Leveraging virtualization to bring IT professionals a quick view of all virtual machines on their networks, an Annapolis, Maryland-based company today said it’s adding new features to a flagship business information product.

 

Officials at eTelemetry say that so-called “Virtual Infrastructure Discovery” features in their new Locate version 4.2 product will extract real-time information such as MAC and IP addresses and physical locations on all virtual machines in an enterprise.

 

According to Ermis Sfakiyanudis, president and chief executive officer of eTelemetery, virtualization technology has resulted in significant cost savings from the reduced data center footprint, making its adoption prevalent on networks of all sizes.

 

“Locate’s new Virtual Infrastructure Discovery capability continuously catalogues and maps the virtual infrastructure to the physical infrastructure to reduce risk and improve support and network documentation,” Sfakiyanudis said.

 

His thoughts on virtualization’s use as a cost-saving technology in the enterprise are timely.

 

One researcher reported recently that virtualization – along with open source and Software-as-a-Service business models – could save billions for the nation’s largest IT consumer, the U.S. government.
 

Virtualization alone could bring $13.3 billion in savings, including $1 billion from the U.S. Army, $880 million from the U.S. Department of Justice and $592 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to the study, from MeriTalk, online group that studies public policy and IT.

 

Generally speaking, virtualization technology is easy to use, with virtual machine software and pre-configured system images available to download for free on the Internet.

 

Officials at eTelemetry (News - Alert) say that’s made running multiple operating systems on the desktop easy for users with basic computer skills and created new functioning operating systems on the enterprise network.

 

But those unmanaged operating systems pose a significant security risk.

 

According to eTelemetry, using Locate’s derived location information and knowledge of virtual machine manufacturers’ MAC addresses, the VID report contains the physical location of all virtual machines connected on a network.

 

Specifically, Locate’s VID capability leverages user contact mapping technology to provide the contact information for the operators of all virtual computers operating on desktops, as well as location information for all server-based virtual machines.

 

“Having the contact information and location of the virtual machine operators makes tracking down these machines as easy as picking up the phone,” company officials say. “Locate maps the virtual infrastructure to the real network infrastructure for ongoing identification and remediation of these policy breaches.”