PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, January 3, 2011 — Black Box Corporation (NASDAQ:BBOX), an industry-leading provider of voice communications, data infrastructure, and networking products, today announced the launch and immediate availability of its new VirtuaCore™ desktop virtualization computer sharing system. VirtuaCore turns one CPU into multiple workstations by leveraging the capacity of a single, high-power dual- or quad-core processor to serve two or four individual users.

Black Box VirtuaCore provides three primary benefits:

• saves up to 60 percent on hardware and between 60 and 70 percent on energy costs;
• enables the organization using VirtuaCore to increase the number of seats without adding PCs, avoiding the need for increased technical support costs; and
• helps IT departments with their green IT initiatives by reducing their carbon footprint, for example.

Ideal for use in classrooms, office environments, or high-density cubicle locations, the VirtuaCore system uses a virtual machine-style technology. It segments a dual-core processor into two separate, independent drives controlled by two individual keyboards, mice, and monitors. The quad-core version provisions a single machine into four individual drives providing full functionality for four users sharing the same CPU tower, each with a separate monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

“Black Box VirtuaCore can dramatically expand access to CPU resources for multiple users without the cost of investing in separate machines for each individual,” said Mike McCurry, product manager at Black Box. “It saves space and hardware costs, and lowers energy consumption by about 70 percent, which is important for companies and organizations that want to reduce their carbon footprint. Plus, VirtuaCore significantly lowers the ongoing cost of replacing PCs, as the number that will need to be replaced is reduced by three quarters (VC004A) or one half (VC002A).”

Unlike other CPU-sharing solutions, the Black Box VirtuaCore ensures the legality of all licensed software in use to eliminate the risk of severe legal action and/or financial penalties as a result of unauthorized software sharing. Separate software license keys are required for each instance of the licensed product in use on the shared machine, just as if it were two or four separate computers. Meanwhile, attached peripherals are accessible by each user on the shared CPU.

“The system is ideal for K–12 or higher ed classroom settings, not only for the cost savings, but also because it supports open source teaching,” McCurry said. “This allows the instructor to access freeware resources on-line or on one drive and push them out to all four users.”

In the classroom, a teacher can also use VirtuaCore to control, view, and lock the other VirtuaCore computers in the classroom, allowing him or her to show the lesson or examples on student screens or view students’ work on the instructor’s machine.

For administrators, VirtuaCore also makes IT management fast and easy, allowing updates and software patches to be quickly replicated across each individually provisioned drive, instead of requiring a time-consuming manual installation on each drive.

Each VirtuaCore kit is backed by Black Box’s one-year warranty and comes complete with everything needed to set up dual or quad users (depending on the model), including the VirtuaCore cube, 4-port USB hub, PCI video, and USB cards, and all required adapters and cables. An installation CD provides step-by-step guidance through the setup and drive provisioning process. And, the system is reusable—when it’s time to replace a CPU, the VirtuaCore components can simply be removed and installed on a new machine.