As technology shrinks and becomes more mobile, virtualization is in the backend handling how hardware stores and processes all the data. It is no surprise that large companies have large onsite servers in endless lines of racks however with all the data and processing demands, even small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have huge amounts of data and processing demands.
So why is virtualization popular?
Servers require tons of power, generate heat plus take up valuable real estate. Server processing power can be greatly depleted as it gets diverted across diverse applications and many IT support services departments devote a server to each application however it creates an issue as to how to operate and maintain the growing number of physical servers.
For this reason, many IT consultants and Managed IT Services providers (MSP) are switching from physical to virtual servers. To virtualize a server, your IT department will use virtualization software such as VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper-V to divide each physical machine into several virtual machines (VMs). Virtualization allows IT professionals to devote however much processing power a server requires to run a particular application without having to worry about it affecting other servers and other applications.
What are the benefits to virtualization?
Efficiency – Many applications require relatively small amounts of processing power so by using virtualization in your network, you can now create a server per application plus host several of them on a single server. This allows you the benefit of having a server devoted to each application while minimizing the total number of physical servers in your environment. Another great point is that by using a single large physical server, you can host several applications while reducing overall energy consumption.
Resilience – Everyone like redundancy! With virtualization, you can have the same application running on identical virtual servers on two different physical servers therefore this allows your company to keep the application up-and-running even if the primary physical server crashes.
Testing – Developers love working with virtual machines (VM) as they often worry that the new applications they create will somehow affect the operation of other applications on the same machine. With virtualization, developers can do test runs of new software on separate physical servers. Virtual machines (VMs) servers, on the other hand, work like independent machines, so you can test new software on them without having to worry about how it will impact other applications.
Migration and Running Upgrades – Since virtual servers can operate on many different physical servers, it is possible to transfer applications and the virtual machines (VMs) to other hardware. You can also free servers from hosting hardware so you can perform maintenance or upgrades. Another great point is that you can move virtual machines (VMs) from one server to another so you can work on them without having to deal with any downtime.
Hosting – You can host virtual machines (VMs) onsite or in a datacenters maintained by your cloud service provider such as Microsoft Azure.
If you have any questions about virtualization or want to learn more about hosting options for your business, the team at 365 iT SOLUTIONS can help you asses your current IT infrastructure environment.
365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto. We provide industry leading Managed IT Services, IT Support Services, IT Outsourcing Services, Tech Support Services and Cloud Services.
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