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Takeaway: Avaya (News - Alert) touts less complexity and lower cost of ownership with its Avaya Aura System Platform, a single server solution for mid-size enterprises (scales from 100 to 2,400 users and to 250 locations). The relatively new solution is packaged on a specific supported server, either the earlier Avaya S8300D Server or S8510 Server or the newly-introduced S8800 Server, and utilizes open standards-based virtualization technology from Xen (Xen Hypervisor) which enables a single hardware platform to run multiple Avaya applications at the same time. Avaya is actively evaluating other virtualization technology to increase the options available to its customers. Avaya Aura System Platform is not a product itself, but is a framework that leverages virtualization technology in order to simplify the deployment of multiple Avaya applications. The benefits of virtualization and server consolidation are clear - simpler installation and maintenance with fewer hardware components, resulting in a 75 percent reduction in hardware with this single server design, according to Avaya. Avaya plans to deploy such virtualized servers for all applications going forward. Read more below about Avaya Aura System Platform and visit www.telecomtactics.com for more on Avaya SMB and enterprise telephony platforms.

Avaya announces a new option in the Avaya Aura portfolio, a single server mid-size solution for enterprises that scales from 100 to 2,400 users and to 250 locations. Avaya introduced the Aura architecture and branding last spring as a new approach and new unified architecture for enterprise communications. With Aura, SIP technology and SIP-based session management are used to simplify and centralize complex, multi-vendor environments (new and legacy, IP and TDM solutions from Avaya, Cisco, Nortel (News - Alert) or others) and multi-location business networks. The new Avaya Aura System Platform is the company's first Aura offer using standards-based virtualization technology from Xen which enables a single hardware platform to run multiple applications at the same time. Avaya touts a 75 percent reduction in hardware with this single server design and plans to deploy such virtualized servers for all applications going forward. In addition to Xen, Avaya is actively evaluating other virtualization technology to increase the options available to its customers.

Specifically, the Avaya Aura System Platform and single server design allows Avaya Communication Manager, Voice Messaging, SIP Enablement Services (SES (News - Alert)), Application Enablement Services, Utility Service and Media Services to be deployed on a single Linux-based server. Previously, these required separate servers. Benefits include reduced hardware, power and maintenance requirements, simpler installation and management and high resiliency due to remote monitoring and an optional backup server.

Avaya Aura System Platform for mid-size businesses is packaged on a specific server, either the earlier Avaya S8510 or S8300D Servers or a new S8800 Series common server which is based on Intel's (News - Alert) latest Xeon E5500 series (Nehalem) processor technology. The S8800 is available in both 1U (Simplex Server) and the pictured 2U (Duplicated Server) form factors. Avaya explains that most Avaya applications will use the S8800 1U server chassis; however, applications that require a large number of hard disk drives or plug-in cards will utilize the 2U version.

The new platform comes in Avaya Standard and Enterprise Editions. Standard Edition is for single-site businesses or mid to large distributed enterprises that require advanced capabilities and standard survivability, while the Enterprise Edition is for multi-site, highly distributed mid to very large enterprises that require 100 percent survivability at remote locations. The Enterprise Edition includes the Avaya Unified Communications (News - Alert) All Inclusive package with a range of UC applications from Avaya (the package is free with the Enterprise Edition or $60 per user license for Standard Edition, up from $50 per user initially). Customers can also add the Avaya Contact Center Express (CCE) multi-media contact center solution; Avaya plans to enhance the CCE administration tool so that contact center data and capabilities of Avaya Aura Communication Manager can be managed from CCE.

The Avaya Aura System Platform is available globally as of November 2009. www.avaya.com.