Since the beginning, we've been talking to customers about how our approach to virtualization is different and more powerful than any other company because Oracle has the "full-stack" of software (and even hardware these days!) to work with to create more comprehensive, more powerful solutions. Having the virtualization layer, two enterprise class operating systems in Solaris and Enterprise Linux, and the leading enterprise software in nearly every layer of the data center stack, allows us to not just do virtualization for virtualization's sake but rather to provide complete virtualization solutions focused on making enterprise software easier to deploy, easier to manage, and easier to support through integration up and down the stack.

Today, we announced the availability of a significant demonstration of that capability by announcing a WebLogic Suite option that permits the Oracle WebLogic Server 11g to run on a Java JVM (JRockit Virtual Edition) that itself runs directly on the Oracle VM Server for x86 / x64 without needing any operating system. Why would you want that? Better performance and better consolidation density, not to mention great security due to a lower "attack surface area".

Oracle also announced the Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder product. Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder provides a framework for automatically capturing the configuration of existing software components and packaging them as self-contained building blocks known as appliances. So you know that complex application you've tweaked on your physical servers (or on other virtual environments for that matter)?  Virtual Assembly Builder will allow the automated collection of all the configuration data for the various application components that make up that multi-tier application and then use the information to create and package each component as a virtual machine so that the application can be deployed in your Oracle VM virtualization environment quickly and easily and just as it was configured it in your original environment. A slick, drag-and-drop GUI also serves as a powerful, intuitive interface for viewing and editing your assembly as needed.

No one else can do complete virtualization solutions the way Oracle can and I think these offerings show what's possible when you have the right resources for elegantly solving the larger problems in the data center rather than just having to make-do with tools that are only operating at one layer of the stack.

For more information, read the press release including the links to more information on various Oracle websites.