Transparent Technology and Virtualization Support

In recent years, a number of “transparent” hardware and software technologies, virtualization and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud solutions (such as Citrix, Microsoft Cluster Software and Azure, VMware and Amazon AWS) have become increasingly prevalent. These solutions operate in the technology layers adjacent to the operating systems or, in some cases, as extensions of the operating systems. Similarly, database solutions offer transparent components as supported elements.

Micro Focus supports Configuration Management System (CMS) running on operating systems and databases on particular platforms as described in the matrix above, not specific hardware and software configurations. Micro Focus will support Configuration Management System (CMS) customers who run Micro Focus software products on supported operating systems and databases, irrespective of whether they are running transparent or virtualization/IaaS cloud solutions in their environment. Micro Focus does not support these transparent or virtualization/IaaS cloud technologies directly. Since the providers of these technologies support a set of certified operating systems and hardware, the customer and the providers of these technologies will be responsible for any interactions or issues that arise at the hardware or operating system layer as a result of their use.

Micro Focus will not require customers to re-create and troubleshoot every issue in a non-transparent environment; however, Micro Focus does reserve the right to request that its customers diagnose certain issues in a native certified operating system environment without the transparent technology. Micro Focus will only make this request when there is reason to believe that the environment is a contributing factor to the reported issue.

While Configuration Management System (CMS) is expected to function properly with these transparent technologies in place, there may be performance implications, which can invalidate Micro Focus’s typical sizing and recommendations. Analysis must be performed within the context of the specific application to be hosted in a virtual/IaaS cloud environment to minimize potential resource overload, which can have significant impact on performance and scalability, particularly under peak load.