ClearCube Technology has entered into a closer partnership with VMware in a move that could boost take-up of desktop virtualisation.

The PC blade maker has joined VMware’s Hardware Alliance Partner programme, allowing ClearCube to ship and support VMware’s ESX Server on its hardware. This will make it easier for customers to implement an infrastructure using virtual desktop PCs running across networks of blade systems, ClearCube said.

“Certification by VMware allows us to sell and support ESX on our blades, which had to be done by systems integrators before,” said Tom Josefy, head of product marketing at ClearCube.

Consolidating desktop PCs as virtual machines could cut ownership costs by hosting users on fewer physical machines, making management easier. This architecture also boosts security because workers do not have access to the physical hardware, typically linking to their virtual desktop from a thin client.

ClearCube expects a high percentage of customer seats to be sold this way in the future, but there will still be a need for a small number of power users to have their own dedicated blade.

The company’s Sentral 5.5 administration suite, announced last month, links directly with VMware’s ESX Server to enable virtual desktops to be managed alongside the physical hardware they sit on.

“Sentral gives [administrators] one view of physical and virtual blades. You can drag and drop virtual or physical blades to group them together,” Josefy said. Sentral can also allocate users to virtual PCs or a dedicated blade at login, depending on their user profile, he added.

Sentral can link with other virtualisation software, such as Microsoft Virtual Server, but ESX is preferred because it runs on the bare metal instead of atop a host operating system, making it more efficient.

“ESX allows you to have a higher number of users per blade with the lowest overhead,” explained Josefy. Up to 20 users per blade is possible, but deployments will typically assign fewer users until companies find the level that makes most efficient use of hardware resources.

“It’s better to under-provision at first, but eventually virtualisation will make companies come to terms with better managing the resources needed for each user,” Josefy said.