Hailstorm Enterprise ARC 5.5 adds support for deploying to VMware ESX images in several ways. First, it can use Lab Manager, a technology that came to VMware through the Akimbi acquisition. Lab Manager stores testbed system images so that when you test, you can always be sure that the environment is the same and that the results are apples to apples. In this case, Hailstorm can take a snapshot of the production environment and send it to Lab Manager, which makes that environment available for a VMware ESX container when it’s needed, and lets you take down the environment after you’re done testing.

Alternatively, you could also use VMware’s Virtual Center utility that is similar to Lab Manager. Virtual Center lets you take an existing instance and replicate it to a separate VMware ESX container. While the difference looks like a matter of splitting hairs, it wouldn’t be surprising if VMware eventually converged both offerings. By supporting both modes of virtualization, Cenzic is preparing itself for such an eventuality.

Previously, you could have run Hailstorm tests on virtual instances, but you would have had to set them up manually. The new support of VMware adds menu options in the test configuration screens, which automatically instructs the server to retrieve a system image from Lab Manager or Virtual Center, which is then deployed to the appropriate testbed machine.

The new release also includes compliance reports. Once you mapped specific tests to specific regulations, Hailstorm tracks which ones have been tested and whether they passed or failed.

Hailstorm ARC 5.5 is available now.

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