Server, Desktop, Network, Storage and Application Virtualization
Server Virtualization
Server virtualization is performed on a given hardware platform by host software (a control program), which creates a simulated computer environment, a virtual machine, for its guest software. The guest software, which is often itself a complete operating system, runs just as if it were installed on a stand-alone hardware platform. Typically, many such virtual machines are simulated on a single physical machine, their number limited only by the host’s hardware resources. Typically there is no requirement for a guest OS to be the same as the host one. The guest system often requires access to specific peripheral devices to function, so the simulation must support the guest's interfaces to those devices. Trivial examples of such devices are hard disk drive or network interface card.
Benefits of Server Virtualization
- Virtual machines are used to consolidate many physical servers into fewer servers, which in turn host virtual machines. Each physical server is reflected as a virtual machine "guest" residing on a virtual machine host system. This is also known as Physical-to-Virtual or 'P2V' transformation.
- Virtual machines can be used in disaster recovery as "hot standby" environments for physical production servers. This changes the classical "backup-and-restore" philosophy, by providing backup images that can "boot" into live virtual machines, capable of taking over workload for a production server experiencing an outage.
- Hardware virtualization can give root access to a virtual machine. This can be very useful such as in testing changes in kernel development and for teaching operating system courses.
- A virtual environment can be easily managed from a single interface
- Scaling of the environment becomes less complex.
Desktop Virtualization
Installing and maintaining separate PC workstations is complex, and traditionally users have almost unlimited ability to install or remove software. Corporate information technology departments, and users have therefore often used Terminal Services or Citrix's Presentation Server to provide a stable, "locked down" desktop environment out to the user, who could be either using a regular desktop PC, or a small, quiet and robust thin client.
Benefits of Desktop Virtualization
- Instant provisioning of new desktops
- Near-zero downtime in the event of hardware failures
- Significant reduction in the cost of new application deployment
- Robust desktop image management capabilities
- Normal 2-3 year PC refresh cycle extended to 5-6 years or more
- Existing desktop-like performance including multiple monitors, bi-directional audio/video, streaming video, USB support etc.
- Ability to access the users' enterprise desktop environment from any PC, (including the employee's home PC)
- Desktop computing power on demand
- Multiple desktops on demand
- Self provisioning of desktops (controlled by policies)
- Zero downtime in the event of client failure
Network Virtualization
Network virtualization is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization.
Network virtualization is categorized as either external, combining many networks, or parts of networks, into a virtual unit, or internal, providing network-like functionality to the software containers on a single system. Whether virtualization is internal or external depends on the implementation provided by vendors that support the technology.
Storage Virtualization
Virtualization of storage helps achieve location independence by abstracting the physical location of the data. The Virtualization system presents to the user a logical space for data storage and itself handles the process of mapping it to the actual physical location.
Benefits of Storage Virtualization
- No additional hardware or infrastructure requirements
- Simple to design and code
- Supports any storage type
- Improves storage utilization without thin provisioning restrictions
Application Virtualization
Application virtualization requires a virtualization layer. This layer must be installed on a machine to intercept all file and Registry operations of virtualized applications and transparently redirect these operations into a virtualized location. The application performing the file operations never knows that it's not accessing the physical resource it believes it is.
Benefits of Application Virtualization
- Allows applications to run in environments that do not suit the native application (e.g. Wine allows Microsoft Windows applications to run on Linux).
- May protect the operating system and other applications from poorly written or buggy code.
- Uses fewer resources than a separate virtual machine.
- Run applications that are not written correctly, for example applications that try to store user data in a read-only system-owned location.
- Run incompatible applications side-by-side, at the same time and with minimal regression testing against one another.
- Maintain a standard configuration in the underlying operating system across multiple computers in an organization, regardless of the applications being used, thereby keeping costs down.
- Implement the security principle of least privilege by removing the requirement for end-users to have Administrator privileges in order to run poorly written applications.
- Simplified operating system migrations.
- Accelerated application deployment, through on-demand application streaming.
- Improved security, by isolating applications from the operating system.
Hardware consolidation
Is your server room running out of space?
Kinkora Solutions provides valuable recommendations on where and how to use virtualization technology to consolidate your environment. Our customers have seen a reduced over all operational cost of their IT infrastructure.
