New ways to save on virtualization
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(InfoWorld) - In 2006, many enterprise IT groups saw the potential in virtualization, rushed to consolidate servers and subsequently propelledÂ VMwareÂ software to a market-leading spot. As 2007 begins, VMware's prices are under attack, just as more CIOs look to virtualization to control server and storage sprawl and tame data center power costs. For starters, VMware rivals XenSource and Virtual Iron Software have launched new open-source alternatives, undercutting VMware on price. Also, new processors, such as IBM's Power 5 and upcoming Power 6 chips, and new operating systems have virtualization capabilities built in, negating the need for some additional software, says Clay Ryder, president of The Sageza Group. Sun Microsystems' Solaris 10 OS includes a virtualization feature it calls Containers. MicrosoftÂ is expected to release a beta version of Windows Virtual Server in the first quarter of 2007 and ship it a year later. That's good news: As virtualization features become part of the hardware or the OS, software providers will have to offer useful extra features, Ryder says, such as automated new software testing or security patch management. Virtual Iron introduced Version 3.1Â of its virtualization platform in December for a license price of $499 per socket--compared to $2,875 per socket for a comparable VMware license. XenSource also introduced new virtualization products at sub-$1,000 prices. Both XenSource and Virtual Iron build their proprietary products on top of the open-source Xen platform for virtualization hypervisors. (A hypervisor lets a computer run multiple operating systems at once.) VMware's products are not based on open source. Meanwhile, middleware vendor BEA Systems is making its own cost-cutting move. In the first half of 2007,Â BEA plans to releaseÂ WebLogic Server Virtual Edition (WLS-VE), a version of its Java application server that includes Liquid VM--a BEA-specific Java Virtual Machine that lets Java applications run directly on a hypervisor without requiring an operating system to be present. This will let users substantially reduce the amount of computer power, lowering the hardware costs per application, says Guy Churchward, vice president and general manager of the Java Runtime Products Group at BEA Systems. Initially, Liquid VM will work only with VMware's ESX Server hypervisor. Analysts advise CIOs planning for virtualization in 2007 to think strategically, not just tactically. "To really make virtualization work you want to do it so end users access capability, not just specific machines," Ryder says. "That's only going to be possible if you take a strategic approach," he says, noting that virtualization needs to be applied to storage, networking and the introduction of new software, not just servers. Mike Williams, CIO for the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), learned a lesson about thinking strategically when he did a virtualization project in 2006. (The DCMA, a federal Department of Defense agency, places contract managers inside companies fulfilling defense contracts for weapons systems, jets, military equipment and parts.) Williams deployed VMware, reducing the agency's number of servers to 160 from 560 and the number of data centers to three from 17. But that move taxed the WAN when all the network traffic converged on the three data centers. His advice: Optimize the WAN first. Still, Williams likes the results. Before virtualization, DCMA replaced about one-third of its 560 servers annually at a cost of about $2 million, Williams says; virtualization cut that expense to $560,000.
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SERI KEMBANGAN: Most company networks run a mix of old and new systems, and so-called virtual machine software can help when migrating from one to the other.
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(InfoWorld) - Hewlett-Packard is upgrading its virtualization software offerings to help data center managers better manage their virtual environments, while VMware is offering a virtualization capability for Web hosting companies. HP on Wednesday announced enhancements to its HP Virtual Server Environment software for its Integrity line of servers, which creates a pool of virtual servers that can expand and contract depending on capacity needs. Virtualization refers to the practice of running multiple software applications on one physical server to enhance utilization. Previously, most servers were dedicated to running only one application, but that kept utilization rates as low as 15 to 20 percent. Virtualization increases server utilization, thus reducing the need to buy, power, cool, and manage additional servers. HP also offers a specific software tool, Integrity Essentials Capacity Advisor, for easing the migration of data from Sun servers to HP servers. Although virtualization improves server utilization, it requires different management tools than a nonvirtual environment. HP says the Integrity Essentials Global Workload Manager, another feature of Virtual Server Environment, specifies which computer workloads can automatically access available capacity in order to maintain service level agreements for key applications. The company also announced a new Partner Virtualization Program, which allows ISVs to test how their software will work in an HP virtualization environment. Testing and fine-tuning can be done for virtualization using HP ProLiant and Integrity servers and with a number of operating systems, including HP-Unix, Windows Microsoft, and Novell and Red Hat Linux. The Virtual Server Environment also works with VMware virtualization software. Meanwhile, VMware announced Wednesday the launch of its VMware Service Provider Program, which allows Web hosting services, telecommunications companies, and other outsourcing businesses to include virtual infrastructure as a service offering. Traditional hosting services use dedicated servers for each client, but virtualization makes it possible to run multiple virtual servers, even for different clients, on one physical server. The Web hosting company can then bill clients monthly based on how many virtual machines they use, not physical ones, VMware said.
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In a move to compete against XenSource and Virtual Iron, VMware on Monday announced a new bundle of virtualization tools for small companies. The new set of tools is designed to provide SMBs using the free VMware Server with an easy and cost-effective way to manage it. For $1,500, SMBs can get a bundle that includes the VMware Server platform with the VirtualCenter management tool.
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I can imagine the mass deployment of virtualized storage controllers. The heyday of RAID controllers is coming to an end. It has me thinking about the mass consumption of virtualization, which leads me to another thought: the mass deployment of embedded virtualized processes.
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LIVE WEBCAST(Source: Network Appliance) Join us for a live Webcast as a panel of industry experts discusses ways to consolidate IT infrastructures while increasing utilization, lowering application management costs, increasing uptime, and reducing backup windows. The panel will also evaluate virtualization solutions and discuss what it takes to deploy them.
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This paper introduces some techniques for making backups without needing to stop the business applications. It also describes ways to simplify and reduce the cost of system operations.
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InfoWorld - While many IT shops see virtualization as a question of adopting EMC&#39;s VMware on servers running Windows or Linux, Nationwide Insurance has adopted the technology for both x86-based and mainframe-hosted servers. After all, notes Buzz Woeckener, the company&#39;s zLinux/Unix server manager, virtualization was invented for mainframes.
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If large businesses use tools such as Microsoft's Solution Accelerator Business Desktop Deployment package (assuming it's easier to use than it is to say), the administrative "best practices" those tools will help them adopt could save them somewhat more per PC than what they spent for the license, according to a Gartner study advanced by a Microsoft product manager who spoke with BetaNews.
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New virtualization technique may mean fewer physical servers are needed, study says.
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Virtualization software is ideal for trying out new software--and keeping your real PC clean.
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The latest version of the server includes built-in virtualization technology.
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(InfoWorld) - As large enterprises embrace the concept of virtualization to more efficiently manage their information technology systems, vendors are now targeting the small-to-medium size market. VMwareÂ on Monday is introducing a new low-cost service plan to give small-to-medium businesses (SMB) a taste of what virtualization can do for them. It's entry level bundle includes a free download of the VMware Server software for virtualizing servers and a $1,500 support plan called Virtual Center. Although less than the $5,000 support program for enterprise customers, the $1,500 support plan is limited to three two-socket physical servers that could be converted into multiple virtual servers. If an SMB customer wants to virtualize more servers, the support would cost an extra $400 for each extra server. Virtualization refers to the practice of managing a data center holistically to make the best use of the hardware available, reduce the capital cost of new servers and the operational cost of electricity to run them. Virtualization software like VMware Server makes it possible for one server to run multiple software applications at the same time. VMware sees growth potential in the SMB market, given that 70 percent of 1.2 million downloads of the free VMware Server software since June 2006 have been to SMB customers, said Ben Matheson, vice president of product management for VMware, a division of storage vendor EMC. He defines small-to-medium businesses as those with fewer than 1,000 employees or an average of 100 physical servers in their businesses. "There is a lot of market awareness of the value of virtualization in the enterprise...but we think it's useful for all companies," said Matheson. He anticipates many of the SMBs downloading the free VMware Server are just taking virtualization out for a test drive. "There are definitely a lot of trials, getting it into their labs and using things like virtual appliances and testing them. But there is also quite a bit of production use," he said. Server vendors have also been making overtures to the SMB market. Hewlett-Packard began offeringÂ a Virtualization Assessment Service on Feb. 1 to analyze an IT infrastructure to see how it might benefit from virtualization. The service is being offered through HP's resellers who typically serve its SMB customers, while HP's own sales and engineering force tends to large enterprise customers. IBM even calls its initiative a "Virtualization Test Drive." IBM launched in 2006 a virtualization education and sales initiative targeted at SMBs. IBM said that more than 65 percent of their virtualization sales are driven by IBM partners targeting SMBs.
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(Source: Network Appliance)  This paper takes a look at using data virtualization to provide end-to-end data reduction efficiencies. It features three user case studies on how users were able to have a significant impact on bottom-line expenses through data virtualization, as they relate to the storage acquisition and ongoing data storage management costs.
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Both VMWare and Parallels update their virtualization software.
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TechWeb - Look for SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 applications to run as a virtualized guest on Longhorn, for starters.
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The software company is now looking to the red-hot virtualization market.