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Virtualization

Server and Storage Consolidation (VMware)

Datacenters running x86 servers have traditionally managed applications by installing a single application or a compatible set of application on a single server.  This approach has the benefit that downtime associated with upgrades or configuration changes will result in fewer applications being affected.  Not putting all your eggs in one basket by distributing each application to a dedicated server is a way to increase service levels.

However, one consequence of this approach, particularly as servers grow more powerful, is that the application uses only a small fraction of the CPU and I/O resources that the physical server is capable of providing.  According to Gartner and others, utilization of x86 servers averages 5-15%. Low utilization of x86 servers and a very large number of servers to support datacenter workloads has made the IT infrastructure less manageable, more expensive to maintain, and less flexible.  VMware uses the term server sprawl to describe this phenomenon of server proliferation from a single-application-per-server approach.

For more information about the general challenges caused by server sprawl, please consult an EMD professional.

Now, let’s focus on how virtualization manages servers better, reduces costs, and increases agility in responding to new business requirements.

VMware Infrastructure Benefits
VMware Infrastructure Defined
How Server Consolidation through Virtualization Helps
Lower TCO from VMware Infrastructure

VMware Infrastructure Benefits

How Virtualization Safely Consolidates Servers.

Before we explain the many benefits of using virtualization to consolidate servers, you need to have a fundamental understanding of how virtualization changes an IT infrastructure. Recall from the Virtualization Overview module that VMware's Virtualization technology embeds a thin layer of software directly onto the server hardware, separating the hardware from the operating system.

This virtualization layer allows multiple virtual machines to reside on the same physical server. These virtual machines each contain their own operating system and applications. A customer can now run a Windows, Linux, Novell, and Solaris operating system on the same physical machine at the same time.

For more detailed information please consult an EMD professional.

VMware Infrastructure Defined

What advantages do virtual machines provide to an IT infrastructure?

VMware’s software collects hardware resources, including processor, memory, disk, and networking, into a unified logical resource that can be allocated to virtual machines as needed. This collection or pool of resources comprises the VMware Infrastructure. The virtual machines and the resources associated with them are managed centrally across multiple server hosts.

The VMware Infrastructure product suite, used to support server consolidation and containment efforts, is fully optimized, rigorously tested, and certified for the widest range of hardware, operating systems, and software applications. It supports enterprise-wide standardization independent of operating systems and hardware. VMware Infrastructure provides built-in management, resource optimization, application availability, and operational automation capabilities that deliver tremendous cost savings as well as increased operational efficiency and flexibility.

By adopting a VMware Infrastructure, IT operations become more manageable, more efficient, and more responsive and at a lower cost.

How Server Consolidation through Virtualization Helps

Server consolidation and containment through virtualization and the establishment of a VMware Infrastructure addresses server sprawl cleanly and elegantly, and does so in a way that provides a dramatic return on investment.

The key benefits of VMware’s server consolidation and containment solution are:

Reduced costs
Increased efficiency
Enhanced manageability
Increased reliability

For more detailed information please consult an EMD professional.

Lower TCO from VMware Infrastructure

The most compelling aspect of server consolidation and containment is its tremendous cost savings , and this section discusses exactly how a VMware Infrastructure does this. Server consolidation and containment offers a compelling and dramatic reduction in total cost of ownership of an IT infrastructure, with the typical installation realizing a 30-70% reduction.

Customers deploying a VMware Infrastructure often do so as part of an evolving process of virtualizing more workloads as hardware is retired. One of the great things about maximizing server utilization is that it leads to a better cost justification for superior hardware. Rather than have an infrastructure with lots of low-end servers, each hardly utilized, virtualization let's customers buy top-of-the-line hardware to run all the workloads, and the customers still come out ahead in terms of reduced hardware acquisition costs.

Buying more powerful hardware leads to a hardware infrastructure that takes advantage of the benefits of higher-end equipment:

High performance Fibre Channel, RAID, SCSI, and multifunction adapters for network connectivity Improved power and system management Enterprise backup solutions More robust storage array systems These changes substantially increase the reliability of the hardware, which gives your customers better peace of mind.

For more information on VMware Products please consult with an EMD Professional.