Server Virtualization: Benefits and Best Practices: E-Guide

E-guide
Server Virtualization:
Benefits and Best
Practices
E-guide
In this e-guide
In this e-guide:
10 benefits of server virtualization for
businesses p. 2 Server virtualization has come a long way since the early 2000s. It's not
only good for large enterprise data centers; smaller IT shops can also
6 virtual server management best
practices p. 8 realize its many benefits.
5 types of server virtualization
explained p. 14 In this guide, learn:
Further reading p. 21 • 10 benefits of server virtualization for businesses
• 6 best practices for virtual server management
• 5 types of server virtualization explained
• And more
Page 1 of 21
E-guide
In this e-guide
10 benefits of server virtualization for businesses
businesses p. 2 Rich Castagna, Contributor, SearchServerVirtualization

practices p. 8 The concept of allocating virtual resources to OSes and applications, rather than
dedicating specific server hardware and software to those computing assets, has
explained p. 14 become a fundamental principle of data center design and operations over the past
Further reading p. 21 couple of decades.
Server virtualization gained traction in enterprises in the early 2000s, with VMware at
the forefront of the movement. Early on, server virtualization was implemented to
enable Windows and Linux OSes to run side by side on a single server. Having two
types of server OSes on the same piece of hardware was something of a novelty at
first, but soon the advantages became evident.
The idea of carving up a single set of resources into virtual entities that could each host
its own OS isn't new -- it's been around for more than 50 years. In the mid-1960s, IBM
introduced partitioning on its mainframe computers that enabled IT administrators to
run isolated instances of its CMS operating system on a single piece of hardware.
Decades later, server virtualization got a big boost when EMC -- in its pre-Dell
incarnation -- acquired VMware in December of 2003.
Since then, server virtualization implementations have proliferated because the

benefits of virtualization are extensive and can be realized quickly. There are several
Page 2 of 21
E-guide
server virtualization systems to choose from, including VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V

In this e-guide and Linux-based KVM. If you're involved with building a new data center or upgrading
an older one, consider how server virtualization can enhance your plans. The
businesses p. 2
advantages of server virtualization are compelling; here are some of the benefits you
can expect by virtualizing server infrastructure.
practices p. 8

explained p. 14
Further reading p. 21
Page 3 of 21
E-guide
In this e-guide
1. Cost savings
businesses p. 2
Perhaps the most immediate benefit of server virtualization is the cost savings gained
by not having to buy as many physical servers. In most data centers, there are servers
practices p. 8 churning away at their maximum capacity while other servers are being used
infrequently or for undemanding applications.
explained p. 14
With virtualization, the less-demanding OSes and apps can run on a single machine,
thus saving server hardware costs. The net effect is that fewer servers are required
because they are being used more efficiently. The cost savings are mainly realized via
reduced hardware purchases; OSes and virtualization software licensing are still
required.
2. More efficient resource provisioning

With physical servers, it's often difficult to match hardware resources to application
needs. Server virtualization provides an easy way to provision specific resources to
individual servers and their applications, including CPU cycles, floating point units,
memory and other installed devices.
Page 4 of 21
E-guide
In this e-guide
3. Improved productivity
businesses p. 2
Faster server provisioning will also yield overall improvements in IT productivity. New
servers can be spun up and deployed quickly without requiring a lot of time. When a
practices p. 8 server is no longer needed, it can easily be decommissioned and taken down.
explained p. 14
4. IT consolidation
Server sprawl is a common occurrence in data centers, as new servers are added to
handle new applications while older server gear either continues to handle some
chores or sits unused. With server consolidation, fewer pieces of hardware are
required, so IT can consolidate physical resources, which can yield considerable savings
on maintenance contracts, power and cooling, and overall footprint.
5. Better management
Server virtualization platforms bring IT administration one step closer to the ever-
elusive single pane of glass management. Server virtualization systems have
centralized management applications where the status of all virtual servers can be
monitored and adjusted as needed. Eliminating multiple point management tools can
yield both time and dollar savings.
Page 5 of 21
E-guide
In this e-guide
6. App dev is easier, safer
businesses p. 2
The ability to create and deploy and then to kill virtual servers is particularly effective
in application development environments where production-type servers might only
practices p. 8 be needed for testing for short periods. Also, app dev servers can easily be configured
to mirror production environments without having any effect on active server
explained p. 14 operations.
7. Flexibility and scalability

A virtualized infrastructure offers far more flexibility and easier scaling than a
traditional environment. Virtual servers can be moved or cloned from one piece of
hardware to another, making hardware upgrades and performance tuning a nearly
effortless process. Similarly, these capabilities can be tapped to transition to a cloud
service or to maintain a hybrid infrastructure that spans on-premises and cloud
resources.
8. Hosting multiple OSes

One of the original uses of virtualization technology was to run different OSes on the
same server hardware. This is still a key benefit, as Linux and Windows servers can
Page 6 of 21
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coexist on the same physical server, enabling virtual servers to host apps that are
In this e-guide particularly conducive to each OS.

businesses p. 2
9. Improved storage capacity management
practices p. 8
One of the side benefits of server virtualization is better control and capacity
explained p. 14
management of the storage resources that the virtual servers are using. Provisioning
storage for the applications running on virtual servers is a relatively fast and easy
process -- certainly so when compared to traditional block storage provisioning
methods. Because adjustments to storage allocations cam be adjusted, admins can
ensure that their shared storage is used most efficiently.
10. Business continuity, disaster recovery is easier

One of the most important benefits of server virtualization is how it makes business
continuity and disaster recovery much easier and cheaper. When a disaster disables a
data center, virtual servers can be quickly spun up at a remote site to enable business
processes to continue. Server virtualization is the key enabler of cloud-based services
that make disaster recovery affordable for businesses of all sizes.
Next Article
Page 7 of 21
E-guide
In this e-guide
6 virtual server management best practices
businesses p. 2 Rob Bastiaansen, Independent trainer and consultant

practices p. 8 Managing virtual servers has its advantages compared to physical servers, but it also
brings new challenges to the table.
explained p. 14
When each workload ran on its own physical server, management was simple and
straightforward. If there was a problem with a physical server, then the administrator
would investigate the problem at that server. Also, all dedicated resources for the
workload were on that server.
When someone in the organization needed a new physical server, they had to claim a
budget, order it, and wait for its delivery and installation. The IT landscape looks very
different when users can request VMs through a self-service portal and have new
workloads deployed in minutes. Those workloads share hardware resources and must
be managed together.
Here are six best practices for virtual server management.
Page 8 of 21
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In this e-guide
1. Use self-service management to prevent VM sprawl
businesses p. 2
Because it's so easy to create VMs, VM sprawl is a common problem. There can be
VMs in the environment that no one knows the purpose of. It might sound
practices p. 8 contradictory, but self-service VM management can help prevent this sprawl. When
users can request their own VMs, they can also manage them and remove them when
explained p. 14 no longer needed.
VMs can be deployed with a lease time, so when the lease ends, users must decide if
the VMs are still needed. Also, when VMs can be charged to a budget, users might be
triggered to clean up resources. In a VMware environment, vRealize Automation is
such a system that allows users to request services from a catalog and then maintain
those VMs themselves.
Other vendors that have similar software that can be used in VMware or other
environments include Morpheus Data, Cloudify and Embotics.
2. Provide VM templates to ensure right sizing

When creating VMs, it's tempting to select more resources than needed. You may say,
"Two CPUs? Why not four? It will probably perform better." Often, this isn't true and
will, effectively, waste resources. When extrapolated to a large environment, an
enormous amount of resources can be wasted with this mindset.
Page 9 of 21
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In this e-guide

businesses p. 2

practices p. 8

explained p. 14
A simple thing to do, which doesn't require the purchase of additional software, is to
work with templates of certain sizes, like a menu of possible VM flavors. This prevents
admins from creating VMs that are oversized.
Use some psychological tricks here. If the menu starts with the VM type you would like
used most -- two CPUs and 4 GB RAM, for example -- that most likely won't be chosen.
Add a smaller one, as it's human nature to select the second smallest or medium-sized
option, which is exactly the one you want them to choose. This works the same way
with self-service products.
Page 10 of 21
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In this e-guide
3. Take advantage of tools to monitor performance
businesses p. 2
Just because the system is organized in this way doesn't mean admins can sit back and
relax. They must keep a close eye on under- or oversized VMs that are possibly no
practices p. 8 longer used. A tool such as vRealize Operations Manager or Microsoft System Center
can help with this. These products provide insight on system performance and
explained p. 14 deployment effectiveness.
Because workloads are sharing the hardware resources of the hypervisor, good insight
on how resources are used is very important. With the standard tools included with
hypervisor's license, such as vCenter for VMware, admins can investigate the system's
performance in a small-scale deployment.
When environments are larger -- multiple vCenter servers, maybe even in multiple
data centers, are being used -- additional software is a must-have. Other vendors with
similar software that can be used in VMware or other environments include
SolarWinds, Datadog and ManageEngine.
4. Ensure VM security with appropriate permissions

When moving from a physical to virtual environment, admins can delegate
management to others. A good plan is required to delegate administration to the right
users. The permissions model in most hypervisors, such as with VMware vCenter,
Page 11 of 21
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enables setting up a hierarchy that reflects the parts of an environment that require
In this e-guide delegated administration with the correct permissions.
10 benefits of server virtualization for The best approach is to use groups, like in Active Directory, that enable easy
businesses p. 2
assignment but, even more important, easy revocation of permissions by adding or
6 virtual server management best removing users from a group. Admins can quickly audit permissions by checking the
practices p. 8
group memberships.
explained p. 14
5. Use VPN, multifactor authentication for remote access
The attack surface also changes when moving from a physical environment to a virtual
one. With physical servers, a breach of a single server doesn't necessarily allow access
to other severs. But with the introduction of centralized VM management, the entire
environment is at risk when access to that platform is breached.
Especially in the current era when admins are working from home to manage
environments, having a good remote access method is of the utmost importance. In
the past, remote desktop servers were used to jump into the data center and, from
there, access the infrastructure management. Those types of access have proven to be
not the most secure. One better access method is a VPN connection with multifactor
authentication.
Page 12 of 21
E-guide
In this e-guide
6. Choose a specific backup and restore platform for VMs
businesses p. 2
In a physical environment, a backup is made for each server with an agent running in
the OS. This is also possible in a virtualized environment, but this often leads to
practices p. 8 performance problems because of the large amounts of data that must be pulled from
the hypervisor.
explained p. 14
With a VM-based backup approach, only the VM's metadata, OS and app information is
collected and saved. That data is often stored as a single file that contains all the
information needed to restore that VM on any physical server. Individual files in the
backup set might be very difficult to access, so choose a VM backup platform that
allows for individual file restores.
Next Article
Page 13 of 21
E-guide
In this e-guide
5 types of server virtualization explained
businesses p. 2 Clive Longbottom, Independent Commentator and ITC Industry Analyst

practices p. 8 With virtualization, the network, storage and compute resources are abstracted, so
applications, services and functions are less dependent on the physical hardware. IT
explained p. 14 administrators can provide applications, services and functions with their own
Further reading p. 21 environment -- which includes an operating system, support software, network and
storage resources -- that is less prone to problems caused by other workloads running
on the same underlying resources. Or they can share resources to reduce cost and
improve overall utilization and performance.
From the early days of standard server-based virtualization -- excluding IBM's long-
standing mainframe virtualization capabilities -- admins created virtual machines that
contained everything the workload needed to run, including a full copy of an OS, all
supporting software and emulated systems such as network interface cards. Some IT
shops are moving to less bulky approaches, such as containerization, where the
workload is minimized into a package that sits on top of virtualized resources and
shares OS capabilities.
Compute resource virtualization is carried out in several ways, including hardware-

based virtualization, hypervisors and software-based virtualization. As such, admins
must make sure they choose their virtualization method carefully.
Page 14 of 21
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In this e-guide
1. Hardware virtualization
businesses p. 2
In this case, the system provides virtualization by assigning parts of the CPU to
different workloads. This is a major aspect of IBM's Power architecture, where portions
practices p. 8 of a core or whole cores can be carved out to create dedicated platforms for
workloads, with dynamic allocation of additional resources as necessary. That way,
explained p. 14 different workloads can be provided with dedicated environments that can grow and
Further reading p. 21 shrink as the workload requires, and bad behavior by any single workload is isolated
from other workloads.
Hardware virtualization also enables workloads that need greater availability -- VPN or
antivirus engines, for example -- to have dedicated resources that can't be called on by
other workloads. Intel and AMD have less of a focus on full hardware virtualization,
instead using Intel Virtualization Technology and AMD Virtualization, respectively, in a
hardware-assisted approach.
Page 15 of 21
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In this e-guide
2. Hardware-assisted virtualization
businesses p. 2
With hardware-assisted virtualization, the OS and other software do the heavy lifting,
but the software calls upon hardware capabilities to provide optimized virtualization
practices p. 8 with minimal performance loss. APIs pass calls from the application layer down to the
hardware, bypassing a lot of intrusive emulation and call handling from the code
explained p. 14 execution path.
Hardware-assisted virtualization is generally considered a function of hypervisor-based
virtualization in conjunction with the underlying available CPUs.
3. Hypervisor-based virtualization
Hypervisor-based virtualization is the most common form of virtualization in
organizations' data centers. Type 1 hypervisors, also known as bare-metal hypervisors,
include VMware vSphere/ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V and Linux KVM. With Type 1
hypervisors, virtualization acts before the OS truly kicks in, creating a virtualized
hardware platform that multiple instances of the host OS can interact with through the
hypervisor layer.
Type 2 hypervisors, also known as hosted hypervisors, reside on top of the host OS.
Generally used for desktops to support guest OSes, as opposed to the server
Page 16 of 21
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virtualization approach, Type 2 hypervisor examples include Oracle VM VirtualBox,

In this e-guide Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion.

businesses p. 2

practices p. 8

explained p. 14
Page 17 of 21
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In this e-guide
4. Paravirtualization
businesses p. 2
Full virtualization is when the workload placed in the environment is unaware that it
isn't running directly on a physical platform. Paravirtualization takes a slightly different
practices p. 8 approach. The hardware environment isn't emulated with paravirtualization -- each
workload operates its own isolated domain.
explained p. 14
Products such as Xen, which supports both full virtualization and paravirtualization,
Oracle VM for x86 and IBM LPAR use a modified OS that understands the
paravirtualization layer and optimizes functions such as privileged calls from the
workload down to the hardware.
Image on the next page
Page 18 of 21
E-guide
In this e-guide

businesses p. 2

practices p. 8

explained p. 14
5. OS-level virtualization
OS-level virtualization -- otherwise known as containerization -- has gained a great deal
of favor over the past few years. Containerization enables different workloads to share
the same underlying resources in a mutually distrusting manner: Any problems caused
Page 19 of 21
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by one workload shouldn't create problems for other workloads sharing the same
In this e-guide underlying resources. This wasn't always the case. Early instances of Docker allowed
privileged calls from one container to disrupt the physical environment, causing a
businesses p. 2
domino effect of container corruption. Now, privileged calls to protected underlying
resources are disabled by default.
practices p. 8
As with hardware-assisted virtualization, performance is optimized as calls are made
explained p. 14
directly to the underlying OS without any need for emulation. With the emergence of
Docker as an easy way to create workloads that can be moved from one platform to
another, while minimizing the amount of resources used to provide virtualization, OS-
level virtualization is embedded into many cloud platforms and supported by a
majority of DevOps systems. Other platforms that offer OS-level virtualization include
Linux Containers and IBM Workload Partitions for AIX.
Cloud platforms tend to use either hypervisor-based or OS-level virtualization or will

layer OS-level virtualization capabilities on top of their hypervisor-based platforms.
The choice of virtualization type comes down to the needs for which guest OSes are
supported, the number of workloads to be installed and managed, overall performance
required and overall cost, as license fees can be high when looking at virtualizing a
whole platform of hundreds of thousands of physical servers.
Further reading
Page 20 of 21
E-guide
In this e-guide
About SearchServerVirtualization
businesses p. 2 SearchServerVirtualization.com covers the latest trends and technologies surrounding
server virtualization, featuring objective, valuable articles and guides from our team
practices p. 8 of independent editors and expert contributors, including 25-year IT veteran Jason
Helmick.
explained p. 14
While server virtualization has become mainstream across the IT industry in recent
years, with most organizations utilizing it in some capacity or another, new, advanced
virtualization technologies and techniques continue to emerge and evolve, forcing IT
pros to continually adapt and expand their existing virtualization strategies.
For further reading, visit us at

www.SearchServerVirtualization.com
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E-guide

6 virtual server management best

Since then, server virtualization implementations have proliferated because the

server virtualization systems to choose from, including VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V

5 types of server virtualization

2. More efficient resource provisioning

7. Flexibility and scalability

8. Hosting multiple OSes

10 benefits of server virtualization for

10. Business continuity, disaster recovery is easier

6 virtual server management best

Here are six best practices for virtual server management.

2. Provide VM templates to ensure right sizing

10 benefits of server virtualization for

6 virtual server management best

5 types of server virtualization

4. Ensure VM security with appropriate permissions

6 virtual server management best

Compute resource virtualization is carried out in several ways, including hardware-

virtualization approach, Type 2 hypervisor examples include Oracle VM VirtualBox,

10 benefits of server virtualization for

6 virtual server management best

5 types of server virtualization

Image on the next page

10 benefits of server virtualization for

6 virtual server management best

5 types of server virtualization

Cloud platforms tend to use either hypervisor-based or OS-level virtualization or will

For further reading, visit us at

permission from the publisher.

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