The Dark Side of Data Center Virtualization (
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Virtualizing a desktop PC, a server, a storage array or an entire data
center to obtain better efficiencies and draw less power certainly makes a lot
of sense.
As more enterprises each day finish their testing and QA projects, they are
putting "virt," as it is casually known, into production play—whether
it's market-leading VMware, Citrix's XenSource, Microsoft Hyper-V or a lesser-known hypervisor.
The logic of server virtualization in data centers is very compelling.
Businesses are empowered to consolidate all their underutilized Windows, Linux and Solaris systems sprawled throughout their data centers and remote
locations, and in doing so they save on precious floor space and electrical
draw. Over time, these efficiencies can add up to substantial savings on a
company's bottom line.
"The reality is that the underpinning hypervisor technologies are mature,
robust and efficient, contrary to sporadic expressions of security concerns
that have been aired," Bob Waldie, CEO
of Opengear, a next-generation IT infrastructure management company,
told me.
Opengear's Management Gateway enables secure remote access and
control of all the computers and communications devices in a distributed
network.
For some basic steps to secure your virtual environment, click here.
Generally, virtual servers are now being hosted on reliable hardware platforms
that are designed to meet the intense network, performance and security demands
that come with virtualization, Waldie said. Because the hardware and software are
now ready for prime time, server virtualization in the data center is
growing.
However, a virtualization layer adds complexity, and the consolidation brings
intensity, Waldie said.
"These two unavoidable attributes have a swag of hidden costs and
substantive downsides and risks," he said. 'So the compelling value
proposition of virtualization does not apply to all situations, and for smaller
data centers and computer rooms, it generally does not apply at all."
With all this in mind, Waldie put together a group of key "red flags"
for IT managers and CTOs to consider before committing a data center system, or
parts of that system, to virtualization.
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