Virtualization delivers real benefits for business

Virtualization delivers
real benefits for businessWhite paper
Table of contentsVirtualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2What's all the fuss about? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Delivering real benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Where to get started technically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4How to get started organizationally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Paradigm shift ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6The lessons of history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6The lessons of experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8HP can help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Figure 1. Server utilization in anactual IT environment. Typical utilization100
Yet these80n systems can'toita handle the loadzilitu 60 egarev Unutilizeda 40r capacityevreS 20
0 Servers Source: HP
This physical approach to isolating applications hasVirtualization the advantages of enabling peak-load processingDespite its six syllables, "virtualization" is a straight- capability and reducing potential confusion in systemsforward concept. It can enable your organization to management. But these advantages come at a priceget more value not only from computer and storage that can be measured in terms of cost of availablehardware but also from the labor required to keep capacity, flexibility and quality of service. your systems up and running. A look at server utilization in many data centersVirtualization is an approach to pooling and sharing illustrates the problems of today's typical approach.IT resources so the supply of resources-processing Figure 1 shows average utilization levels for eachpower, storage, networking and so on-can flexibly server. The company that provided this informationand automatically meet fluctuating business demand. chose to remain anonymous, but the situationVirtualization can improve the quality of your IT presented may be familiar. First, as is shown on theservices, enabling more consistency and predictability left-hand side of Figure 1, because servers are typicallyof operational availability. dedicated to one application and provisioned for itspeak-load processing need, most of the servers areIf you are considering a new or expanded virtualization vastly underutilized most of the time. solution, HP has the technology and expertise to helpyour organization achieve real business benefits from Second, as is shown on the right-hand side of Figure 1,virtualization today. We see virtualization as a key there are situations where the actual demand forenabler of the transformation to an Adaptive Infrastructure, processing power exceeds the forecasted peak. Usersour way of delivering on the next-generation data of these applications must put up with sub-standardcenter trend. service levels until more capacity can be added.Absent virtualization, there is no way to immediatelytake advantage of the excess capacity sitting idle.New capacity must be manually configured, testedWhat's all the fuss and brought online, typically a matter of hours ordays-or longer if new capacity must be procured. about? It is also illuminating to consider this situation from theToday, most of the IT infrastructure supporting an perspective of human resources. Each server requiresenterprise is provisioned and managed one machine management from a systems administra... [download for more]