VMware, NVIDIA Reveal First Participants in GRID vGPU Preview

Airbus Group, CH2MHILL and MetroHealth are the first to join VMware‘s (VMW) and NVIDIA‘s early access program for their GRID vGPU preview . The three companies are among the first to test and provide feedback for the new GPU virtualization and virtual application and desktop infrastructure before its general release.

All of the companies participating in the early access program have access to a technology preview of the forthcoming solution, and will work directly with the engineering teams from both NVIDIA and VMware to provide input and feedback on their experiences, according to the press release. The feedback from early access participants will influence future products, training, documentation and services.

“Through this technology preview, we are looking to learn from organizations on how we can continue to provide them greater value through best-in-class solutions. Participants in the early access program are in the unique position of being part of the solution development process, giving them a competitive and first-mover advantage,” said Erik Frieberg, vice president, Product Marketing, End-User Computing at VMware, in a statement. “This joint offering promises to provide customers and service providers with high performance for complex and graphics-intensive applications.”

NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology allows multiple virtual machines to share the power of a single GPU for graphics and professional 2D and 3D applications, according to the company. When combined with VMware Horizon, IT admins can scale the solution for multiple users in their organizations.

“Global manufacturing, design and engineering businesses are putting vGPU on VMware Horizon to the test, running the most sophisticated applications and complex models virtually without compromising the graphics experience,” said Jeff Brown, vice president and general manager of Professional Visualization and Design at NVIDIA. “The initial response has been tremendous, and we will continue to work with VMware to help enterprises improve employee productivity and streamline the management of their hardware resources.”

Prospective early access partners must be current VMware Horizon and NVIDIA GRID customers to be eligible for the program. VMware and NVIDIA originally announced the integration at this year’s GPU Technology Conference.