Server virtualisation is a proven technology that enables multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical server.
At Dotomize, our information technology consultancy & IT Support Services our team of highly experienced engineers are amongst the leading exponents of virtualisation strategies. These diverse strategies are characterised as follows:
Server Virtualisation
Server Virtualisation enables different operating systems and applications to run, in safety and isolation, concurrently on the same physical hardware. The virtualisation software layer (ESX Server, Citrix Xen Server) allows operating systems and applications to be consolidated and run on a mix of hardware, and to move operating virtual servers between host physical servers on-the-fly. The virtual servers can be managed as if hosted on a single, standardised hardware platform.
Running fewer physical machines means that virtualisation reduces an organisation’s costs not only in terms of capital expenditure but also on-going maintenance costs. With green IT becoming increasingly high-profile, virtualising your environment reduces energy costs and lowers your organisation’s carbon footprint. The ability to reduce what historically would take racks and racks of space, valuable real estate and power consumption is a key driver for virtualisation benefitting all organisations. Also, as virtualised platforms are scalable, the capabilities of your IT infrastructure are able to grow in line with your business objectives with more ease.
Storage Virtualisation
Virtualisation is the process of pooling physical storage from multiple devices into what appears to be a device, which can then be managed from a central console. Storage virtualisation is commonly used in Storage Area Networks (SANs). Storage virtualisation helps the administrator perform backups, archiving, and recovery more easily, and efficiently, by disguising the actual complexity of the SAN.
Desktop Virtualisation
Desktop Virtualisation allows hosting of multiple virtual desktop environments on a single server. Essentially this allows users access to their desktops remotely through a thin client application such as Citrix/VMware’s VDI technologies.
Application Virtualisation: Application virtualisation is the practice of running software from a remote server rather than on the user’s computer. This offers considerable flexibility in terms of software deployment on the desktop because the application need not be installed locally, but can be accessed and run using the servers resources.
Benefits
A virtualised platform is highly scalable, meaning that adding additional virtual servers as your company grows does not incur the same project, labour or capital costs as adding additional physical servers. In addition, organisations that deploy a virtualised environment will also reduce their energy consumption (and thereby reduce their carbon footprint) and improve the effectiveness of their disaster recovery plan.
- Consolidation – Utilise less space, less power, less hardware to operate the same or larger application environment
- Cost control – Reduce capital costs and management costs through less hardware and reduced infrastructure administration
- Efficiency – Deliver applications in a highly efficient and scalable way
- Resilience – Leverage inherent benefits of virtualisation including high availability and business continuity
- Green IT – Improve energy efficiency and reduce your carbon footprint
- Scalability – A virtualised infrastructure that can grow as your business does
- Flexibility – Leverage Server virtualization technologies such as hot backups, high availability, live migrations and many more