What Is Server Virtualization and How Can Your Company Benefit From It?
Having been around since the '60s, virtualization is making a come back thanks to lack of space and organizations' reluctance to spend more money on hardware. Defined by HP as separating functionality from the physical resources, server virtualization consists of breaking the hard connection between the image and the physical box – allowing you to do things in different ways.
With server virtualization, you can stack multiple virtual servers into one box and move images across different boxes in a split second to accommodate server peaks or outages – all while realizing savings on space, hardware, electricity, cabling and cooling costs, and avoiding the dreaded downtime. For example, you are currently using 300 servers that are taking up space, generating heat and using exorbitant amounts of electricity. With server virtualization, you can stack multiple images onto fewer boxes and reduce those 300 servers to only 20 physical servers. This approach not only reduces your carbon footprint, but also increases your profitability and competitiveness.
HP offers eight reasons why you should consider server virtualization:
- Increased asset utilization – With physical servers, the utilization level of the IT infrastructure is approximately 15 to 20 percent because you need the extra resources in case a server peaks or grows. With virtual servers, you can move from one server to another within seconds so you're free to maximize your capacity at any given time.
- Reduction in carbon emissions – Energy costs are consuming an ever greater share of IT budgets. Energy demand is also increasing. HP's virtualization solutions help organizations and government agencies reduce energy costs, become more agile and efficient, and achieve carbon emission targets.
- Hardware replacement savings – With physical servers, hardware will need to be replaced approximately every three years. Virtual servers never wear out. So physical server refresh does not require a complete rebuild of a virtualized image.
- Increased flexibility – Server virtualization allows you to stand up a virtual server quickly so you can deploy new applications rapidly. Additionally, instead of needing one physical server for test and another for production, the same physical server can house multiple workload types and functions such as development and test, production, and other workloads. This increased flexibility and consolidation is facilitated by the use of consistent hardware builds.
- Better availability – Previously, having backup servers was a very expensive but necessary solution. With virtual servers, images can all share several backup boxes. If hardware fails, virtual images can be automatically provisioned to another box.
- Better performance – Today, if you have an image that is bumping up against capacity, there's nothing you can do. A virtual server can immediately move that image to a spare box and improve performance.
- Less Total Cost of Ownership – For a virtual server environment, your initial investment is less because you don't need as many servers. And while hardware is not nearly as expensive as it used to be, it is still an increased expense.
- Redirecting unspent capital – Along with reduced capital investment comes the ability to more strategically allocate your saved dollars. You can use those dollars somewhere else that will have a larger impact on your business's bottom line such as building out an application that increases margins or improves productivity.
Overcoming the Challenges of Server Virtualization
While virtual storage solutions have been available and working well for a long time, virtual servers are just now coming into their own. One reason for the delay is the complexity involved in implementing a virtual server solution. Understanding the complexity; combining all of the server, tools, operating system, storage, network and virtualization management components; and creating something that works efficiently and simply can be a challenge.
Server virtualization adds a layer of complexity that has to be managed, including a master node or host that watches over all the virtual machines. And with all the confusion in the marketplace, it's easy to become overwhelmed and want to give up on virtualization.
That's where HP comes in. We offer value to our clients by collaborating with our HP Agility Alliance partners to determine the technologies best suited to our clients. We then put the solution through engineering, testing and certification to make sure it meets our clients' standards and ensures everyone is working together efficiently.
To date, HP has deployed more than 20,000 virtual images that we manage for more than 100 clients around the globe. Our clients look to us for a solid strategy and transformation plan.
What's On the Horizon For Server Virtualization?
While in the past, virtual servers were mainly used for test and development, more and more companies are realizing the numerous benefits of going virtual. The trend is that today's production workloads are moving away from the physical. Organizations don't care about the physical boxes. They don't want to worry about their assets. They want to focus on getting the business functionality they need out of their applications.
Disaster recovery is just one area where virtual servers can help data center managers implement a reliable business continuity plan. With server virtualization, you can balance workloads on different coasts and move information quickly if an emergency occurs in one location. No downtime and no heavy lifting required.
Moving to a virtualized environment has many benefits, but it's essential to have proper management and orchestration to make those ideals a reality. HP takes an agnostic approach to virtualization, focusing not on hardware or software, but on proper management and orchestration, combining virtualization technologies and applying appropriate solutions to meet your organization's needs. Not only can you reduce your total cost of ownership, improve flexibility, obtain high levels of system availability, achieve greater efficiency, increase speed to market and enhance security, but you also can decrease the overall impact of your IT operations on the environment.