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Virtualization Overview
A Brief History
In the early days of computing, networks were built on a centralized model incorporating a Mainframe server and “dumb” access terminals. At the time, computing power was so limited that the simplest of tasks required enormous machines to process data and sometimes hours to produce a result. Costing what would be millions in today’s dollars and requiring the engineering elite to operate and repair them, only the largest of corporations could afford to employ their use.
The First Revolution
With the advent and improvement of the microprocessor, exponentially increasing computing power was able to be distributed over multiple workstations at exponentially decreasing costs, making the technology affordable for small and medium-size businesses. The speed at which business moved could now be measured in seconds rather than days, and those who could not keep the pace were left behind. From industry, to education, to entertainment; all aspects of the modern world were affected by this revolution.
Virtualization - The Next Revolution
As you read this, a new path for business is being forged. The short comings of the conventional network have been eliminated through the advent of Virtualization technology. No longer are businesses forced to house and maintain physical Servers and PC’s. Gone are the days of failed hard drives, bad motherboards, wasted processor and storage capacity, static resource availability and prohibitively expensive disaster recovery methods. As in the first IT revolution, all aspects of the modern world will feel the effects of this monumental shift in the way business is conducted.
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The typical network in today’s business world is built on a distributed model in which data processing and storage is done at both the server and workstation. While this design has served its purpose well, it is not without inherent flaws. The diagram illustrates a typical network, in which entire servers are dedicated to specific functions. Further, each server and workstation have their own CPU, Memory, Hard Drive and other hardware components, greatly increasing the possible points of failure. |
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A virtual network is centralized. Ideally, all data processing and storage takes
place at the server. This model provides benefits previously unheard of in the small
to medium-size business markets. The diagram illustrates the separation of software
and hardware, allowing the infrastructure to be scaled dynamically. In the scenario
shown, terminals are used in place of PC’s, further reducing possible points of
hardware failure.
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An Industry-leading analyst has been quoted saying “the number of physical servers which are virtualized are expected to jump from 7% in 2007 to 50% in 2011.”* The analyst added that this prediction of a more than 700% increase over the next 4 years “may be a little conservative.”* Another top analyst was quoted saying that “virtualization will be part of nearly every aspect of IT by 2015.”**
Faced with these astounding figures, business owners are pressed to consider the cost of non-action. A simple comparison can be drawn between businesses which quickly adapted their processes in the late 1980’s and early 90’s to incorporate network servers and workstations, and those which chose to continue business as usual in that critical time. Paper-based data collection, hours of wading through endless rows of file cabinets and manual book keeping were just a few of the nails in the coffin of the then “conventional business,” making it impossible for them to compete at the new pace.
In the virtual revolution, businesses which procrastinate will find themselves in a much grimmer scenario. Because the pace at which business moves and the rate at which change is assimilated has increased so drastically since the early 90’s, the failure to swiftly comprehend and begin implementation of the virtual environment will ensure the demise of countless businesses. Unable to match the price-point of their competitors, being ill equipped to circumvent disaster and investing blindly in infrastructure during unstable economic times are some examples of challenges to be faced by those who wait.
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In a conventional Server or PC, the operating system software is directly linked to the hardware on which it runs. With the continued improvement and cost reduction of computing power, this model has resulted in drastically under-utilized capacity. The typical business Servers and PC’s use less than 20% of their processing ability over their average lifecycle. When properly maintained, Network PC hard drives typically use between 20% and 40% of their total capacity, resulting in terabytes of wasted storage space over multiple machines.
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In the virtual environment, the link between hardware and software is eliminated, and thus, so is waste. It is now possible to
have multiple operating system instances running on a single server, each performing
a different function. Likewise, a single storage volume can be segmented to house
data for the individual virtual machines. This provides a business the ability to
more fully utilize the infrastructure in which it has invested, dramatically stretching
the value of its IT dollar.
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On a VirtuWorks network, detailed resource usage reports are available showing peak and average use of each virtual server. These reports are invaluable in managing waste to control expense.
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While Servers and PC’s are relatively inexpensive to purchase by today’s standards, the necessary maintenance and repair of hardware and software, and the logistics involved in providing these services, can rob a business of what would otherwise be profit. In addition, the loss of employee productivity while computer and network issues persist can have an intangible cost.
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The less infrastructure a business owns, the lower the cost of ownership will be.
Because virtualization enables a business to consolidate multiple machines to run
on a single server, the number of possible hardware failures is dramatically reduced
per consolidated machine. This, in turn, causes instances affecting employee productivity
to be reduced.
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With VirtuWorks, Cost of Ownership drops even further. Our clients reap the benefits of a state-of-the-art virtual datacenter, without having to pay the enormous cost of implementing such a system. Our fully managed and redundant virtual server infrastructure, backed by our 99.5% uptime guarantee, ensures that hardware failures and IT-induced employee frustrations are a thing of the past.
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The nature of hardware intensive networks forces businesses to equip themselves with enough computing power to handle the workload over the lifecycle of the equipment. To accomplish this, network engineers must assess the current network usage, while taking the company’s growth pattern into account. While this method is well advised in the typical scenario, it poses glaring issues in relation to scalability.
• In order to ensure a smooth transition to a
more robust system as processing and storage needs grow, the baseline system must
be capable of facilitating additional processors, memory and storage hardware. This
increases the initial infrastructure investment substantially.
• As equipment ages, availability of upgraded and spare parts begin to
diminish due to changes in technology and industry standards. Over a server’s lifecycle,
adding more processors or memory may prove to be as costly and cumbersome as simply
purchasing a new server, readily equipped with the necessary capacity.
• If it is determined that a new server is required to handle the workload,
a company must also take into account the cost of technical labor necessary for
implementation. As complete reinstallation and reconfiguration of all software must
be performed, this cost is often greater than that of the actual hardware.
• While it is possible to design a scalable conventional network to handle
growth within acceptable margins, there is NO solution for cost recovery in cases
where down-sizing is necessary. Once hardware is purchased, it is part of a company’s
bottom line and can only be depreciated.
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In designing a virtual infrastructure, it is still necessary to
assess and weigh company growth patterns to determine the baseline hardware requirements.
However, because virtual servers can be easily migrated between physical servers,
a more conservative estimation can be made for the initial implementation. Once
requirements exceed the capacity of the baseline server, a new, more robust server
can be implemented and the virtual machines migrated within mere hours. An even
more beneficial option is to pool the resources of both the original and newly implemented
server, over which the virtual servers would float. This design would extend the
useful life of the original system and add a level of redundancy, greatly increasing
ROI.
• As it is not necessary to reinstall and reconfigure software running
on a virtual server being migrated, technical labor hours drop to a fraction of
what they would be in the conventional scenario.
• In a virtual environment, aging hardware can be gradually phased out.
The virtual system can be managed so that older servers are responsible for less
and less of the workload, until they have outlived their usefulness entirely.
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Scalability, in the VirtuWorks environment, is unlimited. Due to the flexibility of resources, an even more conservative estimation can be made for initial implementation. Growth projections can be assessed month-to-month, rather than in 2 to 3 year forecasts and resources adjusted instantaneously. This solves, not only, the dilemma of heightened out-of-pocket expense to ensure necessary capacity, but also that of down-sizing. If it is determined that a system is overly equipped for the workload, resources can be reduced, thus decreasing monthly cost. Over-investment and depreciation are of no concern for VirtuWorks customers.
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A good disaster recovery plan address aspects of both system resilience and reduced meantime to resolution from an unavoidable failure. However, the investment required in the implementation of redundant power equipment, storage volumes, servers and network devices forces companies to weigh the loss of business continuity against the cost of purchasing and maintaining such a system. While this is a basic cost-to-risk assessment, businesses often find either choice to have its draw-backs.
A company choosing Risk over Cost may find the loss of productivity due to a failure of equipment to be more costly than having invested in a fully redundant infrastructure.
A company choosing Cost over Risk may find the investment in additional infrastructure to be overkill, as the cash flow could have been better applied to stimulate growth.
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As discussed, developing a worth-while disaster recovery plan often leaves businesses with a difficult choice to make between business continuity and cost of implementation. Virtualization affects this decision by greatly reducing the time it takes in which to bring a system back online, after a catastrophic hardware failure. While facility and hardware fortification continue to be a major cost factor, the portability of virtual server instances coupled with a solid backup procedure ensure optimal meantime to resolution efficiency.
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VirtuWorks customers are relieved of disaster recovery woes entirely. Housed in the world-class NAP of the Americas, damage to hardware due to natural disaster, power fluctuations and unauthorized physical access is nearly impossible. Coupled with our fully redundant system infrastructure and virtual platform, our clientele can focus on their business, instead of the weather.
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Measuring the ROI of a client-side infrastructure, taking into account the initial investment, depreciation and Cost of Ownership, often reveals a rather dismal predicament. Businesses commonly find that money saved as a result of greater efficiency, made possible by a properly functioning network, is dumped directly back into the maintenance of that network, making the investment a wash. While this can be viewed simply as a cost of doing business, the reality is that a company’s network is a tool to be used in increasing revenue and profits. Failure to do so, from this perspective, firmly places the purchase and maintenance of a client-side infrastructure in the “bad investments” column.
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By reducing the cost of initial investment and minimizing Cost of Ownership and waste, virtualization increases ROI exponentially. Furthermore, because utilization can be measured and adjusted dynamically, companies can now manage their network to meet financial goals, rather than to adjust goals to compensate for IT spending.
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With the additional savings and manageability provided in a VirtuWorks environment, ROI is typically increased between 10% and 40%.
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