AIX 6 open beta -- IBM is offering access to a pre-release version of AIX 6 during the no-charge open beta. AIX 6 provides support for the advanced features of the new IBM POWER6 systems and will include significant new capabilities for virtualization, security, continuous availability features and manageability. AIX 6 is fully binary compatible with AIX 5L, and its new workload partition (WPAR) feature allows isolation of system workloads and regulation of system resources within a single AIX image. WPARs are virtualized operating system environments within a single instance of the operating system. WPARs complement other virtualization tools such as LPAR.
For more information on AIX 6 and the open beta program
see: www14.software.ibm.com/iwm/web/cc/earlyprograms/ibm/aix6beta/
Soon IBM Business Partners can try the AIX 6 open beta pre-installed and ready to use in VLP. With this beta offering, you will receive easy, no-cost access to an AIX 6 image with the standard AIX global environment plus two ready-to-use system WPARs to develop, test or demonstrate your solutions. Using VLP, you will be able to test the installation, deployment and operation of your application in one or more AIX system WPAR. Look for this capability planned for availability in VLP in September 2007.