Quoting the press release:

ToutVirtual, an emerging leader in  management software for virtual computing infrastructures, today announced VirtualIQ 525  software that  supports a variety of policy-based and automated management functions for VMWare GSX Server, VMWare Server, VMWare ESX Server, VMWare Player, VMWare Workstation, and open-source Xen.  VirtualIQ 525 software is currently being made available as freeware configured to manage up to 5 CPUs or 25 virtual machines.

VirtualIQ 525 is a centralized Web console with a virtual software appliance that provides IT administrators with an unprecedented closed-loop, policy-based system for host and virtual machine management.  The software provides visibility, control, and reporting options to automate the successful deployment of enterprise-wide virtualization - from pilot to production.   ToutVirtual's VirtualIQ 525 is a freeware offering configured to support up to 5 CPUs or 25 virtual machines.  To download a free copy of ToutVirtual VirtualIQ 525, please visit http://www.toutvirtual.com/downloads/downloads.php

According to Tim Grieser, program vice president for system management software at analyst firm IDC, "The rapid spread of virtualization on Intel architecture platforms is increasing the need for software tools to effectively manage these environments.  Multi-function tools that can manage across a variety of environments, such as VirtualIQ from
ToutVirtual, are increasingly needed by IT to monitor and control their virtualized resources."  Grieser added, "This type of software provides leverage so that IT can efficiently manage the increasing complexity of virtualized infrastructures and virtual machines."

VirtualIQ 525 is the industry's first free and ready-to-run virtual appliance for monitoring and controlling the entire virtualization management stack.  It is easy to deploy, supports multiple virtual platforms under one console, provides event-based alerting, and brings virtual infrastructure management to a new level of simplicity. This solution enables IT staff to identify problems quickly with increased IT productivity.

While other products simply end with the deployment of a one-vendor virtual environment and provide either no management or single-node-only management capabilities, VirtualIQ 525 leapfrogs to allow IT administrators to automate and fine-tune heterogeneous virtual
environments using business-policy configurations, visual resource usage correlations (CPU, memory, multiple hosts, multiple virtual machines), alarms, reports and more. 

VirtualIQ 525 provides the user four areas from which to manage the entire virtual environment: Dashboard, Manage, Reports, and Configurations.  The overall Web portal navigation system provides drill-down capabilities to provide detailed virtual server information as well as the ability to start, stop, reset and suspend virtual machines.  The Dashboard gives an at-a-glance overview of the current hosts, virtual machines, their status, and resource activity.  It allows easy identification of which hosts and virtual machines are running at high utilization levels and those with excess capacity.  Manage provides
further granularity to allow an IT administrator to create groups, set specific policy parameters with automated actions, view and act upon usage-trends data, and to optimize host-to-virtual-machine resources. Reports provide a convenient way to print and share information, and Configuration allows the user to set up e-mail and host settings.  

"The primary catalyst for more widespread use of virtualization is our ability to manage virtual servers using policy-based and automated IT processes," said Vipul Pabari, chief technology officer for ToutVirtual. "With VirtualIQ 525, we're giving a Web-based, virtual-server management portal to IT administrators, and they can manage up to 5 CPUs or 25
virtual machines on multiple virtual platforms, all at no cost. VirtualIQ 525 is the first cross-platform automation solution that lets IT administrators proactively manage their virtual server environment without custom scripts or in-house developed products."

Availability
The ToutVirtual VirtualIQ 525 freeware is available for download at
http://www.toutvirtual.com/downloads/downloads.php  For users needing greater than 5 CPUs or 25 virtual machine support, ToutVirtual expects to have additional products launching during the summer of 2006. ToutVirtual's recently announced ShieldIQ Standard Edition, a free download, will be part of the VirtualIQ 525 offering.