Reasons for Server Virtualisation

The ability to user server virtualisation technology has been around in the IT industry for over a decade now, however for a lot of people this is still viewed as a relatively new technology.  It could be argued that for most technicians who have been involved in server virtualisation, its viewed as a technology that they would now not want to live without and indeed for many there is the opinion that there is no going back to a completely physical world. This article will list 5 great reasons for using a server virtualisation for your computing environment. Each of these reasons should offer you some reasons for taking the opportunity and explain why server virtualisation can make your life and the company more efficient and while reducing the cost of running your computing environment.

Server provisioning

In a physical environment, provisioning a new server can take quite some time, it has to be sourced from a supplier, delivered, un-boxed, physically installed to a comms cabinet, cabled then set up in the traditional manner.  Using server virtualisation means a new server can be provisioned at a moment’s notice without the need to wait on a physical box to be shipped then installed to a comms cabinet.   Some virtualisation technologies will also allow you to clone an existing server making provisioning a much easier and quicker process.

Saving on energy usage

Having your servers in a virtual environment means you will consolidate them into fewer physical servers meaning lowering the requirements for power and cooling.  This has the obvious benefits of lower power bills and can also be used as a way of showing your company’s commitment to the environment.

Reduce the chanced of hardware “lock-in”

Server virtualisation makes the underlying hardware use much more abstract – there is no requirement to use the same hardware vendor when it comes to ordering new kit and provides you with much more flexibility when sourcing hardware.  This is not so say that being tied down to a particular vendor is necessarily a bad thing, however using server virtualisation simply gives you more choice and freedom if that is indeed required.

Improved disaster recovery options

There are three main factors that mean server virtualisation can improve disaster recovery scenarios.  1) As described previously, virtualisation makes hardware choices much more abstract which removes the dependency on using a particular hardware vendor which means any disaster recovery site does not need to match the production environment. 2) By consolidating your server environment down to fewer physical server machines, this will allow you to create and affordable replication site.  3) Most server virtualisation platforms will have features that can assist with automation of server failover when a disaster does occur.  These same features can also assist with testing disaster recovery failover.

Assist with moving things to the cloud

As the public cloud and the technology behind it advances and matures and you become more comfortable with the thought of moving data into a cloud hosting facility, having a virtual server environment should give you a head start and make you and your organisation better prepared for such a migration.

Summary

In summary, moving your servers to a virtual environment can save you time, money and provide you with greater robustness in regards to disaster recovery.  It will allow you to free yourself from any hardware lock-ins and ultimately give you more freedom when it comes to purchasing IT kit.  It can save your company money with reduced power bills and allow you to show your company’s environmental credentials.  Server virtualisation technology will only improve in future and having your servers configured in this way now will allow you to take advantage of this technology going forward.   Server virtualization provides efficiencies and capabilities which are simply not possible when constrained within a physical server world and has been a game-changing technology for IT and IT support. There are no great reasons to remain idle and simply watch from the side-lines whilst others take advantage with the technology we have available today