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Virtualization is without a doubt the most discussed topic among data center managers. The proliferation of power hungry servers paired with ever increasing utility rates and continually shrinking budgets has created a huge demand for virtualization. Most CIOs are pushing hard to create internal virtualization initiatives; if they aren't yet, they are being bombarded on a daily basis with trade publications telling them that they should.
When implemented correctly virtualization:
- Is transparent to the end user
- Reduces capital expenditures on new hardware
- Reduces your data center footprint
- Increases the reliability of your IT infrastructure
- Lowers your carbon footprint
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How does it work?
Virtualization allows multiple virtual machines, potentially each with a different Operating System, to run in total isolation, side-by-side, on the same physical hardware. Each virtual machine (VM) utilizes its own set of virtual hardware (e.g. CPU, RAM, NIC). Each Operating System sees a consistent set of hardware regardless of the actual physical hardware. This hardware consistency means VMs can be moved between physical machines without regard to the underlying hardware configuration.
Virtual machines are encapsulated into a single file; this makes it possible to rapidly save, snapshot, or provision a virtual machine. Complete systems with fully configured applications can be deployed in seconds or moved between physical hardware in seconds with zero-downtime.
Visit our VMware pages for more information.
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