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The use of static x86 server configurations is quickly becoming an outdated concept with the introduction of modern solutions based on blade architectures, which can offer both intelligent configuration and management and the ability to perform physical-to-virtual migration to promote uptime and efficient resource usage.
When combined with the quickly maturing x86 hypervisor technologies available from a variety of solution providers, the synergy of blade architectures and virtualization offers customers the ability to dramatically increase utilization of their server investments, boost uptime, provide a more resilient and available infrastructure, and roll out new infrastructure and services more quickly.
But equally important, these same technologies can also lower costs both directly, through an immediate reduction in power and cooling costs, and indirectly (but not with a lesser impact), through a reduction in IT administrative costs associated with server hardware and the layers of infrastructure software management. IDC analysis of the potential to lower IT costs by moving to a virtualized infrastructure finds that the savings can be significant:
! Adopting a simple virtualized infrastructure can result in a reduction of up to 35% of total annual server costs per user compared with an unvirtualized static x86 server configuration (see the Appendix for included cost items). Described in this IDC White Paper as "basic virtualization," this starting point of virtualization refers to basic x86 server consolidation using virtualization software. It is commonly applied to test and development environments, along with at least some
production use.
! Our research finds that the use of more advanced virtualization technology, along with increasingly sophisticated systems management tools that manage both the guest environments and the virtualization engines themselves, can further extend the benefits of virtualization significantly.
! An optimally managed or "advanced virtualization" infrastructure, described as an infrastructure that includes penetration of virtualized servers of more than 25%, storage virtualization, and the use of systems management tools, can deliver a total reduction of up to 52% per user per year.
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