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Mon, May 19, 2008 13:28 EDT
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Posted by: JerryMelnick in Best Practices Topic: Infrastructure
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As demand rises for IT managers and C-level executives to embrace virtualization, we thought it would be worthwhile to share our insights into adopting server virtualization.
The tips below are designed to help companies determine if server virtualization is right for them and how they should prepare to ensure a successful initial implementation.
Tip #1 – Make the business case for server virtualization
Before implementing server virtualization, IT executives should assess whether the technology will provide a reasonable return on investment. They should first take a look at how they are using servers today and ask themselves:
• Do they have common applications running on a number of different servers?
• Do they have enough servers that could and should be consolidated? Is the number of applications increasing and the capacity required for the applications continuing to expand?
• Do they expect the number of servers they have to buy each year to increase? If so, by how much?
• Is the business planning to undertake other large-scale technology implementations, and if so, how will this fit with a possible virtualization development?
In short, the IT department has to make a strong business case and justify the virtualization investment to ensure executive management support. To help conduct a quick assessment, ROI calculators are available from VMware and Marathon. Marathon also has a webinar available with John Humphreys, Program Vice President, Virtualization Software for IDC, “Making the Business Case for Server Virtualization,” in which John provides essential guidance in making your business case.
Tip #2 – Consider the license and support implications
IT managers need investigate what, if any, impact virtualization will have on their application licenses and support. Depending on the application, the original licensing terms and conditions may no longer apply after the applications have been migrated to the virtualized environment. In addition, it may be that the providers of some of the software applications do not support virtualization systems, and are unwilling to offer technical support for the applications after the migration to a virtualized environment.
Tip #3 – Afford to spend the time to plan
As any IT professional knows, implementing a new system requires dedicated resources, budget and time. Industry experts have estimated that the planning stage constitutes 90% of a virtualization implementation project. The actual migration is relatively simple to undertake provided that the implementation has been well-planned. Any system information to be migrated should be collated and backed-up up to six months before the start of the migration. IT managers should remember to assess how much hardware each virtual machine needs in order to operate efficiently. They also need to ensure that the number of virtual environments residing in a single hardware does not sprawl out of control - this could have serious consequences on the stability of the environment and application availability. A thorough implementation plan will help businesses minimize any hiccups that might arise.
Tip #4 – Assess levels of application availability and risk to business continuity
Despite the many benefits of virtualization, businesses are beginning to realize that there are risks associated with the technology. While virtualization is useful for protecting applications from planned downtime, protecting virtual environments from unplanned downtime is a different matter. Today, the cost of just a few minutes of unplanned downtime can be hugely detrimental and with virtual environments the risk is greater because server consolidation often results in a single point of failure for multiple applications. Businesses should therefore consider a solution that combines virtualization technology with the high availability protection necessary to keep the business going through disruptions.
Tip #5 – Demonstrate that virtualization won’t impact end users
After the implementation, it is critical to demonstrate
This is an interesting coincidence: I just posted a blog on the security risks of virtualization and I think you should not leave them out in your recommendation
Security Risks of Virtualization
Roger Halbheer
Chief Security Advisor EMEA
Microsoft Corporation
Hello,
In response to this intriguing topic, which I previously recorded a Podcast on, I have a few comments I wanted to add to the conversation:
•Tip #1: In the context of justifying the investment, it is also important not to lose sight of the drivers that make an IT organization look at server virtualization in the first place. Cost take-out is a natural one, but it too easily overshadows benefits like time-to-market, improved application release and testing etc, that are traditionally more difficult to quantify, but can be critical in getting executive buy-in; these talk directly about IT’s ability to better serve the business, not only improve its own internal operation.
•Tip #3: as part of the plan, one should also keep in mind that virtual servers typically require adjustments to how the IT environment is supported. While this is often an afterthought when starting small (as you rightly conclude), scaling a virtual server environment to the enterprise typically requires skilled staff, updated operational processes, and changes to existing tools like your Configuration Management Database (CMDB). It’s better to plan early.
•Tip #5: excellent point, as there is nothing that can doom future virtualization initiatives as fast as having users go through a bad first experience. For example, as I discussed in another Podcast on virtual desktops, it will be extremely difficult to introduce a much more user-facing virtualization technology like virtual desktops, if users are already wary of virtual servers.
Thanks again for the opportunity to add some insight on this fascinating topic.
Regards,
Laurent Mandorla
www.bearingpoint.com
The links in my above comment don't seem to be working, so if you'd like to listen to either of my BearingPoint podcasts about virtualization, they are included below:
Virtualization Management: The Buzz and the Benefits
Virtual Desktops?The Wave of the Future?
Regards,
Laurent Mandorla