Features

• Rackspace, Dell push OpenStack cloud OS

  Rackspace will help enterprises build private clouds using the OpenStack cloud operating system, the company announced Tuesday. Meanwhile, Dell is seeking enterprises and service providers for proof-of-concept OpenStack trials with its Dell PowerEdge C family of servers.

• Closer look at Microsoft 'Aurora' Small Business Server

  Microsoft has been paying more attention lately to the small business audience, as well as the cloud. With the "Aurora" Small Business Server (SBS)--officially named Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, Microsoft delivers a solution that brings the two together--bridging local services and the cloud, and granting small businesses affordable access to big business tools.

• Burning questions: Virtualisation

  Virtualizing x86 infrastructure isn't just a one-step process -- as servers change, the whole data center must change as well. While server hypervisors such as VMware's ESX, Microsoft's Hyper-V and Xen can make IT more efficient and cost-effective, many of the virtualization advantages can be canceled out when data centers rely on technology and processes that haven't been updated for the virtualization age.

• Build a private Azure cloud with new Microsoft appliance

  Companies interested in taking advantage of what cloud computing has to offer, but reluctant to trust sensitive information off-site now have a new alternative with Microsoft's Windows Azure Platform appliance. Microsoft has teamed up with strategic hardware partners to develop an appliance-based approach allowing businesses to deploy and control their own cloud.