F5 and the 8 Ways to Virtualization

F5 White Paper
F5 and the 8 Ways to Virtualization
F5 pioneered the concept of breaking up data center virtualization technologies into eight unique categories within the data center. Any virtualization products or technologies implemented in the data center will fall into one of these eight categories. With this paper, F5 discusses how it has implemented these same technologies within its own product line, helping enterprises get closer to achieving their goal of a implementing a complete Virtual Data Center with F5's Application Delivery Networking products. 
By Alan Murphy Technical Marketing ManagerWhite Paper F5 and the 8 Ways to Virtualization
Contents
Operating System Virtualization 3
Application Server Virtualization 4
Application Virtualization 4
Management Virtualization 5
Network Virtualization 5
Hardware Virtualization 6
Storage Virtualization 6
Service Virtualization 7
Conclusion 7
2White Paper F5 and the 8 Ways to Virtualization
There's no question that "virtualization" became the IT buzzword of 2007, and all indications are that this trend will continue with more gusto in 2008. Having already procured a dedicated article in almost all IT trade magazines as well as spawning entire conferences, there is still debate in the industry about what the term virtualization really means and its scope in the enterprise. The most common definitions still focus on operating system (OS) and desktop virtualization; the virtualization of the data center is still relatively unchartered territory.
Earlier this year, F5 addressed the lack of focus on the virtual data center by releasing a white paper titled "Virtualization Defined: 8 Ways," where the technical components that make up all parts of the virtual data center were broken down into eight unique categories. This paper was more than just a market definitions paper: it was the blueprint for how F5 implements these different virtualization concepts and then uses these ideas to manage the virtual data center. F5 Enterprise ManagerT and the forthcoming ControlPoint products provide product proof points for F5's dedication and commitment to total virtual data center management, extending the concepts of the Application Ready Network (ARN) into data center management through tools like dynamic provisioning of applications. Beyond these two management products, however, F5 has implemented various virtualization concepts since the introduction of the TMOS architecture in 2004.
Operating System Virtualization
Since F5 appliances are built on custom hardware, there is no need to run any of our network applications on a general-purpose hypervisor (the defining ®characteristic of operating system virtualization). F5's BIG-IP architecture enables software components to run as modules and interact with the TMM (Traffic Management Microkernel) directly, providing a closed system for hardware and software optimization. Through F5 iControlT, an open management API, F5 products can communicate directly with, and even manage, virtual operating system infrastructure platforms such as Microsoft's Hyper-V and VMware's ESX products. This native management integration enables BIG-IP Local Traffic ManagerT (LTM), for example, to send instructions directly to ESX instructing it to turn up and provision new operating system images when system images reach a predetermined performance threshold .
33White Paper F5 and the 8 Ways to Virtualization
Application Server Virtualization
Using the many:1 (many-to-one) virtualization tenant (where many resources are virtualized in a manner to appear as one single service instance), the basic principle of application server virtualization turns many servers on the back-end into one server on the front-end. This has typically been referred to as a load balancer or a reverse proxy. TMOS defined the industry standard for application server virtualization, moving the market away from simple load balancing and into the more sophisticated world of true Application Delivery Networking (ADN). Simply stated, everything F5 builds is created to address application server virtualization. While application server virtualization is most frequently associated with BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager, F5's LAN-based Application Delivery Controller (ADC), the same technology also applies to BIG-IP Global Traffic Man... [download for more]