Virtualization?
About
What is Virtualization?
Create a software-based—or virtual—representation of applications, servers, storage and networks to reduce IT expenses while boosting efficiency and agility.Virtualization can increase IT agility, flexibility and scalability while creating significant cost savings.
Benefits
Benefits of Virtualization
Increased IT productivity, efficiency, agility and responsiveness.
Faster provisioning of applications and resources.
Availability of a true Software-Defined Data Center.
Greater business continuity and disaster recovery.
Reduced capital and operating costs.
Simplified data center management.
Process
HOW VIRTUALIZATION WORKS
Virtualization 101
Due to the limitations of x86 servers, many IT organizations must deploy multiple servers, each operating at a fraction of their capacity, to keep pace with today’s high storage and processing demands. The result: huge inefficiencies and excessive operating costs.
Enter virtualization. Virtualization relies on software to simulate hardware functionality and create a virtual computer system. This enables IT organizations to run more than one virtual system – and multiple operating systems and applications – on a single server. The resulting benefits include economies of scale and greater efficiency.
Virtual Machines Explained
A virtual computer system is known as a “virtual machine” (VM): a tightly isolated software container with an operating system and application inside. Each self-contained VM is completely independent. Putting multiple VMs on a single computer enables several operating systems and applications to run on just one physical server, or “host.”
A thin layer of software called a “hypervisor” decouples the virtual machines from the host and dynamically allocates computing resources to each virtual machine as needed.
Key Properties of Virtual Machines
Partitioning
Isolation
Encapsulation
Hardware Independence
Benefits
Benefits of Virtualization
Server Virtualization
Server virtualization enables multiple operating systems to run on a single physical server as highly efficient virtual machines. Key benefits include:
Greater IT efficiencies
Reduced operating costs
Faster workload deployment
Increased application performance
Higher server availability
Eliminated server sprawl and complexity
Minimized or eliminated downtime.
Network Virtualization By completely reproducing a physical network, network virtualization allows applications to run on a virtual network as if they were running on a physical network — but with greater operational benefits and all the hardware independencies of virtualization. (Network virtualization presents logical networking devices and services — logical ports, switches, routers, firewalls, load balancers, VPNs and more — to connected workloads.)
Increased IT productivity, efficiency, agility and responsiveness.
Desktop Virtualization Deploying desktops as a managed service enables IT organizations to respond faster to changing workplace needs and emerging opportunities. Virtualized desktops and applications can also be quickly and easily delivered to branch offices, outsourced and offshore employees, and mobile workers using iPad and Android tablets.
Faster provisioning of applications and resources.
Virtualization vs. Cloud Computing Although equally buzz-worthy technologies, virtualization and cloud computing are not interchangeable. Virtualization is software that makes computing environments independent of physical infrastructure, while cloud computing is a service that delivers shared computing resources (software and/or data) on demand via the Internet.