Star launches managed virtualisation service

Star's VPlatform is based on a dedicated VMware ESX cluster

Business internet service provide Star has announced the launch of a managed virtualisation platform.

The company said that vPlatform will let businesses extend their existing in-house use of virtual machines and deploy new ones on demand, or bring the technology to firms that have yet to adopt it.

"The introduction of vPlatform underlines Star's commitment to delivering managed hosting solutions that support business agility by removing the ever-growing complexity of managing and optimising virtualised infrastructure platforms," said James Griffin, head of hosting strategy at Star.

"As the underlying technology continues to mature, there will be continued growth in the volume of applications that businesses run on a virtualised infrastructure, where IT departments seek to deliver better value and service to their internal and external stakeholders."

VPlatform is low cost and flexible, according to Star, allowing for the hosting of up to 20 virtual servers. The service is based on a dedicated VMware ESX cluster which is monitored by the firm's technical staff.

Service level agreements will keep systems running at optimum performance, the company said, and will remove the complex business of management and maintenance. Star added that it ensures maximum power consumption from hardware, and can pass any associated cost savings onto its customers.

The company claims that the system can be configured and set up in just two minutes, compared to weeks for a conventional server rollout. An administration dashboard can be used to add new resources such as RAM, processors and storage.

The service is available now. Prices start from £90 per server per month.