Stratus Technologies  and XenSource announced they have signed a collaborative agreement with the goal of fusing continuous availability and virtualization technologies to create new IT infrastructure solutions with superior reliability, flexibility and manageability.

Under terms of the non-exclusive agreement, Stratus will work with XenSource to include XenEnterprise as an integral component in Stratus' Continuous Processing(R) architecture; XenEnterprise is XenSource's commercial version of open source Xen. Stratus' Intel processor-based server lines for Windows and Linux operating environments are already compatible with several current virtualization products, and future support is planned for other products, as well.

"The industry spotlight is on virtualization, and XenSource is clearly one of the principal contributors to the technology's rapid market adoption," said Tim Wegner, general manager, Stratus Advanced Technology Group. "The recent introduction of XenEnterprise, as well as the expansion of XenSource's technology and business development operations to Redmond, Washington are indications that the company has the potential to change the server virtualization landscape and to help fuel market expansion. We're very pleased to be working with them on next-generation infrastructure solutions."

"Improved business continuity and operational simplicity are keys to providing our customers with flexible IT infrastructures," said XenSource CEO Peter Levine. "These same attributes are at the heart of Stratus' commitment to technology for continuous availability, and its 26-year record of delivering it. The integration of XenEnterprise into Stratus' mission critical environments indicates the broad applicability and stability of the XenSource product line."