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VMware testing servers-by-the-minute cloud

vCloud Air joins the come-and-get-it cloud caper

Journalists who cover cloud have a recurring nightmare: leaving the “l” out of “public cloud” and copping a caning in the comments for their somewhat Freudian slip.

But one vendor that operates a cloud that isn't entirely public is VMware: Virtzilla's vCloud Air has hitherto been sold as a by-the-month affair.

The company has, however, signalled it's keen to get into the “hand me your credit card and run up virtual machines for an hour” caper, and has now announced that it's testing just such a service. You – yes even YOU – can apply to be a test pilot by signing up here.

VMware's calling this vCloud air service “self-provision on-demand” for now, and promises access with “nothing more than a browser and a credit card.” Usage will be metered by the minute and billed monthly in arrears.

The company's talking up the usual vision of vSphere and vCenter everywhere, for a One Control Freak To Rule Them All rig that behaves the same whether servers are under your desk or on VMware's largely-rented bit barns.

The announcement of the test pilot program is noteworthy because VMware's talking up the chance to access “a virtually unlimited pool of resources.”

That's a bold statement because compared to the likes of AWS, Google and Microsoft, VMware doesn't have enormous amounts of money to spend on bit barns. With even the likes of Rackspace walking away from come-and-get-it public cloud, VMware heading in that direction bespeaks either cunning ways of scaling or a big reservoir of bucks to throw at the market. ®

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