Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • IT Management
    • Networking
    • Virtualization

    IT Infrastructure, Server Virtualization Management Developments Get Attention at Gartner Conference

    By
    Scott Ferguson
    -
    October 14, 2008
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      While virtualization, especially in the context of virtualization within x86 hardware, remains one of the most important technologies being considered by IT managers right now, the challenges that virtualization will present in the next decade require strategic planning now.

      At the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2008 in Orlando, Fla., the research firm’s analysts were detailing a vision of how IT managers will be able to create virtual environments in data centers that have a mix of hardware and operating systems. While most of virtualization has focused on how to create virtual machines within x86 hardware-especially when one considers what VMware, Citrix and Microsoft have done in the past two years-there is a matter of how those virtual environments will work and integrate within data centers that also utilize mainframes and Unix-based servers that support legacy applications.

      While trying to deal with virtualization in these types of heterogeneous data centers, IT managers are going to be confronted with a number of choices and scenarios for how to best maintain and control virtual machines and applications. The question that IT will have to confront will range from whether to stick with one virtualization vendor, such as Microsoft or VMware, or whether to place applications in the virtual environment that best fits that workload, whether it’s Unix, a mainframe or x86 hardware.

      “The issue here is, what am I faced with in terms of what do I want to achieve and what type of optimized capabilities do I want?” George Weiss, a distinguished analyst with Gartner, asked in his Oct. 14 talk. “For example, if I want to do optimized placement of my workload, it is a noble goal, but what platform should I use? So you really have to make decisions about whether it’s going to be on large vertically integrated SMP [symmetric multiprocessing] systems, or is it going to be on cluster scale-out types of technologies.”

      While it’s possible to move virtual machines around and fit them within the right platform now, Weiss that in the future, a lot of these decisions are going to have to be automated with the virtual machines finding the right platform that will optimize the workload.

      The problem with these and other goals is that management software for virtual environments is only being developed now and many still only address management of homogenous environments such as all virtual machines on x86 hardware. There is also a conflict of how a company’s data center will grow during the next 10 years. There is the scale-up model, which provides for more integration but is costly, or the scale-out model which is cheaper but the components are not integrated as well.

      While there are many providers of analytics, lifecycle management and resource management software out there now, Weiss believes a few companies have started to offer the beginnings of what will eventually turn into management tools that will address virtual machines in heterogeneous data centers.

      For example, Hewlett-Packard, with its Insight Dynamics VSE software, and Sun Microsystems, with its xVM Ops Center suite, are each offering ways to manage both the physical hardware and virtual environments. On the other hand, IBM is developing a management platform called “Ensembles.” While Big Blue executives have not talked much about this platform, it has the potential to segment the data center into common resource pools and allow IT to draw compute power from these pooled resources.

      There are also a number of smaller vendors offering a range of different software that helps address some of the problems associated with managing a heterogeneous data center. One example is CiRBA, a company that provides analytics modeling.

      While Weiss urged the audience to look at and evaluate these different vendors, he cautioned that the market is crowded right now and many of these smaller virtualization management companies will simply go out of business or become acquisition targets for the large vendors.

      Scott Ferguson

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×