Virtualization

Virtualization is one of the key technologies that allows establishing and exploiting controlled, reliable, safe and the most efficient IT-infrastructure. As its possibilities grow the enterprise can be viewed as completely dynamic where IT-technologies will flexibly and quickly respond to any business changes. And it is no need waiting for tomorrow. Take a look at the VMware possibilities concerning making dynamic IT-infrastructure right now.

What is virtualization?
Virtualization is ten years experienced program technology that will essentially change the whole IT industry and fundamental basis of computer infrastructure. Modern computers ×86 working within AMD, Apple, Intel architectures from the beginning were made for launching of only one operational system and few applications. Today virtualization takes away these restrictions allowing to launch several operational systems and plenty of applications simultaneously on one computer increasing utilization and flexibility of servers and PC use. Virtualization can be used everywhere starting from PC to corporative data processing center at the same time saving time, money, electric power and increasing efficiency of the new and existing equipment use.
Virtualization base is a Hypervisor technology installing onto “naked” hardware and permitting to launch at the same time the guest operational systems and applications. Hypervisor was the first VMware product issued in 1998. However, hypervisor is only a base of virtual structure construction whereas other VMware technologies, first of all VMotion and Storage Vmotion, enabling remove imperceptibly for user the working virtual machines without session loss from one physical server to another and also between storage systems, in such a way giving opportunity to make completely dynamical, fault-resistant, adaptive infrastructure.

VMware technologies: present and future
Yesterday corporative IT-infrastructure operated with physical resources being completely based on PC, servers, storage systems, network equipment… Virtualization technologies were mainly used for solving server depot consolidation task on hypervisor base. Today our clients use virtualization to produce the only one computational resource pool with centralized control system, mainframe reliability level, possibility of quick and flexible resources manipulation without binding to hardware characteristics in the context of dynamic IT-infrastructure. It allows to solve equipment loading tasks, provide applications high accessibility, quick failure recovery and common disaster-resistance. The nearest future will lead us to dynamically scalable, easily adaptable and automatically controlled systems needed by administrators and computing resources users of data processing centers and PC in the context of intellectual IT-infrastructure. It will give opportunity to react quickly and efficiently to any business changes, automatically adjusting IT-infrastructure to the new requirements and business processes. Today any IT department that does not use virtualization loosing its company’s money. This happens because of following key reasons:

Low equipment loading. All the servers in the world are used only at 10% of their computing power on average. This does mean that 90% costs being wasted. Virtualization permits to increase this figure to 50-70%
Equipment outage. When physical computer is stopped to be repaired, this does take a lot of time and effort of IT team to remove applications manually to free capacity. Virtualization can make it automatically and insensibly even for active users.
Uncontrolled power consumption. When using traditional approach to provide reliable work of dramatically important applications usually one application works on one physical server. Taking into consideration low average server loading this does lead to huge expenses to premises, ventilation, cooling and electrification. Virtualization allows decreasing power expenses due to automated system of switching on and off necessary infrastructure elements. This does save money.

VMware solutions for enterprise virtual infrastructure construction and management

Virtualization Platform – VMware Virtual Infrastructure
Enterprise IT-infrastructure virtualization platform is VMware Virtual Infrastructure solution. It can be applied to the whole technical range – starting from the desktop to data processing center. At the moment VMware Infrastructure is the only one virtualization solution suitable for industrial exploitation. It is successfully used by more than 20 000 corporative users – all sizes companies working with the most diversified hardware and applications. The package is fully updated, thoroughly tested and certified to work with the wide range of equipment, operational systems and software. VMware Infrastructure has installed devices for management, resources update, applications high reliability providing and processes automating. These devices allow to reduce active expenses, raise exploitation efficiency, flexibility and service level.

More information on: http://www.vmware.com/products/vi/

VMware Main Components

Virtual Infrastructure
VMware ESX Server
VMware ESX Server is the base of dynamic virtual IT-infrastructure, so called hypervisor. VMware ESX Server represents reliable, approved virtualization level dividing processor resources, memory, storages and network into several virtual machines. ESX Server increases equipment employment efficiency and greatly reduces main and exploitation expenses due to dividing hardware resources among multiple virtual machines. ESX Server improves service levels (SLA) even for the most resources capacious applications due to scaled managerial devices, accessibility providing and security.

VMware VMFS
Virtual file system VMware (VMware Virtual Machine File System, VMFS) is highly productive cluster file system providing parallel access to virtual machine storage resources for several samples of ESX Server. VMFS provides virtualization distributed services work that are represented by VMware Virtual Center, VMware VMotion technology, VMware DRS and VMware HA. VMware

Virtual SMP
Virtual symmetric multiprocessing VMware (Symmetric Multi-Processing, SMP) improves separate virtual machine productivity permitting it to use several physical processors simultaneously. Unique Virtual SMP opportunity provides virtualization of the majority of resource capacious, computing power demanding applications such as ERP and CRM database.

VMware VirtualCenter
VMware VirtualCenter provides centralized management, processes automating, resource update and high accessibility of the virtual IT-infrastructure. These possibilities give IT-environments unexampled levels of reliability, efficiency and simplicity of exploitation. Virtual Center includes wide range of program interfaces of the web-services providing product integration for other producers infrastructure management and also specialized solutions design.

VMware DRS
Distributed Resources Scheduler VMware (Distributed Resource Scheduler, DRS) fulfills loading balancing, brings available resources in correspondence with indicated business priorities, improves personnel labor productivity and upgrades recourse capacious processes.

VMware VMotion, Storage VMotion
VMotion technology allows removing of the virtual machines without its work interrupting and at the same time providing steady IT-infrastructure service.

VMware HA
VMware High Availability (HA) is an economical device providing applications accessibility not depending on equipment and operational systems.

VMware Consolidated Backup
VMware Consolidated Backup is easily used centralized backup device for virtual machines. It provides virtual machines content backup through Microsoft Windows 2003 proxy-server but not through the ESX Server.

VMware Update Manager
VMware Update Manager operates virtual IT-infrastructure renewal (ESX servers, guest OS and their applications) in such a way insuring correspondence to the company security policy.

VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a complex solution for producing virtual desktops on the server base, giving upgraded control and management and also desktop environment that is familiar to final users.

Corporative PC depot virtualization creates a lot of advantages for IT department and final users:

It becomes much easier to support a standard corporate configuration for the whole PC depot: applications installation, renewals, diagnosis and service.
The process of PC images unfolding occurs in a centralized way that is why there is no more necessity to keep IT team in all the offices, branches etc.
Final users can use any PC (at work, at home, temporary) to get access to standard corporative work place.
Familiar interface for final users: final users get flexible access to personal virtual desktop working as usual PC.

VMware VDI allows consolidate physical PC in the form of virtual PC working in data processing center on the servers controlled by VMware Infrastructure 3. At the same time user can employ as an access terminal any physical PC or thin client connected to data processing center: corporative PC, home PC, at the Internet café etc. The advantages of such approach are:

Control and management as one product: administrators can produce, support and control desktops and also operate them with minimal difficulties as they work in data processing center on VMware VI base.
VMware Infrastructure 3 integration: VMware VDI allows expand virtual infrastructure possibilities concerning desktops adding such functions as backup, loading balancing, shift to reserve resource and after failure retrieval.
Reducing of the total cost of possession: VMware VDI permits reduce exploitation expenses of the corporative desktops due to administration simplifying, power inputs reducing and increasing of PC exploitation term.

VMware VirtualCEnter operates virtual infrastructure and VMware Virtual Desktop Manager (VDM) controls users access to centralized virtual desktops from the wide range of devices including computers operated by Windows, Linux or Mac operational systems and also thin clients. The advantages of the solution are:
Higher network security: confidential corporative data protection with the help of SSL-link insuring that all the links are effectively codified.

Identity control support: intensified access control due to two-way identity check-up using RSA SecurlD.
Full integration with Microsoft Active Directory: access control to centralized desktops due to available catalogue service infrastructure.
Applications compatibility: work with old and new applications, client’s own applications support without their code changing.
Local devices access: local printers, USB ports and other peripheral devices access.

More information on: http://www.vmware.com/products/vi/

Brief-cases
Today VMware suggests variety solutions to make and control so called dynamic virtual IT-infrastructure. The main tasks being solved with the help of virtual infrastructure are:

Inherited applications work support on the new hardware platforms without necessity to rewrite, test or adjust to new environment.
IT-infrastructure uninterrupted work support (business continuity). If there are some physical server failures, VMware High Availability (HA) launches automatically another virtual machine on another server available. At the same time the users work time stop coincides with the applications reloading time. It makes possible to retrieve quickly after failures as virtual machine launching takes less time than of that physical server. Additional possibilities concerning uninterrupted work support gives physical and virtual servers clusterization.
Resource dynamical allocation and load balancing for users and applications)VMware DRS – Distributed resource Scheduler). If virtual machines need some additional physical resources ( processor, memory, storage system, network pass band…) they can be added, in most cases on running conditions, to server, server or razor can be added to stand, then connect another storage system and after that available virtual machines start using them after a minimum of administrator interference. If any virtual machine starts using more physical resources (for example, wages accounting in the end of the month in the accountant application), other machines automatically without interrupting their work are removed to other servers. After peak load reducing they can be removed to their place. All these things are adjusted by administrator only once and after that work in a completely automated way. VMware DRS new version (Distributed Resource Scheduler) represents possibility to carry low loading servers to doze mode in such a way reducing power consumption. Beforehand, virtual machines move to vacant powers and dormant servers are used as a backlog when arises such a need.

Virtual infrastructure life cycle management. See VMware Stage Manager.
Applications accessibility upgrade. If there are such a need to remove application to new server or storage system, VMware VMotion will automatically without user’s interruption remove virtual machines to new resources. With the help of this technology instead of developing new physical server for every task (it takes months to do) our clients got possibility to develop new virtual machine in few minutes.
Physical server consolidation. The best world sample shows possibilities of physical servers reducing in correlation 30 to 1!
Power consumption reducing. Some of our clients do not have possibility to buy more electric power for data processing center. Server consolidation leads to reducing of a need in place, ventilation, cooling and, in fact, electric power.

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