Like the notion of soup to nuts, virtualization is a technology term that encompasses everything from servers and storage to applications and operating systems. While the concepts have been employed in the mainframe and Unix space for some time, companies like VMware, Microsoft and XenSource are bringing the technology to the x86 and Windows worlds in a big way.
“Virtualization, in the broadest sense, is really just the mapping of physical resources into logical ones,” says Gordon Haff, a senior analyst with Illuminata Inc.
The benefits or virtualization can be many, but among the most obvious is the potential to gain maximum use from existing computing hardware. Chris Ratcliffe, director of marketing for system software at Sun Microsystems of Canada Inc., says the trend towards smaller, more powerful servers and storage devices, combined with the old enterprise model of one server per application, has led to substantial under-use of computing resources.
According to Ratcliffe, Sun estimates most systems today operate at between five per cent and 25 per cent capacity.
"By virtualizing servers and running multiple applications, each in its own protected virtual server on the same box, utilization can increase dramatically," Ratcliffe says. “If you spend $100,000 on server infrastructure and it’s only running at 25 per cent (capacity), there’s a significant investment you’re not able to make use of.”
Ratcliffe points to the case of one Sun customer running 16 servers dedicated to its Web site.
Eight were being used for a production environment and the other eight for testing and creating the next version of the site. When it came time to deploy the new site, a switch was flipped and the old testing servers became the production servers, and vice versa.
“They used virtualization technology to remove eight of those servers, and for each of the remaining servers they’ve created a separate test environment and a production environment,” Ratcliffe says. “It has allowed them to drive up the utilization in their environment and remove eight platforms that could be redeployed elsewhere.”
Cost savings achieved included using only half as many servers, less data centre floor space and lower power consumption.
Illuminata’s Haff says the less tangible benefits of virtualization include bringing more flexibility and agility to an IT infrastructure, and easing the management burden on IT staff. “It’s being able to bring new applications online faster, and accommodating changes in workloads,” Haff says.
However, virtualization is not without its risks and drawbacks. For example, whenever you deploy fewer systems and place a heavier burden on them, the impact of one point of failure becomes much more pronounced. It also makes for a more complex environment from a management perspective.
“All other things being equal, it makes sense to take more steps to protect those systems, whether that means clustering in various forms or buying servers with more reliability features,” Haff says.
Alan Freedman, research manager for infrastructure hardware at IDC Canada Ltd., cautions that virtualization is not a panacea to all data centre problems.
“It’s not like you can load up your server to infinitesimal amounts. There are still limits to appropriating resources for your virtual servers,” he says. “That has to be kept in mind when you’re planning out your virtualization strategy.”
Freedman adds that virtualization is primarily a large business initiative, although he does see the technology benefiting medium-sized businesses also. By its nature, the more sophisticated, complex and larger an IT environment, the greater the benefit that virtualization can bring.
“[Larger companies] are going to be able to get a bigger bang for the buck based on the fact they have more numerous workloads and applications. They’ll be able to not only consolidate but also better manage and organize their server infrastructure,” says Freedman.
The upfront cost and time to recoup that investment will vary depending on the size of the virtualization project, but Freedman says costs are typically minimal. Virtualization software is needed, plus application and network licences will likely need to be rejigged to take advantage of better terms and conditions. Staff retraining may also be necessary.
Freedman says many companies time virtualization projects to coincide with new hardware purchases, allowing them to buy fewer boxes than might have been originally planned.
SIDE BAR
Management - the missing link
While the benefits of virtualization are clear, analysts and vendors alike seem to agree there is one gaping hole that may discourage wider adoption — the lack of a centralized, common management interface from which to manage software from different virtualization vendors.
Today, virtualization technologies from multiple vendors, such as VMware, Microsoft, HP and Sun, sport no common standard or management interface that allows centralized management.
“We’re hearing that users are looking for management tools that can better capture the information and help with workload balancing and provisioning required for virtualization technology,” says Alan Freedman, research manager for infrastructure hardware at IDC Canada Ltd. “I’m sure it’s in development, but it’s something customers are looking for.”
Gordon Haff, a senior analyst with Illuminata Inc. in Nashua, N.H., agrees, saying there is work in progress. He points to a recent announcement by Microsoft of a collaborative effort with XenSource on the development of technology that would provide interoperability between Xen-enabled Linux and Microsoft’s hypervisor-based Windows Server virtualization.
Chris Ratcliffe, director of system software marketing for Sun Microsystems of Canada Inc., says as virtualization adoption becomes more prevalent and spreads wider within the data centre, the management issue will gain in importance.
“There should be a management API for virtualization technologies that makes it easy for me to manage across my environment,” says Ratcliffe.
“At this point, there is no standard for a management API. My understanding is there are conversations happening.”
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