A new update for IBM's Unix OS for servers finds Big Blue using enhanced security and virtualization technologies to combat rivals HP and Sun. AIX 6 also boasts continuous application availability, even during planned downtime. According to Tony Iams, senior analyst in systems software research at Ideas International, IBM has broken new ground in the area of virtualization with this new release. The new Workload Partitions feature is a software-based virtualization technology that reduces the number of operating system images that have to be managed when consolidating workloads to increase energy efficiency and reduce costs. Scott Handy, IBM vice president of worldwide marketing and strategy for System p servers says Big Blue is not targeting its own installed base, but also Sun, Solaris and HP customers. 

For more on AIX 6:
- check out this NetworkWorld Article