Today, Virtual Iron Software announced the release of version 3.1 of its enterprise-class virtualization platform with full support for much anticipated unmodified Windows and Linux. The company also announced the immediate availability of free, production-ready offerings of the software via download. Users can choose from two different free offerings of the product: Free Single-Server Virtualization and Managem Today, Virtual Iron Software announced the release of version 3.1 of its enterprise-class virtualization platform with full support for much anticipated unmodified Windows and Linux. The company also announced the immediate availability of free, production-ready offerings of the software via download. Users can choose from two different free offerings of the product: Free Single-Server Virtualization and Management – Free perpetual license for up to 4 sockets and unlimited cores. Users can consolidate Linux and Windows virtual servers, run 32 or 64-bit workloads up to 8 CPUs each, create and deploy virtual appliances, and quickly and easily template and clone virtual servers. Free Multi-Server Virtual Infrastructure Management – Free 30-day evaluation license. Users get all of the capabilities of the single-server offering above plus all of Virtual Iron’s advanced virtualization management and policy-based automation capabilities for use in an unlimited multi-server environment. So what are the new features in version 3.1? Full support for new quad-core Intel Xen processor 5300 series with Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT) Full support for AMD hardware-assisted virtualization (AMD-V) Support for Windows and 32- and 64-bit Linux Up to 80 virtual servers per physical server Virtual disk files to improve storage efficiency and flexibility Support for industry standard virtual hard disk file format Advanced templating and cloning of virtual servers Local hard disk support Integrated virtual server import/export Large memory (up to 96GB of RAM) support and support for hundreds of virtual servers on a single machine The release offers a commercial alternative to VMware and targets mainstream user adoption for both enterprise and small to medium business users. With a price point of $499 per socket on a perpetual license basis, the company hopes to establish a clear price/value leadership position in the market.“The cost of server virtualization should not exceed the price of an industry-standard server,” said John C. Thibault, President and CEO at Virtual Iron. “We will drive broad adoption with an aggressively-priced solution that does not sacrifice the capabilities, performance and reliability required to deploy enterprise applications. Version 3.1 provides an enterprise-ready solution that enables the full benefits of server virtualization at a fraction of the cost. Virtual Iron is also the first and only company to fulfill the market promise of the open source hypervisor project.” Software Development