Today, virtualization and cloud computing technologies are changing the landscape of computing technology. To take advantage of this technology wave, enterprises need to virtualize the existing physical servers, storage, networks and other equipment that make up their current infrastructure.
If you are looking for ways to improve your physical data center, virtualization may provide the answer you are looking for. People can get more information about data center virtualization and learn about eight major benefits of virtualized data centers.
1. Speed up redeployment
When one of the physical servers in the data center fails, the redeployment time depends on a variety of factors. The enterprise needs a spare machine to be available and have a current and valid image for recovery of the server. Virtualization reduces these issues by using virtual machine snapshots to redeploy servers with little to no downtime and thus no user impact.
2. Better backup
In addition to traditional virtual server backup, enterprises can also create snapshots and backups of all virtual machines. Snapshots can be taken periodically throughout the day to deploy the current image on other servers. Snapshots start machines faster than backups, minimizing downtime.
3. Better testing
Virtual environments provide a good testing platform for new servers and applications. When a test goes wrong, reverting a snapshot to an older version is quick and easy. Enterprises can also easily create testing environments that are isolated from end-user access.
4. Improve disaster recovery
Snapshots of current servers and virtual machines can simplify the disaster recovery process. By including backups (in the case of the enterprise's network addressing scheme), enterprises can recreate the data center in any virtual environment. Even the data center hosting the virtual machine itself can suffer failures and disasters, so enterprises need to obtain more robust disaster recovery. capabilities and ensure the business continues to operate.
5. Eliminate vendor lock-in
As new technologies emerge, this brings possibilities for the abstraction between hardware and software inherent in virtualization. Enterprise virtual environments can take advantage of the flexibility of using new hardware or software platforms.
6. Single-Purpose Servers
Virtualization will reduce costs by eliminating the need to house multiple applications on a single physical server. Today, a company's email, Web and database servers can all run independently on their own virtual servers. This will result in more reliable functionality throughout the organization.
7. Easier Migration to the Cloud
Businesses using virtual machines instead of physical servers can take a big step toward creating a complete cloud computing environment. Virtual machines can be used to create cloud-based infrastructure, and eventually everything is moved to cloud infrastructure. By using the implementation of this virtualization technology, businesses can access all connected devices in the cloud.
8. Environmental and Economic Benefits
Through virtualization, enterprises can take advantage of the economies of scale provided by data centers and use fewer servers. This will significantly reduce the costs associated with cooling and power usage, reducing the carbon footprint and making the business more attractive to environmentally friendly consumers. It also reduces hardware costs. Taken together, these factors make virtualization a real cost-saving measure for enterprises.
With all the advantages virtualization offers, enterprises need to start migrating their data center operations to virtual spaces. The first step to a good start is to use port virtualization technology. An enterprise may first want to virtualize a few servers, and after realizing the benefits, the enterprise may be on the road to full virtualization of the data center.