Leostream focuses on building applications on top of server virtualisation. These applications are intended to broaden the range of problems that virtualisation can solve to include the following solutions:
One-time Automated Physical to Virtual Conversions
The problem being addressed
The process of manually converting machines is time-consuming and error prone. The probability of success is largely dependent on the skill of the operator, how much time they have, and how tired they are. What is needed is an automated process that has a high success rate with a minimum of user intervention.
The Leostream solution
Leostream's P>V Direct is installed, run, and uninstalled on the origin machine without needing a reboot. It sees the machine in its operating state so it can map all of the running services and drivers and determine the changes needed for a successful conversion. It then instructs the virtualisation layer to create an appropriate VM, attaches a small operating system and boots the VM. The disks are then copied across by using the existing drivers. Once the disk transfer is complete then the VM is rebooted into Windows and the Leostream Wizard automatically uninstalled.
Repeated Conversions with Disk Synchronisation
The problem being addressed
Existing backup and disaster recovery solutions are cost prohibitive for non tier 1 servers, as they require additional hardware and software licences. They tend to be difficult to restore and so verification is a slow process. They also require identical hardware for restoration which can be hard when the original hardware is lost and has to be replaced.
The Leostream solution
Leostream’s Disk Synchronization allows a virtual machine image created using the one-time process outlined above to be regularly synchronised with the origin server. This process can be scheduled and brings the VM up to a particular point in time with a typical RPO (Recovery Point Objective) of 24 hours or longer. There is no filter driver and the process only runs during the backup process so placing no drag on the origin machine between backups. Recovery is almost instantaneous because the back file is stored within a virtual disk image, and hence verification is also quick and easy.
Virtual Hosted Desktop Controller
The problem being addressed
Organisations find supporting desktops, particularly those at partner locations or home offices, expensive to maintain and a security risk. Running applications on a central terminal server and then allowing remote desktop access to that server is a common solution, and ideal for non power users. However, power users such as developers need more performance, data isolation, and control (remote reboot) than can be provided by a shared server solution.
The Leostream solution
Leostream’s Virtual Hosted Desktop Controller is a connection broker front-end for VMware’s VirtualCenter. It provides the same access control that you would expect for a Terminal Server type solution but also includes support for dynamic tasks such as starting a VM when a user logs on, stopping it when they log off, or picking a VM from a particular pool of VMs when that type of user needs a VM.
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