What is virtualization and what are the benefits?

Most agree that the number one investment organizations make in IT is the consolidation of virtualized servers. Virtualization is one of the hottest trends in the industry, for good reason. It has the ability to increase efficiency, reduce or eliminate downtime, and deliver truly remarkable cost savings.

Virtualization is not really a new phenomenon; in fact, the concept is as old as the computer itself. IBM was virtualizing its extremely expensive mainframes in the 1960s to allow for multiple corporate users. In the 1980s, IBM’s central mainframe was replaced by a distributed client-server computing system based on inexpensive servers and desktops running specific applications. So virtualization was deprecated…for a while.

About 10 years ago, when the proliferation of servers became almost unmanageable, engineers began to revisit virtualization, adapting the IBM model to the needs of organizations today. This new generation of highly sophisticated virtual servers (called virtual machines or VMs) is credited to the developer and current market leader VMware. Other vendors include Citrix, Microsoft, IBM, and RedHat.

This time, virtualization is here to stay. So the question for organizations is not whether to virtualize, but why not virtualize?

What exactly is virtualization?

The term virtualization most commonly refers to server virtualization: running multiple operating systems on a single physical computer. While most computers only have one operating system installed, server virtualization software allows one computer to run multiple operating systems off of the main system at the same time by giving other systems access to the computer’s hardware, such as RAM. , CPU and video cards. And, because each virtual server is isolated from other virtualized servers, if one fails, it doesn’t affect the others.

Virtualization works by inserting a thin layer of software directly into the computer’s hardware or into a host operating system. This layer contains a virtual machine monitor, a hypervisor, which directs the hardware resources. For example, a virtualized Windows computer could run Linux within the Windows interface. Or a Mac could run Windows inside the Mac OS X interface.

In addition to server virtualization, there are four other types of virtualization:

• Network Virtualization pools real computing resources into a single virtual network.
• Storage virtualization consolidates storage from multiple network storage devices into a single virtual storage device.
• Application virtualization separates applications from the hardware and operating system, allowing relocation without disrupting other systems.
• Centralized desktop virtualization uses a central server to remotely manage individual desktops; this allows IT staff to virtually assign, manage, patch, and update desktops.

The very real economic benefits of virtualization

It’s not hard to imagine that by reducing the number of servers, organizations immediately realize significant cost savings. VMware reports that its customers typically save 50% to 70% on overall IT costs. Some of the big ways virtualization saves money include:

• Increase energy efficiency by doing the same job with fewer machines. Analysts estimate that without virtualization, most servers use only 5 to 25 percent of their total capacity.
• Reduced labor costs by increasing the server-to-manager ratio
• Create a highly efficient IT pool that will reduce the amount of future spending on hardware
• Allow growing organizations to open up valuable rack space without adding more machines

Other Important Benefits of Virtualization

Applications are rarely built for just one operating system, and this is where virtualization shines. It allows developers to write and test code that crosses a variety of operating systems using a single workstation.

Virtualization creates powerful business agility. Organizations that use virtualization to pool, partition, and manage workloads by configuring pools of servers into flexible resource pools are perfectly positioned to respond like a cat to changing market demands.

Virtualization fundamentally changes the way IT administrators interact with computing resources. Instead of wasting time monitoring hundreds of machines, they can focus on innovating, taking full advantage of the capabilities and services that technology offers.

With virtualization, you can:

• Run multiple operating systems on a single computer
• Optimize business applications for maximum performance and availability
• Save energy by reducing the number of physical servers and the energy required to power them
• Save time by performing routine tasks such as deployment, backup, archive, and recovery faster
• Create flexibility: In virtualized environments, it’s easier to move things, encapsulate, archive, and optimize
• Improve enterprise desktop management with central control, faster desktop deployment, and fewer application conflicts

With virtualization, the typical IT staff can handle up to triple the number of servers without compromising quality of service.

The best virtualization solution for you

If you’re considering virtualization, you’ll need software with easy-to-use tools to:

• Management,
• Surveillance
• Use of measurement
• Optimization
• Collection of statistics
• Apply resource allocation policies

Look for software that provides cross-platform systems management for virtual and physical machines. Also look for the ability to transfer (without modification) your organization’s legacy applications and existing operating systems to virtual partitions. The software must also support the integration of virtualization into legacy management tools. Also:

• Look for a system that has been designed specifically for your needs. For example, a larger organization may need modular virtualization, but a smaller organization may not.
• Resist the temptation to go with the least expensive solution, which is often a hodgepodge of low-end components. The end result will probably be something too complex and not scalable.
• Instead, opt for a fully integrated and scalable virtualization suite. You’ll want the ability to grow your virtual servers with your organization.
• Look for the ability to reuse existing hardware where possible.
• Look for high availability: solutions that provide continuous replication in real time, ensuring that data is always available, through all types of failure, including a hardware crash.
• Find virtualization solutions that simplify your overall environment. This means a solution that is easy to implement and requires little training.
• Choose an experienced and knowledgeable vendor that you trust to sell you only what you need and nothing more – a company with a track record of excellent after-sales support.
• Research the latest products. The next generation products, available now, are all about management. For example, they put everything (servers, storage, and the network) into a single resource pool. They optimize CPUs, memory, networks, storage, applications, and more.

Virtualization isn’t magic, but it’s close. An added bonus is that as time goes on, the installed virtualization continues to deliver value by opening new applications. For most organizations, the many cost and efficiency advantages will make virtualization one of the best investments they’ve ever made.