By Steve Baca VCP, VCI, VCAP, Global Knowledge Instructor
Virtualization is a broad term that covers many types of virtualization that can all be used in different ways in production environments. Virtualization was originally developed to allow the creation of software and firmware code that could run multiple jobs on physical hardware. Virtualization has expanded to include many other IT areas thanks to the success of VMware’s virtualization for x86 hardware. This article will discuss the history of virtualization as well as the impact of historical developments on virtualization. We will also discuss the various types of virtualization that are available today and list the top vendors.
Virtualization is a great idea.
Virtualization is essentially about making many of one. Virtualization software can allow you to host multiple virtual servers on one virtual server. Each application and operating system used its own server in data centers before virtualization. Each physical server required a floor or rack space. Businesses that required IT services faced a problem because of this. Virtualization was used for consolidating physical servers. This reversed the trend towards sprawl. Virtualization was noticed by companies as a cost-saving tool.
According to the system administrator, another reason to virtualize is the ability to quickly add virtual machines as needed, without the need to purchase additional physical servers. The wait time for new servers varies from one company to the next. In some cases, it can take quite a while. The process can be significantly accelerated if the physical server is already in production. System administrators can quickly create new virtual machines by simply adding them to existing physical servers. One physical server can host multiple virtual machines.
Another reason to virtualize your server is to make better use of resources. Virtualization can help you save up to 10 percent on your CPU/or memory. Consider the following example: A physical machine was purchased to run an evening-only program. If the application is not being used, the physical server is inactive. This is a huge waste. Virtualizing an application that is used only at night allows it run at night on the same server with other virtual machines that are used during the morning and the afternoon. The virtual machines will use less resources. Because one virtual machine can run during the day, and the other at night, the physical server will be able use its resources more efficiently. Multiple virtual machines can safely share resources like CPU and memory. This is possible thanks to server-side virtualization by vendors like VMware. Virtualization is much more efficient than running individual applications on physical servers.
Another reason to use virtualization is the ability to use new features that create a more reliable environment. VMware offers High Availability (HA), for example. This feature allows you to restart virtual machines that have been shut down. After HA has determined that the physical server is dead, it can restart the virtual machines on the surviving ones. Using HA to automate an application’s downtime will result in lower downtime.
