Pitching virtualization: Benefits go far beyond cost cutting

Madison, Wis. - One would be hard pressed to think of organizations that haven't embarked on some sort of consolidation effort to cut costs, but until recently virtualization wasn't part of the consolidation package.

Yet by automating network infrastructure through virtualization, which is a way to pool together physical resources into a more efficient virtual environment, information technology providers are helping business organizations improve network manageability in a consolidated data-center environment.

The word “decoupling” is found in definitions of virtualization because the technology employs virtual servers and operating systems to run side-by-side, decoupling physical hardware from the machine and the OS. Virtualization could involve taking a single physical component - a server, operating system, application, or storage device - and make it function as multiple resources, or it could involve taking multiple pieces and make them appear as a single entity.

In effect, a virtual architecture is created, moving the computing workload that sits on physical servers to a smaller number of virtual servers, which allows IT departments to leverage their storage, network, and other computing resources to control costs, simplify deployment, and respond faster to business needs.

Cost redux

Virtualization also has been touted as a remedy for excess (i.e. unused) server capacity.

Scott Severson, director of systems and storage for CDW Berbee, said virtualization lowers the cost of server infrastructure because in a non-virtual environment, organizations have a lot of excess (wasted) processor capacity on multiple servers. When these applications are moved to either a single server or a few servers in a virtual environment, not only are many servers eliminated, but the remaining server(s) use their processing capacity to the fullest.

“If you optimize the virtualized server environment, you eliminate a lot of this excess capacity,” Severson noted. “Eliminate excess capacity (servers), and you eliminate cost.”

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