MCPc Blog

Virtualization Solutions and Benefits

Virtualization, at the core, is not a new concept. In fact, mainframe computers have been around since the late 1950s and can be considered an early phase of virtualization as we know it today.

Though virtualization has dramatically evolved over the last 50-plus years, the driving need for this technology remains the same — IT professionals require controlled, secure and centralized management of their business-computing environments.

As technology has become an integral part of modern business operations, companies have incorporated significantly more hardware into their office environments to support it. However, as processing power increases, we see that the current state of IT is one in which physical units are taking up a disproportionate amount of space, time and money to support.

The Current State of IT

• Low infrastructure utilization. Servers are greatly underutilized, as are PCs, when looked at over long periods of time. Essentially, businesses are not getting optimal use from the hardware infrastructure in which they have invested.  
• IT physical infrastructures get continually more expensive to support (heating and air conditioning costs, power demands, cost per square foot, etc.).
• IT management costs keep increasing due to demand for more senior personnel and higher levels of expertise.
• Many businesses operate with insufficient failover and disaster protection strategies. Even for those that do, testing these plans is rarely done outside of enterprise organizations due to the significant cost and time required to execute.

Simply put, there is so much complexity in business technology today that, on average, more than 70% of IT budgets are used simply to maintain the status quo — leaving less than 30% for innovation and competitive advantage. This makes it almost impossible for businesses to get ahead, or even stay current, with advances in technology!

*From IDC and VMware TAM Program

Virtualization and Cloud Computing

I mentioned earlier that virtualization really started with the mainframe. From there, we moved to PC/client-server environments, to the web and now on to cloud computing.

Cloud computing solutions give businesses the ability to grow on demand and use more storage capacity, at need, for a low cost. Conversely, within our current physical environments, it is very hard to grow quickly and make changes efficiently, as storage costs must be incurred and hardware in place in advance of need. In short, cloud computing offers unrivaled agility. But how do you get there?

Virtualization enhances a business’ ability to get to a cloud computing strategy by putting a more cloud-friendly environment in place.

Types of Virtualization

Server Virtualization

Server virtualization is both the most common type of virtualization employed by businesses today and the easiest to think about. With server virtualization, you move away from physical servers by installing software that runs on one machine and in turn supports many virtual servers.

Businesses today typically use only 5-15% of their server capacity. This is largely due to the exponential increase we’ve seen in the past several years in processing power and memory. That being said, this increase in processing power is the key to making server virtualization a reality. Even as recently as two-to-three years ago, we were limited to how many virtual machines could run on one server. Today, dozens of physical servers can run on one virtualized machine.

Application Virtualization

With application virtualization, we get into software. Rather than installing user applications in the traditional sense, applications are installed on the server and then executed on end-user machines as if on the original operating system. When an application is executed, it is fooled into thinking it’s running with the original operating system and all its resources when in fact it is run all on top of one system.

In short, application virtualization removes applications from operating system dependency. Each application is isolated and a layer of abstraction is put in place through encapsulation, thus the application is given the mobility to transfer from one physical machine to another while keeping user preferences and data stored.  

Though virtualizing applications does not change licensing requirements, it does make it much easier to keep track of licenses as they are all installed on one server rather than individually on all end-user machines. Upgrades and true-ups are more efficient because you can always see how many people use different applications across the organization.

Until recently, IT professionals avoided virtualizing tier-1 applications such as Exchange, Oracle, SAP, Sharepoint and SQL but today it is generally recognized as a suitable solution and can even improve performance and stability.

Desktop Virtualization

Desktop virtualization is the ability to host and centrally manage virtual machines in the data center while still giving end users the full PC experience, even with thin client devices.

At its core, the key benefits of desktop virtualization are to streamline management and deployment of the desktop. Business continuity is ensured as applications are no longer housed on the desktop — rather they are sitting in your central computer room on servers. This also results in increased security through centralized control.

Though desktop virtualization can be a challenge for employees that require mobility, there are new solutions that essentially allow end users to “check out” applications to their machine, make applications local, then sync back to the host when the machine returns to the main office.

The Case for Virtualization

• Server consolidation and containment. With virtualization, you can decrease server sprawl, increase server containment and better control your server environment and associated costs.
• Development and testing optimization. New servers offer development and test environments for low cost as the need for new hardware is removed.
• Business continuity. This is a huge upside to virtualization solutions, as products from top manufacturers support high availability, real-time replication and failover capabilities for disaster recovery. In addition, virtualization is cost effective and reliable.
• Desktop manageability and security. With virtualization, you reduce business risk and improve security by removing the potential for end user machines to contract viruses.

Though the initial cost difference for a virtualized solution could be a 30-40% increase in capital cost for installation in comparison to traditional models, it’s really all about the long-term strategy.

As we’ve seen, virtualization solutions can combat current inefficiencies in IT by helping your business “do more with less,” by squeezing more useful life out of hardware and paying for only the storage and software you need. These solutions allow IT professionals to spend more time and budget on strategic initiatives rather than maintenance. In addition to time- and cost-savings, virtualization offers two priceless attributes: security and control — through centralized management.

For more details and visuals on the concepts covered here, see the presentation below or on Slideshare.

Virtualization 101

Your Thoughts?

What virtualization solutions have your business implemented and what benefits have you seen?

Does your business have a virtualization plan in the works for 2011?

 

Dale Philips is Managing Director - Converged Network Group and is responsible for directing MCPc's technology focus in its Network Solutions, Data Center and Visual Collaboration practices. As programmer, IT manager, Director, CIO and now Managing Director, Dale's business experiences make him uniquely qualified to provide business-savvy technology solutions to MCPc and our customers.  Connect with Dale on LinkedIn.

 

Are you a business leader in Northeast Ohio interested in learning more about virtualization, cloud computing and other advanced technologies for your organization? Join us for the Modern Technology Lessons Summer 2011 Roundtable Series. This three-session series includes Path to the Cloud (7/19), Mobile Device Explosion (8/10) and Intuitive Collaboration (9/29). All three events will take place at our future headquarters, 1801 Superior Ave. in downtown Cleveland. You can attend all three or any combination of sessions. Click here to learn more and register.