systems to select customers, and broad support for desktop PC solutions from several other system manufacturers is expected in the first quarter of 2006. In addition, leading industry virtualisation solution providers including VMware, Microsoft and Xen have joined Intel in support of Intel Virtualization Technology on future Intel processor-based PCs and servers.

Intel will deliver the second phase of another platform innovation - Intel Active Management Technology - together with virtualisation support on its dual-core Intel Professional Business Platform, codenamed Averill, later in 2006. Virtualisation capabilities will also be extended to laptop PCs, and the company will first support this through Intel Centrino mobile technology-based platforms in 2006.

Desktop PCs based on the Intel Pentium 4 processor 672 and 662 processors with Intel Virtualization Technology are available today on systems being offered by Acer, Founder, Lenovo and TongFang. The Intel Pentium 4 processor 672 and 662 are priced at $605 and $401 respectively, in 1000-unit quantities.

BIOS, Nov 16, 05 | Print | Send | Comments (0) | Posted In Processor