Common IT problems vs Virtualization Opportunities

Contents
            1. What is Virtualization
      2. Common IT problems vs Virtualization Opportunities
·         Low server resource utilization
·         Server Consolidation
·         Data center costs, space, power, cooling
·         Application, OS deployment
·         Back Up & Recovery
·         Server Refresh
·         Remote access and support
·         Hardware maintenance
·         Operating system license costs
·         Disaster Recovery
·         Test, Development, Training, QA
     3. The Power of the Platform

0.1. What is Virtualization?
·         A software abstraction that creates virtual hardware & maps it to physical hardware
·         Is completely transparent to guest OS and applications



0.2. Common IT problems vs Virtualization Opportunities
  •       Low server resource utilization
  •        Server Consolidation
  •        Data center costs, space, power, cooling
  •        Application, OS deployment
  •        Back Up & Recovery
  •        Server Refresh
  •        Remote access and support
  •        Hardware maintenance
  •        Operating system license costs
  •        Disaster Recovery
  •       Test, Development, Training, QA

1.       Low server resource utilization
·         Pre-virtualization server resource utilization rates are very low
o   Typically, one OS/application per server
o   Physical server average utilization: 3%-35%
o   Usually one critical resource
§  Other sub-systems mostly idle
·         Why 1 OS, application/server?
o   Political, administrative isolation
§  I own/manage my own server
o   Application, DLL isolation
o   Simplify backup, recovery, DR
o   Perception that PC servers are cheap to buy, license, run
2.       Server Consolidation
·       Many VM's/physical server
o   VMs compete for available host CPU, RAM, Disk, Network
o   VMs get needed resources
§  Not declared resources
§  Idling VMs may give up CPU, RAM
·         Ensures active VMs run well under CPU, memory over commit (i.e.:when vCPU count > physical core count)
§  Share network, storage bandwidth
o   Administrators can tune VMs
§  Weighted scheduling, memory management and disk I/O
§  Ensures critical VMs get resources  as needed
3.       Datacenter Issues
·       Problems
o   Power, cooling costs
o   Square foot costs
o   Out of rack space
§  Expensive to build out
o   Additional concerns
§  Networking costs
§  Shared SAN storage
§  Back up procedures, time, costs
§  Disaster Recovery
§  Administrator time
§  Config. consistency
·       Virtual Solutions
o   VM Consolidations:  5-50+ VMs ESXi host
§  Relieves rack space congestion
§  Reduces power, cooling costs
§  Leverages existing networking, storageresources (SANswitches)
§  Fewer physical servers to administer, back up, network, etc.
4.       OS, Application Imaging
·       Problems
o   Bare metal installs
§  Complex
·         Drivers, agents, etc.
§  Time consuming
§  Introduce needless variation, risk
o   Imaging solutions not universal
§  Tied to manufacturer, hardware components
·         Images may not help if maker changes hardware configuration
·         Virtual Solutions
o   VMs get generic hardware, not physical hardware
o   Easy to create VM master images
§  Clones, Templates
§  Copy & customize...
§  Easy to create a VM
§  Easy to maintain
§  Not tied to hardware
§  Easy to change H/W Image Library vendors
5.       Back Up & Recovery
·         Problems
o   Backup tools are expensive, complex
§  Backup, recovery, application, open file agents
o   Speed limited by  network bandwidth
§  Limited back up windows
o   Virtual networking not as fast as physical networking
·         Virtual Solutions
o   Most LAN backup tools are supported
§  File system back ups
o   VM snapshots
§  Data synchronized
§  Disk image backup
o   Data Recovery
§  VM back up, recovery
§  Guest OS File level recovery capability
§  Virtual appliance
6.       Server Refresh
·         Problems
o   PC servers have a short life span
§  3-5 yrs depending on available maintenance support contracts
o   OS, application migrations are time consuming, risky
§  Workload down during migration
§  Done off hours
§  Hard to do remotely
§  Inherently risky
·         Virtual Solution
o   Virtual hardware
§  VM H/W is independent of physical hardware
o   Easy to migrate VMs to another ESXi host
§  Hot, cold VM migration
·         Limits down time
§   4 simple steps...
·         Provision new server
·         Install ESXi, join cluster
·         Migrate VMs to new host
·         Shut down, wipe server
§  Can be performed remotely
7.       Hardware Maintenance
·         Problems
o   HW maintenance requires down time
§  Short maintenance windows
·         Weekend vendor support is costly
·         Must be on site
§  7x24 4hr response
·         Expensive
·         Often no guarantee of a fix within 4hr window
·         Without top tier contract hardware issues may keep a server down for days
·         Virtual Solutions
o   To perform H/W  tasks on ESXi host
§  Evacuate ESXi host of Virtual Machines
·         VMotion, cold migrate VMs to other ESXi hosts
o   Patch, upgrade, repair, reconfigure host
§  No VM down time during maintenance
§  If ESXi capacity permits, maintenance can be one during production hours
8.       Windows Server VM Licensing
·         Problems
o   Windows 2003, 2008, 2012 Server licenses are expensive
§  Host licenses, CALs
§  May have to buy more expensive editions for needed features
·         E.g. Microsoft Cluster Services not available on Windows Server Standard Editions
·         Solution
o   Windows 2k3, 2k8/R2 Enterprise, Datacenter  VM friendly pricing
§  Enterprise – 4 VM at  no additional charge
§  Datacenter – unlimited VMs at no additional charge
o   Check your
§  License agreement for entitled instance count
§  Volume purchase agreements
o   http://splashurl.com/oczqzc6
9.       Disaster Recovery
·         Problems
o   Ensure business continuity
o   Replication is costly
§  Duplicate all HW, SW at remote site
o   Complex
§  DR procedures must be tested, reviewed, refined, retested
o   Risky
§  Failure of DR plan puts business at extreme risk
·         Virtual Solutions
o   SAN Replication
§  Shadow SAN LUNS to DR site
§  ESXi host(s) at DR site set to run VMs
o   vSphere Replication
§  Duplicates VMs  across LAN/WAN to secondary site
§  Keeps VMs in sync by replicating disk updates
§  Included in many vSphere licenses
10.   Test, Development & QA
·         Problems
o   Development, test  environments don't match production environment
§  Too costly to deploy an exact match
§  Differences introduce variation, risk
·         Hard to validate changes, test software, catch errors if production, test/development environments differ
·         Virtual Solutions
o   Clone production VMs
§  Clone - Exact copy of original VM
§  Test changes on clone
·         Configuration changes
·         OS patches
·         Application upgrades
·         Validate procedures
§  VM snapshots let you back out of changes
·         Saves VM state
·         No need to re-image if problems encountered
o   Revert back to original
o   Try again!
11.   The Power of the Platform




By IT Operations-Wiki on Monday, 30 December 2013 |
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