New Containers in Azure Aim To Migrate Legacy Apps
Sphere 3D this week said its Glassware 2.0's containerization tools and its hypervisor now work with Microsoft's Azure cloud. The entire Glassware 2.0 offering, which includes its containers designed to migrate Windows and open source apps to the cloud, now runs on Azure. Both companies announced a partnership earlier this year to ensure the compatibility.
Glassware 2.0 consists of a thin hypervisor it calls a "microvisor" and a proprietary containerization technology that Sphere 3D considers simpler to implement than open source Docker containers because it doesn't require a virtualized desktop. It's designed to port legacy applications to modern architectures without having to rewrite or translate code. DevOps teams can port Windows workloads to the cloud with the microvisor into the containers. The company claims microvisors have intelligence to use only those necessary components of the OS to migrate software to cloud-style infrastructure.
Glassware 2.0 technology on Microsoft Azure solves the challenges associated with transitioning applications to the cloud, "be it Web scalability, mobility, infrastructure management or cloud compatibility," said Sphere 3D CEO Eric Kelly. The apps can run natively on Windows 10, as well as iPads, Chromebooks and thin clients. The company says what makes its approach different is that the host operating system isn't installed on a server but rather just what's in the kernel for the applications to run, which should appeal to those with those who have system end of life issues and want to ensure against security vulnerabilities.
The company launched two offerings for Azure. The first is Exosphere, which requires a direct engagement with the company and is intended for applications that must scale to hundreds of thousands of users. It lets organizations build enterprise app catalogs of Windows apps ported to this containerized platform with images that they have verified for rollout. Once deployed, the apps are network aware and can be distributed to the various platforms.
The other, intended for applications that are accessed by hundreds or maybe thousands of users, is the Glassware G-Series. It will be available next month in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace and is a virtual appliance for application containerization.
Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 10/16/2015 at 12:39 PM