|
Virtualization
Overview
by Jane
Cage, COO, HTS
 We live in a
world that constantly forces us to “do more with less”.
Employees are expected to be more efficient. Multi-function
devices are becoming the standard on many desktops. We
multi-task by answering email, talking on the phone and
reviewing a spreadsheet – all at the same time.
We shouldn’t be
surprised then that IT departments are asking the same of
their fileservers. When server utilization gets measured, we
find that many servers have much more capacity than they
actually use for the majority of the time. With so much excess
capacity – why not run more than one server on a single
machine? That’s what virtualization is all about -- one
physical machine running more than one server operating
system.
Virtualization is
a “hot” technology right now and here are some of the reasons
why:
-
Cost Savings –
virtualization may allow you to consolidate multiple servers
down to one. Not every server is a candidate to be
virtualized but many can make the move
successfully.
-
Ease of
Deployment – An IT person can build a “standard” server in a
virtual environment. Any time a new server is needed, a copy
of the standard server can be deployed in minutes rather
than hours.
-
Test Bench – If
you are not sure if your existing software will run in a new
operating system, why not use a virtual server for
testing?
-
Disaster
Recovery – When the unthinkable happens, recovery of a
virtual machine may speed your time back to
operations.
VMWare has been
the leader in virtualization technology. This year, Microsoft
is introducing Server 2008 which promises a wealth of features
that will raise the bar. You’re sure to hear more about this
exploding technology in the months to come. If you’re
interested, contact your account rep for more
information.
| 