VMware releases new Converter software

VMware on Monday released version 3 of Converter, its application to move software from ordinary physical computers onto virtual machines. The new version of Converter permits the process to be automated so many servers can be converted at once, lets customers clone a machine's configuration as it runs, and understands Microsoft's virtual-machine storage format so those virtual machines can be imported as well.

VMware's virtualization software lets a single machine run multiple operating systems simultaneously in compartments called virtual machines. A subsidiary of EMC, VMware's revenue grew 101 percent to $232 million in its most recent quarter, which ended Dec. 31.