VMware, which specializes in software that carves multiple virtual servers out of single physical boxes, has introduced a product that promises centralized control of those systems. It also is readying software that will let users move virtual machines among physical servers in response to resource demands.

VMware Control Center, which is in beta-testing now and is scheduled to be available later this year, is software that provides a centralized point for managing multiple virtual servers on heterogeneous systems. It includes technology called VMotion that the company says lets users move live, operating applications from one physical machine to another without disruption.

In the past, VMware customers had to turn off servers to move the virtual machines, which are basically software files that contain operating systems and applications.

That's one of the features that particularly appeals to one VMware customer who has used the company's virtualization software for about six months. The customer, a CTO at a large financial institution who asked not to be named, says he has avoided about $500,000 in hardware costs, while improving utilization rates on the servers he's running.

With Control Center and VMotion, which he will beta-test beginning in July, he expects even greater savings and performance enhancements.

"With VMotion technology I can do things in a way that I can have zero downtime for my users," he says. "The other thing is today I have to manage each box individually. [Control Center] is going to give me a multi-box view so I can have one console for all of my [virtual servers] in a single view. It's a big productivity booster."