Why would you use virtualized technology?

There are many reasons why a business would want to adopt virtualization. Some of the main reasons why a business would want to migrate from a physical environment to a virtual one are detailed below.

Resource Optimization

As mentioned before, most physical servers will usually only provide one or two services, because it is not good practice to run multiple services on a single server. For example file sharing and web services on a single server, are a definite no, this configuration is creates a big security risk. Due to this fact, most businesses will have multiple servers providing only one or two services. However, with today's hardware capabilities, this is a waste of physical resources because a single service will usually only utilize around 10-15% of a server's total physical resources. Imagine having a 500 GB Hard Drive and buying a new one when just 50 GB of its total capacity was used up, this is the scale of resources that are being wasted by a lot of businesses today.

The solution to the above problem is in the form of virtualization. Through virtualization, a business can have multiple virtual servers running on a single virtual machine. If a business previously used five physical servers, to provide five different services, they would now only require a single physical server. This one server would be much more efficiently used and its resources would not be wasted.

Providing lower costs than a physical infrastructure

Once a business has moved to virtualized environment, they begin to reap the many rewards that this kind of solution provides. Less physical machines, means less physical space is required, therefore a business's office and building costs are greatly reduced. Both heat and power outputs are also significantly reduced and again this helps to reduce the running costs for a business. Networking costs are also reduced because fewer switches, hubs and wiring closets are required. As you can see, one of the greatest reasons why a business would want to adopt virtualization is simply because of the large amounts of money that they could save, both in the long run and in the short.

Easier manageability and improved uptime

Virtualization makes administering and managing an IT environment much easier. Less physical machines mean that administrators have less hardware faults or issues to deal with, this means that they can use their time on much more productive and beneficial tasks. Multiple virtual machines can also be configured and monitored from a single location. Again this makes things much easier for administrators, as they do not have to go from physical machine to machine when configuring updates or making changes.

Backing up and restoring a virtualized environment is also much easier than a physical one. If there are problems on one physical machine, an administrator can easily copy over entire virtual machines to another physical machine. A business can then continue operating with a minimum of downtime.

Planned downtime can also be implemented with a minimum of disruption. Again, all an administrator has to do is copy over their virtual machines to another physical machine and then these virtual machines can continue operating as though nothing has happened.

Maximum uptime for modern day businesses is very important, even the smallest amount of downtime can cause a business to lose profits as well as their credibility with clients. Virtualization is one of the ways that a business can ensure they will be running smoothly with an absolute minimum of downtime.

Improved security

If a virus gets on to a physical machine, it will usually affect the entire machine. Virtual machines are separate entities, therefore any viruses or problems will be isolated within that virtual machine. The physical machine and all other virtual machines will not be affected whatsoever. Virtualization also makes it easier to revert back to a previous state. For example an entire virtual machine could be backed up manually at regular intervals or using the virtual machines built in checkpoint feature, it could be reverted to a previous fully working state.

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For more information on Virtualization and virtualized technology and to sign up for our Cloud Computing Certification courses, have a look at the Virtualization Certification Kit.