The Essentials Series

Virtualization
and Disaster
Recovery
by J. Peter Bruzzese
sponsored by

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Ar ticle1:DataProtectioninaVirtualizedEnvironment........................................................................1
An OverviewofVirtualization:EnhancedProtectionwithLessHardware...............................1
CostSavingsofaMirroredSite(FewerSystemsandPersonnel)..............................................2
FacilitationofTesting...................................................................................................................................3
TheRulesRegardingTraditionalDataProtectionAreNotDeprecated......................................4
MoveDataQuicklyandCostEffectivelyAcrosstheWAN..................................................................5
TheBenefitsofanEffectiveDataProtectionandRecoveryStrategy...........................................5
Ar ticle2:LeveragingVirtualizationforHighAvailabilityandBusinessContinuity...................7
HighAvailabilityandBusinessContinuityBenefitsfromVirtualization....................................7
AnOverviewofReplicationBasedTechnologies..................................................................................8
Le velsofHighAvailabilityResiliency.....................................................................................................10
CommonReplicationConfigurations..................................................................................................10
EnsuringCriticalBusinessFunctions......................................................................................................11
RegulatoryCompliancewithinaVirtualizedEnvironment...........................................................12
Summary..............................................................................................................................................................12
Ar ticle3:ReplicationandRecoveryManagementSolutions.............................................................13
PricingModelsComeinAllShapesandSizes.......................................................................................13
ServerVirtualizationROI..............................................................................................................................14
Se llingtheSolution..........................................................................................................................................16
PurchaseaVirtualizationSolution.......................................................................................................16
RentaVirtualizationSolution................................................................................................................16
Summary..............................................................................................................................................................17

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1
Article1:DataProtectioninaVirtualized
Environment
Inatraditionalnetworkenvironment,thehardwareistheheartofoperations.Buttimes
arechanging,andalthoughhardwareisstillanindispensablepartoftheoperationsinany
ITcenter,softwaretechnologiesareexpandingintonewterritories.Thesetechnologiesaim
toprovidethesameorbetterlevelofstrengthfoundinahardwaresolutionwhile
decreasingthenumberofhardwaredevicesyouneedinyourbusinessenvironment.Oneof
themostpopulartechnologiesinthisregardisvirtualization.
AnOverviewofVirtualization:EnhancedProtectionwithLess
Hardware
Virtualizationisnotanewconceptithasexistedfordecadesbutwhatisnewaboutitis
therapidrateofadoptioninITdepartmentsofallsizesandshapes.Onceusedmainlyin
testinganddevelopment,virtualizationisnowakeyplayerinproductionenvironments.In
theeventyouhaventhadachancetoworkwithvirtualizationsoftware,letsreviewthe
overallconcept.
Theconceptofvirtualizationissimpleyourunapieceofsoftware(avirtualmachine)on
aPCasifthisvirtualmachineisjustanordinarysoftwareapplication.Inthevirtual
machine,youcaninstalltheoperatingsystem(OS)ofyourchoiceandontopofthisOS,
installanyapplicationsyouneed.Thisway,ononehardwareconfiguration,youcanhave
manyvirtualPCs,eachofthemrunninganOSandsoftwareapplicationsofitsown,
independentlyfromtheOSandtheapplicationsyouarerunningonthemain(host)
computer.Keepinmind,however,thatthelayerrunningabovethehardwareisstanding
inbetweenyourvirtualsystemsandthebaremetal,sotospeak.Thethinnerthatlayercan
bethebetter.
WhatstandsbetweenthehardwareandtheguestOSiscalledahypervisor.Typicallyon
standalonesystems,thehypervisorrunsofftheconventionalOSthatyoumightbeusing,
whereasahypervisorthatrunsdirectlyonthebaremetalorasclosetoitaspossibleisa
moreserverorientedvirtualmachine(VM)architecturethatyouwouldlooktowhen
consideringvirtualizationanddataprotection.

Note
Althoughmultiplevirtualmachinesrunningononephysicalmachine
illustratewhatservervirtualizationis,thereisanotherequallyimportant
typeofvirtualizationthatisalsousedinITenvironmentsstorage
virtualization.Servervirtualizationusesthehardwareresourcesofone
computertorunmultipleOSs/servers/applications;storagevirtualization
dealswithstoragedevicesonly(forinstance,diskarrays).Similartoserver
virtualization,whichabstractslogicalserversfromthephysicalhardware
infrastructuretheyrunon,storagevirtualizationabstractsstoragefromthe
separatedriveswheredataisphysicallydispersed.Briefly,datacanbe
writtenovermultiplephysicaldisks,butfromtheadministrationconsole,all
thesedisksappearasonelogicalentry.Thetermstoragevirtualizationmight
notbeasmainstreamasitsservercounterpart;thereishardlyanITperson
whohasnotheardofRAID,SAN,orNAS,whichareexamplesofstorage
virtualization.
Typically,whenonesaysdisasterrecovery,RAIDtechnologiesarethefirsttocometo
mind.Althoughstoragevirtualizationtechnologyisamorecommondirectionpeoplelook
towhenattemptingtoprotecttheirdataandsystemavailability,servervirtualizationis
becomingsoreliableandcosteffectivethatdisastersarenolongermitigatedthrough
traditionalbackup/restoremethods.Infact,usingvirtualizationtechnology,acompany
maybeabletoachieve100%availabilitywithcompletedataprotection.
CostSavingsofaMirroredSite(FewerSystemsandPersonnel)
Servervirtualization,realtimedatareplication,andfailovertechnologyarecapabilities
thatprovideahighlevelofprotectionwhilekeepingcostsataminimum.Asalready
explained,servervirtualizationallowsyoutomaximizeperformancebyallowingfewer
virtualizedserverstodotheworkofmultiplephysicalservers,yetatthesametimecut
costsbecausewhencomparedwithnonvirtualizedenvironmentsservervirtualization
allowsforfewermachinestoperformthesameamountofwork.
Wherevirtualizationreallyshinesfordataprotectionanddisasterrecoveryisintheability
toeliminatethetypicalhardwareequalityrequiredinphysicalserverredundancyand
recoverysolutions.Thepiecesofhardwarebecomelesscriticalinavirtualized
environment.Bymovingtoavirtualmodelwithahardwareagnosticformation,youcan
restoresystemswithoutaconcernforidenticalhardwareorevennearidenticalhardware.
Thisprovidesaquickerandfarmoreefficientdisasterrecoverysolution.

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Hostserversmustbepowerfulmachines(intermsofCPUandRAMmainly).Althoughthe
minimumrequirementsofmostservervirtualizationsolutionsaremoderate,optimal
performancecantbeachievedonaweakmachine.Inanycase,addingmoreRAMor
upgradingtoafasterCPUismuchcheaperthanpurchasingaseparatebrandnew
. machineoneofthepointsthatmakeservervirtualizationacosteffectivesolution
Oneofthebiggestobstaclestochoosinganeffectiveprotectionsolutioniscost.Ifa
companysfiscalneedswerenotanissue,therearemanyadvancedhardwareandsoftware
solutionsthatprovideareallyrobustdataprotectionmechanism.However,therealityis
thatveryfew,ifany,ITdepartmentscanaffordtoinvestmillionsinsucharobustsystem.
Ofcourse,inthosecases,wheredataprotectionismorethanvital(forexample,military
systems),costcomessecondtoreliability.
Therearemanyrobustsolutionsthatmightnotnecessarilybemilitarystrengthbutare
vigorousenoughtoprotectcriticaldata.Veryoften,theoptimalsolutionisahighlevelof
dataprotectionatanaffordableprice;thesesolutionsarewhatatypicalITdepartment
needs.
Inadditiontocuttinghardwarecosts,virtualizationallowsforareductioninthenumberof
requiredpersonnel,thusprovidingforwagerelatedsavings.Virtualenvironmentscanbe
centralizedandmanagedremotely,sothereisneedforfewerpersonnelworkingonthe
administrationofsystems,andyourworkforcecannowbeusedforothertasks.Certainly,
inachallengingeconomywithpossibleshrinkingbudgetsbeingofferedtoITdepartments,
theabilitytodecreasepersonnelresourcesisamotivator.
FacilitationofTesting
AsIhavealreadymentioned,beforegoingmainstreaminproductionenvironments,
virtualizationwasusedmainlyfortesting.Theusesofvirtualizationfortestinghavebyno
meansdecreasedandevencompaniesthatdontusevirtualizationinaproduction
environmentuseitdailyfortesting.
Theadvantagesofvirtualizationfortestingareobvious.Havingyourdatavirtualized
allowsformorefrequenttestingthanwithphysicalservers.Youjustcopythetestingsetup
fromanothermachineorrestoreitfromabackup,andyouarereadytogo.Thereisno
needtoinstallandconfigureapplicationsorOSsyousimplycopythefileofthevirtual
machine.Inaddition,whilephysicalservertestingcanoftentimesbepainfuland
frustrating,virtualizationallowsserverstobeshutdownandturnedoneasily,even
allowingforremoteserverfailuresimulationwithoutconcernoverphysicalaccesstothe
systemthatyounormallyprepareforwhentestingremotefailuresonphysicalsystems.

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However,youshouldbeawareofthepotentialdownsidesofthissolution.With
virtualizationfortesting,oneofthedrawbacksisthatitisnotanimpossibility(though
certainlyitisnotthenorm)toobservedifferencesinthebehaviorofapplicationswhenrun
onavirtualizedplatformthanwhenrunonstandalonemachines.Insomecases,the
differencesmightbecriticaland,inevenrarercases,itispossiblethatthereare
applicationsthatcannot(orshouldnt)beruninavirtualizedenvironment.Fortunately,
suchcasesareinfrequent;thus,typically,itisappropriatetousevirtualizationfortesting.
TheRulesRegardingTraditionalDataProtectionAreNotDeprecated
Whendiscussingdataprotectioninavirtualizedenvironment,theperceptionmightbe
onesidedinthinkingthatvirtualizationisusefulonlyforremotesiteserverssupporting
replicationandfailover.Itstruethatvirtualizationprovidesforamazingrecoverability
throughWANdisasterrecoverysites,butitsimportanttorememberthatyoumusthavea
backupsystemdesignedintoyourproductionenvironmenttoensuretheprotectionof

bothphysicalandvirtualservers.
Dataprotectionstartsatthephysicallevel.Iftherearenoclearlydefinedrulesabouthow
youprotectdataphysically,eventhemostsophisticatedmethodsareeasilycompromised.
Thephysicalaspectofdataprotectionincludesaccess,backups,andprotectionagainst
naturaldisasters,anditisthebasisofyourdataprotectionpolicy.
Youmusthaveclearrulesregardingwhoandunderwhatcircumstancesdatacanbe
accessed.Unauthorizedaccessmakesanyotherdataprotectionmethodsuseless.You
shouldalsoregularlybackupyourdata(weekly,daily,orevenrealtime)andkeepthe
backupsinasafeplace.Naturaldisastersdonthappenonadailybasisbutwhentheydo
happen,theresultisdevastating.Therefore,ifyouwanttomakesurethatyourdatais
protectedagainstphysicaldestruction,alwaysmakereasonablemeasurestoprotectthe
premisesagainstflood,fire,earthquakes,andsoon,andaboveall,alwayskeepanupto
datebackupatasecureremotelocation.

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Tofullyenjoythebenefitsofvirtualizationfordataprotection,youneedtoapplycertain
measurestoensurethatthedataisprotectedfromrisks.Virtualizationisnotapanacea,
andifyouneglectbasicrulesinregardtodataprotectioningeneralandinavirtualized
environmentinparticular,dontcountonvirtualizationtosaveyourdata.Whendatais
dispersedoveranetwork,nomatterwhetheritisaLANoraWAN,andthisnetworkisnot
guardedproperly,thereisnoeffectivedataprotectionmechanisminplace.Anetworkisas
secureasitsweakestpart,soiftherearegapsinthesecuritypolicies(thatis,rolesand
privilegesarenotproperlydefinedandenforced),theintegrityofthewholesystemis
underquestion.Generally,theleastprivilegeruleisagreatsecuritypolicy,soyourebetter
beingrestrictivenowratherthansorrylater.
MoveDataQuicklyandCostEffectivelyAcrosstheWAN
Whendisasterstrikes,thelastthingyouhaveistimetothinkwhattoevacuatefirst.
Usually,evenifthereisadetaileddisasterrecoveryplan(andsuchaplanshouldbepartof
anydataprotectionpolicyineveryITdepartment)andyouknowwhatyoumustdo,timeis
acriticalassetandyoudonthavelonghoursatyourdisposal.
Thus,youneeddataprotectionsolutionsthathavetheabilitytomovedataquicklyandcost
effectivelyacrosstheWAN.Ifyoucancountongreaterutilizationofthelinksinvolvedin
theWANportionofyourprotectionplan,youhavemuchmoreflexibilitytoplanproperly.
CombiningvirtualizationwithasolidWANconnectiontoadisasterrecoverysitechanges
therecoverygamedramatically.Youcanreplicatebothphysicalandvirtualizedservers
overtovirtualserversatthedisasterrecoverylocationbothquicklyandcosteffectively.
Virtualizedserversareaboonintermsofspeedofdataevacuation.Becausevirtualized
serversareinfactjustsoftwarefilesthatyoucancopyfromonemachinetoanotherinno
timeatallorcanbecopiedautomaticallythroughspecializedsolutionsthatprovidefor
justthattypeofscenarioyourentiresetofoperations(servers,applications,andfiles)
canberedundantinanalternatevirtualizedlocation.Thefiles,whichcontainavirtualized
server,aresmallinnumber(butlargeinsize)andtransferringthemtoaremotelocationis
mucheasierthanmovingthousandsoffiles.
Additionally,dealingwithlockedoropenfilesiseasierbecausealockedfileisnota
separateentityyoucantrenameormove;itisjustafilenestedinsidethefilewiththe
virtualizedserver.Migrationofopenorlockedfileswhileusersareaccessingorwritingto
thosefilesisnotthekeyconcernitwouldbewithcertainsimplebackup/recovery
solutions.Thereisalsonotaconcernoverthesecurityofthoseredundantfilesbecauseif
thelockisdoneproperly,youwontbeabletoopenand/ormodifythefile;thus,ifthedata
insidethefileissensitive,youdonthavetoworrythatwhenyoustorethefileona
virtualizedplatform,thedatainsideitisreadilyexposedtounauthorizedaccess.
TheBenefitsofanEffectiveDataProtectionandRecoveryStrategy
Throughtheflexibilityofvirtualization,youcanencapsulatetheOS,applications,anddata
intoavirtualizedsystem.Youcanthentransmitthisencapsulatedapplicationwithinyour

6
productionenvironmentortoanoffsitelocationjustasyouwouldtransmitadatafile
andmakeitavailableonaremotemachineforemployeestoaccess.Eveniftherewereno
otherbenefitsofvirtualizationinregardtodataprotection,thiscapabilityalonecancut
downtimeintheeventofsystemfailurefromdaystohoursorless.
Inconsideringthebenefitsofanydisasterplanningandrecoverysolution,therearetwo
commonmetricsthatareanalyzed:RecoveryTimeObjective(RTO),whichisa
measurementofthetimefromthepointofsystemfailureandthetimewhenthatsystemis
functionalyetagain,andRecoveryPointObjective(RPO),whichisatimedefinition
connectedwithhowmuchdatalossispossiblewiththerecovery.RPOrelatestothe
timeframeofthelastgoodbackupthatcanberestoredintheeventofatotaldisaster.For
example,ifadiskarrayfailsanddataisonlyrecoverablefromyourtapebackups,whichgo
backtothenightbefore(roughly10hoursforthesakeofourexample),yourRPOis10
hours.Theinterestingaspectofthesetwometricsisthatthereistherealityofwhatyou
haveandthegoalthatyouarereachingtowards.Betweentherealityandthegoal,there
areaslewoftechnologyoptionsforhighavailability,clustering,hardwareRAID,
virtualization,andsoforth.ThetighteryourRTOandRPOrequirements,themoremoney
youwillhavetospend,dependingonthetechnologyyouchoose.
Typically,companiesarelookingattheirRTOandRPOresultsandseeingthattraditional
methodsarenotevenclosetobeinggoodenoughfortheirdesiredobjectives.Thisiswhat
isdrivingthemovementtowardvirtualization.Certainlythefeaturebenefitsmentioned
earlierwiththeabilitytoperformtestingandmanageserversremotelyandmoreeasilyare
certainlyadraw.Butitistheabilitytorecoveryquicklyfromadisasterwithaminimal
disruptionofbusinessoperationsatanaffordablepricewherevirtualizationshines.

7
Article2:LeveragingVirtualizationforHigh
AvailabilityandBusinessContinuity
Thepreviousarticlediscussedthebasicsofvirtualizationandexamineditsbenefitsfor
dataprotection.Companiescanalsobenefitfromvirtualizationintheareasofhigh
availabilityandbusinesscontinuity.Highavailabilityandbusinesscontinuityarecritical;
withoutthem,adequatedataprotectionisimpossibleandtheproblemsthatarisecanbe
veryserious.Insomecases,alackofhigh(ormoreprecisely,any)availabilityandbusiness
continuity,especiallyforaprolongedperiodsoftime,canthreatentheveryexistenceofa
company.
Theconcernsofdisasterrecovery,virtualization,andhighavailabilityoftenfallintotheIT
departmentsworrybox.However,theseconcernseffectthecompanysabilitytocontinue
business,andshouldthereforebeviewedascriticalbytheentirecompanyespecially
decisionmakerswhoalltoooftenhaveshallowpocketswhenitcomestodisasterrecovery
needs.
Modernbusinesshasa24/7nonstoprunningrequirement.Consideryourvariousservers
andimagineanyoneofthembeingunavailableforanylengthoftime.Wouldyour
companybeabletoloseanyoneofyourITservicesanddealwithalongtermdisruption
(orevenashorttermone)?Thecostofadisruptioninservicecouldbesubstantial,soitis
akeypartofabusinesscontinuityplantolookintoallapproaches(bothhardwareand
softwareoriented)toensuredataprotection,highavailability,anddisasterrecovery.As
hardwaresolutionsareoftencostprohibitive,companiesarelookingmoretosoftwareand
virtualizationtoprovidethecosteffectiveandreliablesolutionstheyneed.
HighAvailabilityandBusinessContinuityBenefitsfromVirtuali
Thefollowinglisthighlightswaysanorgan
zation
izationcanbenefitfromvirtualization:
SimplificationofinfrastructureVirtualization,bothserverandstorage,
simplifiestheinfrastructure.Allequal,whenthereislesshardware,thereisless
complexity,whichinturn,meansthattheinfrastructureiseasiertomonitorand
troubleshootwhenproblemsarise.Thistranslatesintolessdowntimeandhigher
availability.
EasierbranchmanagementProvidingdataprotectiontoagloballydispersed
networkofmachinesisalwaysachallenge,butthankstovirtualization,remote
locationsareeasiertomanage.Withvirtualizedsolutions,thereisnoneedtohave
physicalaccesstoamachineinordertotroubleshootandrestartit.Additionally,
thankstovirtualization,branchescanbeeasilyconsolidated,thushelpingtonot
onlyachievehigheravailabilityandimprovedbusinesscontinuitybutalsoreduce
costs.

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CrossplatformissuesbecomeirrelevantHomogeneousnetworksaremoreof
anexceptionthanarule,andvirtualizationcanmaketheadministrationof
heterogeneousenvironmentsmucheasier.Forexample,supposeyouhave
applicationsthatrunonLinuxbutyoudonthaveasparemachinewithLinux
installed.IftheLinuxmachineonwhichtheapplicationsarerunningcrashes,ina
traditional,nonvirtualizedenvironment,youarehelpless.Butwhenyouuse
virtualization,thisscenarioisnotaproblem.YousimplycopythefilewiththeLinux
machineonanothermachine(regardlessofitsoperatingsystemOS;theonly
requirementisthatthemachinebecapableofrunningavirtualmachine.The
solutionisfast,easy,andefficient.
EasilyseparatebusinessunitsInadditiontocentralizationofresources,
virtualizationcanbeusedtoseparatebusinessunits.Decentralizationisusefulin
largeinfrastructureswheretherearemanybusinessunitsanditisbettertoisolate
themfromoneanotherinordertomanagethemeasilyasseparateentities.Agood
exampleisahostingproviderwhorunseachcustomerssitesinaseparatevirtual
machine,thusshieldingthemfromthedangersofsitesruninamulticlient
environmentwhilestillusingareducednumberofphysicalmachines.
AnOverviewofReplicationBasedTechnologies
Letsfocusabitmoreintentlyonthetechnicalaspects,ormoreprecisely,thetypesand
usesofreplicationbasedtechnologyinavirtualizedenvironment.Replicationbased
technologiesallowthecapturingofasetofdataataparticularpointintime,typically
involvingminimaloverheadandfastrestorationofdata.Thisfunctionalityiswhy
replicationbasedtechnologyisthepreferredsolutionforprovidinghighavailabilityof
criticalsystems.Althoughreplicationistypicallyviewedfromtheperspectiveofremote
WANbasedreplicas,usingthesametechnologyforthecreationoflocalreplicasisanother
methodtoachievingbusinesscontinuity.
Whenlookingintoasolutionthatyoucancountonforyourenvironmentintermsof
replication,youwanttobesureyouhaverealtimedatareplication,whichbasicallymeans
dataisreplicatingasitiscomingintothelocalsystem.Insomecases,therightsolutionis
synchronousreplication,whichofferszerodatalossbyensuringthatthedataiswrittento
boththelocalandremotesystemswithaconfirmationbeforeproceeding.Inother
situations,asynchronousreplicationisutilized.Thismethodrequiresspecificdataorlogs
tobeclosedoutononeserverbeforebeingreplicatedovertotheotherserver.With
asynchronousrealtimereplication,thereisthepotentialforasmallamountofdataloss.

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Oneoftheconcernswithreplicationisthatacorruptfileontheproductionsidemightbe
replicatedovertothedisasterrecoverysiteortoalocalvirtualizedserverthatyouusefor
replication.Tomeetthischallenge,afeaturecalledContinuousDataProtection(CDP)isa
crucialfactortoanybusinesscontinuityplanning.CDPprovidestheabilitytorevertbackto
anearlierversionofdata.Thus,intheeventcorruptionoccurs,youcanreplaypointin
timeversionsbackwardtoremovethatcorruption.Dependingonthetechnologyyouare
using,therearedifferentgranularitiestosuchasolution.Somesolutionsmayhavefixed
timeintervalsofrestoration(everyhour,5hours,24hours,andsoforth).When
consideringareplicationsolution,factorinasolutionsabilitytoofferCDPbasedoneither
everywriteoraspecifiedtimeframe(evenifthosetimeframesareasnarrowasseconds).
YoushouldalsopursuereplicationtechnologythatconsidersWANoptimizationineither
hardwareorsoftware(orboth).Althoughyoumightbereplicatingdatabetweentwolocal
systemsinyourscenario,typicallyfordisasterrecoverysites,youneedaWANconnection
toanoffsitelocation.ThatWANconnectionbecomesacriticalcomponentnotonlyforthe
replicationprocessbutalsointheeventyouneedtosupportyourofficesfromthatdisaster
recoverysite(andtheneventuallywhenyouneedtorecoveroverthoseWANconnections).
Whilelookingforaproducttomeetyourneeds,considerWANoptimizationanessential
itemonyourchecklist.Dependingonthesizeofyourenvironment,youshouldalsohavea
replicationstrategythatcentralizesyourservers,relocatingthemtoprimaryand
secondarydatacenters.
Replicationcanworkinmanyenvironments,butyouneedtotakeintoaccountwhat
hardwareandsoftwareyouwillbeusingbecausetheexistingenvironmentcouldbean
issuethatlimitsyourchoices.Forinstance,therearevirtualizationsolutionsthatworkon
onlycertainOSsandononlyparticularmodelsofhardware.Ifyourhardware/softwareis
notsupportedbythevirtualizationsolutionofyourchoice,youwilleitherhavetochoosea
differentvirtualizationsolutionorreplaceyourhardware/software,whichcouldbevery
expensive.Consider,forexample,environmentsthatuseamixtureofMicrosoftsolutions
(Exchange,SQL,IISWebservers,fileservers)acrossboth32and64bitarchitectures.
SupposetheyalsoutilizeanOracleserver,aBlackBerryserver,andLinuxorSolaris
servers.Theymustensurethatthesolutiontheyarepursuinghastheabilitytosupportall
oftheseplatforms.Ifnot,theywillneedtocontinueinvestigatingforanallinclusive
solution.Fortunately,manyoftheleadingvirtualizationsolutionssupportawiderangeof
hardware/softwareplatforms,sochancesarethatyouwillnotfacethisincompatibility
issue.Itisworthwhile,however,tofirstdoublecheckcompatibilityandthenproceedtothe
choiceofareplicationconfiguration.

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LevelsofHighAvailabilityResiliency
Thereareavarietyofwaystoimplementvirtualizationforanenvironment.Inadditionto
checkingpossiblecompatibilityissues,youmusttakeintoaccountthefollowingreplication
configurationconsiderations:
Decidingwhattoreplicate.Firstyouneedtodecideifyouwillreplicateeverything
oronlysomedata.Thisdecisioninfluencesyourchoiceofreplicationconfiguration.
Ifyoudecidetomirroraserver(thatis,replicateeverythingonit),itisbest,though
notmandatory,ifthereplicationtargetisadedicatedmachineoratleastavery
powerfulone.Ofcourse,youcanreplicatemanyvirtualserverstoonetarget
machine,butonlyifyouhavemadewisedisasterrecoverypreparationsforthat
criticalserver(whichleadstoournextpoint).
Decidingwhereyouwillreplicateto.Choosingthereplicationtarget(themachine
youwillbereplicatingto)isalsoimportantbecauseifyoumakeunwisechoicesand
yourtargetfails,youwillhavenoreplicatorestorefrom.Oneoftheworstcasesis
hoice whenyoudecidetoreplicateallyourvirtualizedsystemstoonetarget.Thisc
isriskybecausethetargetbecomesasinglepointoffailure.
Additionally,iftheapplicationsyouarereplicatingdonotcoexistpeacefullyonone
machine(forexample,SQLServer,aLotusserver,andanOracledatabaseortwoversions
ofExchange)andyoureplicatethemononemachine,youcanbetatleastoneapplication
(orevenallofthem)willstopworking.Fortunately,inthiscase,virtualizationcanhelp
becauseallyouneedtodoiscreateaseparatevirtualmachineforeachoftheapplications
andreplicatethemthere.Ofcourse,ifyouarereplicatingdatabaseapplications,which
generallyusealotofresources(CPUtime,writesandreadstothedisk,andsoon),you
needtoinsurethatthephysicalmachineisapowerfuloneotherwisethewholescenario
mightnotwork.
CommonReplicationConfigurations
Choosingwhatandwheretoreplicateareveryimportantdecisions.Thenextstepisto
choosehowexactlyyouwillperformthereplication.Therearemanypossible
configurationsthatusevirtualizationforhighavailabilityandbusinesscontinuity.The
followinglistfocusesonthreecommonconfigurationpossibilities:
ReplicationofaphysicalsetofserverstoavirtualsetofserversThe
advantageofusingaphysicalsetofserversreplicatingbacktoavirtualsetof
serversisthatyoucanutilizefewervirtualserversonthebackend.This
configurationmakessensewhenyourfrontendserversarenotunderaveryheavy
loadand/oryouarenotreplicatingeverythingfromthem.Thehostmachineofthe
virtualizedsystemmustbeaveryrobustone;otherwise,thewholeconfigurationis
risky.

11

ReplicationofavirtualsetofserverstoavirtualsetofserversThis
configurationusesvirtualizedserversbothfortheproductionsideandforthe
recoverysite(orforalocalizedsetofvirtualizedserversonsite).Usingthis
configurationallowsyoutomaximizehardwareutilizationonboththefrontend
andbackend.Duetonumerousadvantagesovertheotherconfigurations,this
configurationisfrequentlyrecommendedasthemostcosteffectivewaytoincrease
availability.
ReplicationofavirtualsetofserverstoaphysicalsetofserversThis
configurationisrarelyusedbecauseitofferstheleastcostsavingsandnot
necessarilythehighestavailability.Additionally,itismoredifficulttoadminister.
Thisconfigurationmakessenseifyouhappentohavesparephysicalmachinesat
yourremotelocationthatyouwanttoutilize.
Virtualizationopensnewperspectivesfordataprotection.Thankstovirtualization,itis
possibletoachievehighlevelsofavailabilityandbusinesscontinuityatanaffordableprice.
However,notallvirtualizationsolutionsareequal.
Note
Thenextarticleoftheserieswillfocusonthepricingmodelsfor
virtualizationsolutions,thushelpingyoutodecidehowtofindtheperfect
combinationofqualityandpricetosuityourneeds.
EnsuringCriticalBusinessFunctions
OneoftheglobalbenefitsofvirtualizationforacompanyisthatitmakesIToperations
mucheasierandmorereliable.Virtualizationmakescompanymanagementeasierby
significantlyreducingtherequiredhardwareandthenumberofpeopleinvolvedto
performthesameamountofwork.Managinglesshardwareandpeopleeasesthe
managementofthecompanyasawhole.
Sometimesitisneitherpossiblenornecessarytoensurehighavailabilityforeverysingle
businessfunctioninyourorganization.Thereisnodoubtthatitisbesttoprovide100%
highavailabilityforeverybusinessfunction,butthepriceandeffortrequiredtodoso
couldbemorethanyoucanafford.Inthiscase,youneedtomakesurethatatleastyour
criticalbusinessfunctionsarecoveredbyyourhighavailabilityefforts.
Criticalbusinessfunctionsvaryfromonecompanytoanotherandyouneedtoidentify
themforyourcompanyratherthanborrowthemfromthedocketofanothercompany.
Thinkofallthebusinessfunctionswithinyourorganizationthatifinterruptedcouldlead
toseriousfinancial,legal,orotherdamagesorpenalties.

12
Throughvirtualization,youachievehighavailabilityforyourcriticalbusinessfunctions
becauseitallowsforrapidrestorationofthesefunctionsaftertheyhavebeeninterrupted
byadisaster.Withvirtualization,restorationofafailedsystemisaseasyascopyingthe
configurationfromonemachinetoanother.Also,whenyouhavemultipleserversonone
physicalmachineandoneofthemfails,youcanquicklyisolatethefailedserverand
preventdisruptionofoperationoftheotherserversonthesamemachineoronthe
networkasawhole.
RegulatoryCompliancewithinaVirtualizedEnvironment
Highavailabilityandbusinesscontinuityarenotonlyessentialforinternaloperations;very
often,externalfactorssuchasregulationsmakeitmandatoryforcompaniestoprovide
continuedbusiness.RegulationssuchastheSarbanesOxleyActandtheHealthInsurance
PortabilityandAccountabilityAct(HIPPA)areexamples.
Thankstovirtualization,itispossibletoconsolidatedatacentersandhavecentralized,
strictersecuritypoliciesincompliancewiththeseregulations.Inthataspect,virtualization
isnotaluxury,itisanecessity;ifyourITdepartmentisnotcompliantwiththese
regulations,noncompliancecouldleadtofinancialpenalties,adropincompanystocks,
lossofcustomerconfidence,andlostprofits.
Summary
Virtualizationcanhelpacompanytoachievehighavailabilityandbusinesscontinuity
whilekeepingthecostsundercontrol.Whenacompanycantensurehighavailabilityfor
itsIToperations,consequencesarehefty.Highavailabilityisnotafunctionoftechnical
expertiseandmodernequipmentonly;itisalsoafunctionofmanagementcapabilities(or
theirlacking).However,whenacompanydoesnthavethenecessaryexpertiseand
equipmenttohandledisasterrecoveryquickly,eventhemostbrilliantmanagerishelpless.
Thatiswhythesuccessfulcombinationforhighavailabilityandbusinesscontinuityisthe
rightequipment/expertiseandgoodmanagerialskills.Inthisaspect,virtualizationisa
valuableallytoanygoodmanager.

13
Article3:ReplicationandRecovery
ManagementSolutions
Animportantaspecttoimplementingvirtualizationanddisasterrecoveryisthepricing
model.Everycompanyisdifferentandtheirneedsvary;everyvirtualizationsolutionis
uniqueaswell.Oneoftheimportantfactorsforadecisionmakertoconsideristhe
environmentyoucurrentlyhave(forexample,amixedenvironment)andwhatthepricing
structureyouareinvestigationoffersintermsofsimplicity,implementation,and
scalabilitynottomentioncost.
PricingModelsComeinAllShapesandSizes
Pricingmodelsaretypicallyuniforminconcept(persocket,perinstance,perprocessor,or
perCPUmodels)althoughyoumightdiscoveruniquenamingforthesesolutions
dependingonthevendoryouareworkingwith.Also,veryoftenapricingsolutioncomes
withvariationsdependingontheneedsoftheclient,whichiswhyitisalwaysbestbeforea
companybeginstheimplementationphasetoperformthoroughresearchoftheavailable
options.Manyvendorsareflexibleintheirpricingmodelsandwithsomeresearch(and
maybeabitofnegotiation),itwillbepossibletofindasolutionthatsatisfiesallparties
involvedintheprocess.
Inadditiontovirtualizationoptions,somecompaniesprovideentiresolutionsfordisaster
recovery.Withtheseproductsuites,youmustfactorinthecostspending/savingsyouhope
toachievewiththeaddedfunctionalitytheyprovide.Youmightprefertopickandchoose
piecesofyoursolutionfrommultiplevendors,buttraditionally,asingle,economical
packagewithacompletesetoftoolsatyourdisposalfromasinglevendoristheeasiest
waytomeetyourneeds.
VirtualizationLicensingPriceModels
PerinstanceAfeeischargedbaseduponeachinstanceofthe
applicationserverrunninginitsownvirtualmachine.Withvirtualization,
itisnotuncommonforvirtualclusterstohavephysicalserverswith
differentCPUconfigurations(twoway,fourway).Asimplefailoverfrom
atwowaytoafourwaysystemmayviolateCPUbasedlicensing,
whereasperinstancewouldholdupinadisasterrecoveryvirtualized
environment.
Perprocessor(orperCPU)Thismodelallowsacompanytolicenseby
processor(thenumberofprocessorswithinasystem)andallows
multiplevirtualizedinstancesoftheOSonthatmachine.Thus,youmight
havealicensebasedonthephysicalprocessor(s)withinthesystembut
unlimitedvirtualizationontopofthat.Somepricingmodelsevenfocuson
thenumberofsocketsorthenumberofcoreswithintheprocessor,
perhapsignoringthevirtualizationaspectaltogether.

14
ServerVirtualizationROI
Oneofthefirststepsacompanyneedstomakeinthedirectionofvirtualization
implementationisanindepthanalysisoftheexpectedreturnoninvestment(ROI)ofthe
endeavor.TherearemanysophisticatedformulastocalculateROI;basically,theyallboil
downtocalculatinghowmuchyouwillspendandhowmuchyouwillgainbyaparticular
solution.
ROIcalculationisnoeasytaskanddifferentinterpretationscouldleadtoverydifferent
results. TocalculateROI,youneedtodeterminethecostsyourcompanycouldmitigateor
eliminatebyadoptingvirtualization.Thislooksprettysimpleandstraightforwardbutin
realitytherearemanyfactorstoconsider.Veryoften,somedirectcostsdontgetadequate
weight(thatis,theyareunderestimatedoroverestimated)intheequationandindirect
costsarenotcountedatall.Thesameappliestotheexpectedbenefits.Whenthedeviations
aresubstantial,thefinalresultwillalsovarysignificantly.
Letshavealookatasimpleexample.Imaginethatyouwanttoobtain20virtualization
licensesforyourITdepartment.Youmightfirstask,Whatisthecurrentstateofyour
existingservers?Intheeventthesystemsaremoderatelyold,youmayneedtoupgrade.If
yourmachinesareveryold,itmightnotmakesensetoupgradethem,sotheonlychoiceis
tobuyn are: ew(powerful)machines.Youroptions
yare Useyourexistingmachinesasthe
Upgradeyourexistingmachines
Buynewer,morepowerfulmachines
Thefirstcaseisthemostfavorableintermsofcostsbecauseyouwillnothavetospenda
centonnewhardware.Infact,ifyourhardwarehasbeenunderutilized,thisscenariois
quiteprobable.
Thethirdcaseisthemostexpensive;however,whencalculatingcosts,whatyouarehoping
toseeisthatevenwiththepurchaseofnewsystems,thiswillultimatelyprovidea
reasonableROIwhileprovidingforthefailoveranddatarecoverabilityyouneed.Toclarify,
ifyouwanttohave20dedicatedmachinesat$2000each,thisis$40,000altogether.Ifyou
wanttohave20machinesbutyouplantousevirtualization,youcanget10machines(or
even5orless)anddeploymultiplevirtualserversonthem.Ifyouget10machinesofthe
samepowerasthemachinesforthecasewithoutvirtualization,thismeansthatinthe
secondcase,youwillhavetopay$20,000less.Obviously,therearecostsrelatedto
implementingvirtualization,soitisnotprecisetosaythatrightnowyouhavesaved
$20,000becauseofvirtualization.Andcertainlyyouneedtoseethatinthelongrunthe
savingsoflesspersonnelandincreasedhighavailabilityanddisasterrecoveryshouldall
factorintotheROI.

15
Thesecondcase,whichisthemostcommon,istoupgradeyourexistingmachinesinorder
tomakethempowerfulenoughtohostavirtualizationsolution.Here,costsalsovary,but
youcangowith$500to$800orevenlesspermachineformoreRAMand/orafasterCPU.
Ofcourse,thisdoesnotmeanyoushouldgetthecheapest4GBofRAMyoucanfindyou
willbebuildingaserver,notaPCforatempworkerdoingdataentry;thus,youcantafford
togetthecheapest,lowqualitycomponents.Still,allequal,upgradinganexistingmachine
ismuchcheaperthanbuyingabrandnewone.
Inadditiontothesavingsyouwillrealizebyspendinglessonhardwarewhilestill
performingthesameamountofw is: ork,virtualizationofferssavingsonanongoingbas
Youwillneedlessspace10machineslesscouldsaveyoutheneedtorent
additionalroom(s)oryoucouldstoprentingsomeofyourcurrentfacilities.This
couldsaveyouletssay$1000amonth.(Ofcourse,ifyourpremisesarelocatedin
anexpensiveregion,therentfortheadditionalroomcouldbemoreandyour
savingswillbehigher.)Thisis$12,000peryear,whichisthepriceofsixnew
machines!
Youwillneedlessenergy10machineslessalsomeanslessenergyforpowering
andcoolingthem.EnergyexpensesareamajorarticleinanyITbudget,andthe
moreyoucutdowntheenergybill,thebetter.Thesavingsinthisgroupcouldbe
$200to$500(partiallydependingonhowmuchyouwillspendoncooling,which
largelyvariesamonglocationsandseasons),whichresultsinatleast$2400to
$3000ayearinsavings.
YouwillneedlessstaffThisbenefitmightnotbethemosttangibleandyouwill
hardlycutyourITdepartmentbecauseofvirtualization,butitisafactthat
virtualizationhelpstoreducethestaffyouneed.Here,savingsvaryenormouslyif
yourequire10hoursofservicelessat$50perhour,thisis$500amonthsaved.10
hoursamonth(or2.5hoursaweek)isnotmuchanditisquitepossiblethatyou
willsavemoreadminhoursamonth,resultingin$6000to$10,000orevenmore
savingsperyear.
Keepinmind,however,thatasubstantialROImaynotoccurimmediately.Insomecases,it
mayeventakeayearortwotobeginseeingresults.Butyouarelookingatvirtualizationas
asolutionfirst,asasavingsavenuesecond.Allsolutionsinitiallycomeataprice,buthaving
aneasiermethodofdataprotectionandbusinesscontinuitythatactuallybringsdownyour
costsoverthelongrunisworthpursuing.
Asyoucansee,ROIcanvarywidelyamongcompanies,soyouneedtodoyourhomework
andcalculateROIinyourcaseaspreciselyaspossible.Doingsowillensureyour
expectationsforavirtualizationsolutionarerealistic.

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SellingtheSolution
ThefirststepinthedecisionmakingprocessistodetermineROIcalculations,butthe
processdoesnotendhere.Togetherwith(orevenbefore)theROIanalysis,youneedto
considerthepricingmodelyouwillbeusing.Therearemanypricingmodelsandyour
choicelargelyaffectsyourROI.Letsfocusontwosolutiontypespurchaseofa
virtualizationsolutionandrentalofavirtualizationsolution.
PurchaseaVirtualizationSolution
Thefirstoptionyouhaveistopurchaseavirtualizationsolution.Purchasinga
virtualizationsolutiondoesntmeanhiringateamofdeveloperswhowillcreateacustom
madesolutionforyoubecausethisapproachiswaytooexpensive(also,withvirtualization
becomingamainstreamtechnology,thisinevitablyleadstodropinprices,sothereare
manyaffordableandsolidreadymadevirtualizationsolutions).
Beingthatthepricesoflicensesvarydramatically,beforeyougoshopping,havealookat
thepricelistsofthemajorvendorsandseewhattheyoffer.However,youneedtohavein
mindthatthefinalpricedependsonmanyfactors,suchas:Areyouanewclient?How
manylicensesdoyouplantobuy?Willyoubuytrainingandsupport?Thus,youmustbe
preparedfordrasticdifferencesintheoffersyouwillget.Onthepositiveside,itispossible
tonegotiateafairprice.
Youmightalsowanttohireaconsultanttohandleeverythingaroundtheselectionofthe
product,theprocedureofpurchasingit,andthedeploymentitself.Thisroutemightbeabit
moreexpensive,butifyoudonthavetheinhouseresources(thatis,peoplewhocan
handlethistask)orifyouneedthesolutionsoon,hiringaconsultantcouldbethebetter
choiceandpossiblyeventhemorecosteffectivechoiceintheend.
RentaVirtualizationSolution
Analternativetopurchasingavirtualizationsolutionistorentvirtualization.Thereare
manyservices,forinstanceSoftwareasaService(SaaS),cloudcomputing,managed
capacity,managedservices,serverinstancebasedsolutions,andalacarteofferingsthat
essentiallyrevolvearoundthefactthatyoudontbuythelicenseandyoudontdeploythe
solutioninhousebutrenttheinstallationfromanothercompanyandpaya(mostoften)
monthlyfeefortheservice.Therearedifferencesbetweeneachofthelistedsolutions,so
beforeyoumakeadetermination,checkwhatyouwillbegettingfromyourvirtualization
solutionhostingproviderandhowmuchitwillcost.
Rentingavirtualizationsolutioncanbecheaperthanpurchasinganddeployingitinhouse,
butthisisnotanabsoluterule.Therearecaseswhenrentingavirtualizationsolutionis
moreexpensivethanpurchasingit,especiallyinthelongrunandfromatechnicalpointof
view.Also,thereareprosandconsforusingSaaS,clouds,andson,butgenerallythese
servicesareabetteroptionforsmallcompanieswithnodedicatedITstaffandwithafew
machinesonlybecausewhenyououtsourcevirtualizationtopros,itismucheasierforyou
and(asarule)moreefficientthandeployingthesolutioninhouse.

17
Summary
Inaworldthatrequires24/7businesscontinuity,dataprotectionanddisasterrecovery
optionshavereachedanewlevelthroughvirtualization.Enablingtheabilitytoprovide
realtimereplication,simplifiedandcentralizedmanagement,andimmediatefailoverwith
highavailability,allthewhileusingfewerresources,virtualizationisasolutionevery
ompanyshouldconsider. c