Kusnetzky Group, LLC © 2011
When is Virtual Machine Software the Wrong Choice?
Dan Kusnetzky,Distinguished Analyst and Founder
Kusnetzky Group LLC
• What is virtualization anyway?• Virtualization has been in use for a long time• Many layers of virtualization in use today• Processing virtualization• When is virtual machine software the right choice?• Another virtualization choice for consolidation and
optimization• When is it the wrong choice?• Some suggestions
Kusnetzky Group, LLC © 2010
Agenda
• Moving a function into an artificial environment
• Uses excess capacity• Processing • Memory • Storage • Networking
• Offer an "ideal" environment for that function
Kusnetzky Group, LLC © 2010
What is virtualization anyway?
• Virtualization technology first appeared on Mainframes in the 1960s
• Single vendor midrange systems introduced virtualization in the 1970s and 1980s
• It appeared on Industry Standard Systems (X86) in the 1990s
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Virtualization has been in use for a long time
There are Many Layers of Virtualization in Use Today
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• There are five different types of processing virtualization1. Parallel processing monitors2. Workload monitors3. Clustering monitors4. Virtual machine software5. Operating system virtualization and
partitioning
• Each creates artificial processing environment
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Processing Virtualization
• When the goal is workload consolidation– Move workloads onto a smaller number of
physical servers– Decrease hardware and hardware service
costs– May or may not decrease management costs
• When the goal is workload optimization– Moving workloads to make best use of
available resources
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When is Virtual Machine Software the right choice?
• Operating system virtualization and partitioning– Single operating system in use– Isolated workloads– Uses less memory and storage– Faster context switching
• Examples – LPARs (Logical Partitions)– VPARs (Virtual Partitions– Containers
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Another virtualization choice for consolidation and optimization
• When another form of virtualization would be better– When virtual access is needed– When application virtualization is needed– When other forms of processing virtualization
are needed• Processing performance• Workload scalability• Reliability/availability/disaster recovery
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When is it the wrong choice?
• Know what applications and workloads are in the environment
• Know the real requirements of your environment – Performance – Reliability – Availability – Scalability
• Select the proper tool for the task at hand rather than the tool du jure
• "If you don't know where you're going, you're likely to end up somewhere else.” Lawrence Peter
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Suggestions
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