VMware this week continues to campaign against human-on-virtual machine interaction with the shipment of two new products in its data center management and automation portfolio.

The vendor is also offering the fledgling code with two management bundles being introduced along with this week's release.

Site Recovery Manager makes an official debut now, although VMware has been pre-promoting (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/26/vmware_manager_manager/) the code since last year. It expands on disaster recovery software currently in VMware Infrastructure 3, allowing users to create and test disaster recovery configurations in an isolated environment before pushing them onto a critical system.

Also new to the management lineup is Stage Manager, another product that VMware has been talking up (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/23/vmware_stage_manager/) while it's been simmering in beta. Stage Manager puts a similar virtual spin on installing, testing and deploying new applications.

Customers create isolated replicas (or as VMware calls them, "shadow instances") of production systems to roll new apps through the application development process. VMware claims performing this often lengthy and complicated process in a virtual server rather than a physical machine not only makes for a more realistic copy of an in-use systems for testing but also saves money on acquiring hardware.

Both products are available separately, or tied into two bundles that VMware is introducing today.

Package one is the VMware Management and Automation bundle, which includes Stage Manager, Site Recovery Manager, plus the previously released Lifecycle Manager and Lab Manager (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/26/vmware_manager_manager/). The bundle is priced at $4,000 per two processors.

Package two is the IT Service Delivery Bundle. It's the same as the Management and Automation offering, with the exclusion of Site Recovery Manager from the package. It goes for $3,000 per two processors.

The two bundles can be ordered from distributors, resellers and OEMs on May 19. Each management application can also be purchased a la carte. ®

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