VMworld is one of the biggest trade shows in IT, and this year’s conference didn’t disappoint. The company unveiled several new products, including the latest release of vSphere and the debut of Project Octopus, the still-in-development cloud locker project that VMware has been working on for a while.

vSphere 5.1 introduces several new features, and eliminates the vRAM billing model that VMware implemented with version 5.0.  Admins can now use the web client to manage both replication and vSphere Data Protection, the new embedded security component that ships with the cloud platform, and more vMotion capabilities have been added as well.  The web-based interface has replaced the Windows client, which doesn’t even include the new 5.1 functionality.

VMware also unveiled Project Octopus, which now sports the much more official-sounding name of Horizon Data, at the event. Horizon Data is in alpha stages but when it’s out, it’s going to be the lynchpin of the VMware Horizon Suite, an integrated platform that allows organization to manage their entire BYOD strategy from a single pane of glass.

VMworld 2012 was also the big partners’ time to shine. Hewlett-Packard announced added vCloud 5.1 integration to its Converged Cloud Portfolio. The vendor added support for Data Protection as well as the PCI DSS financial services security standard, optimized VM migration for CloudSystem, and a new feature that makes it easier for admins to automate roll outs and configuration.

Symantec and Chef distributor OpsCode also updated their products to be compatible with the latest version of VMware’s virtualization software.

Symantec’s new backup and fail over solutions run faster and can be accessed from vCenter, which makes using these products more easily reached in addition to opening up a number of other vCenter capabilities. OpsCode in turn integrated all of its Chef releases with the cloud management software.