Xsigo Systems, the technology leader in data center I/O virtualization, today announced that the Microsoft Windows Hardware Qualification Lab (WHQL) has certified the Xsigo I/O Director, the first such certification issued for an I/O virtualization product. The Microsoft WHQL qualification indicates that the Xsigo I/O Director has met the standards of Microsoft and that the product has been designed to work with the Windows operating system.

"In today's dynamic data center, IT managers need the flexibility that Xsigo virtual I/O enables by allowing them to connect any of their servers to any storage and network resource, and do it in real time," said Cheng Tang, VP of engineering at Xsigo. "By meeting the rigorous interoperability standards required for Microsoft WHQL certification, we have demonstrated that Xsigo virtual I/O provides a seamless, transparent path for server connectivity."

The Xsigo I/O Director is purpose built to deliver dynamic connectivity, allowing data center users to connect any server to any network or storage device in seconds, without the restrictions of I/O cards, cables, and switch ports. Benefits of the solution include:

--  Dynamically configures storage and network connectivity to any server in real-time
--  Provides 1G Ethernet, 10G Ethernet, and Fibre Channel connections
--  Eliminates 70% of the cards, cables and switch ports
--  Reduces I/O capital costs by 50%
--  Allows connectivity changes to be completed in seconds rather than hours or days
    

Xsigo virtual I/O also eliminates performance bottlenecks with dynamic bandwidth allocation that delivers performance on-demand to I/O connections over a high-speed 20Gbs fabric. Xsigo virtual I/O incorporates quality of service features that enhance application performance by reducing the risk of I/O resource contention.