ClearCube Technology will today unveil software to help IT staff manage user desktops as virtual machines. The tools can be used with ClearCube’s own blade PCs, or with other systems that host virtual desktop machines on servers.

Sentral 5.0, available from June, is an overhaul of the existing ClearCube Management Suite (CMS), with the ability to manage virtualised desktop environments. “This is the first suite designed to manage virtual desktop sessions, and manage user connections to those virtual sessions,” said the firm’s senior technologist, Ken Knotts.

ClearCube’s blade systems are Windows PCs that fit in back-office racks, remotely accessed via a console on each user’s desk. Virtualisation will make it easier for blades to host more than one session.

However, while virtual servers are already widely used, virtual client systems present a different set of challenges, said ClearCube. “Managing virtual clients is more work, because of the need to apply updates and patches, and users need to interact with them,” Knotts said.

Add-on modules to the Sentral Console will allow IT administrators to switch users between blades and support log-in from any location. The tools also work with other systems, such as IBM’s virtualised hosted client infrastructure.

Sentral supports VMware and Microsoft Virtual Server. Pricing will depend on the number of virtual machines to be managed, said Knotts.