Improving IT Efficiency at Microsoft by

Using Virtual Server 2005

Published:
September 2005
Solution Overview

Situation
● High costs and resource needs resulting from a large number of
physical servers.

Solution
● Virtual Server 2005 provided Microsoft IT with the means to leverage
virtualization to reduce the number of physical servers

Benefits
● Reduction in server provisioning intervals from 22-25 days to 1 day
● Cost reductions of ~30%
● Improved customer satisfaction
Products and Technology

● Microsoft Virtual Server

2005
● Microsoft Operations
Manager
● Microsoft Systems
Management Server
● Microsoft Windows Server
2003
Consolidation as a Strategy

● Consolidation approaches that lead to cost

reduction
● Applications and services
● Database
● Operations
● Site
● Server
● VS 2005 adds a new server consolidation
opportunity
Virtualization Overview

Physical
Servers

Virtual
Machines
Virtual Guests
Server
Host
Virtualization Benefits

● Abstracts applications and services from physical

servers:
● Groups multiple applications and services onto a single
physical host
● Breaks the 1:1 relationship between
applications/services and physical servers
● Retains isolation
● Increases agility
● Reduces hardware support and lifecycle issues
● Simplifies migration
Virtual Server Utility (VSU)
● Utility model vs. Self hosted
● The VSU team owns, manages and
configures the Virtual Server Hosts
● Virtual Machines (VMs) are sold as units
● VMs are treated at parity with physical servers
for support
● Part of a larger Compute Utility strategy
● Benefits of VSU
● Cost
● Efficiency
● Reliability
Deployment at Microsoft

● Building the Virtual Server Utility

● Foundation
● Business case
● Deploying Virtual Machines
● Provisioning
● Operating
Foundation: The Storage Utility

Virtual Server Host

Storage Utility
2 x 100GB LUNs

VM1.vmc VM2.vmc

VM1.vhd VM2.vhd

Virtual
Machine
Guests
Foundation: Virtual Machine
Specifications

Option Physical Host VM: Network RAM HD

Host Connectivity
Standard 4P @ 2.2 GHz > 8:1 Shared Copper 512 MB 36 GB,
8-16GB Ram Gbps SAN
Custom 4P @ 2.2 GHz < 4:1 Shared Copper Up to 36 GB or
8-16GB Ram Gbps 3.6 GB greater,
SAN

● Each Guest baseline performance is equivalent or

better than:
● 4-way 700Mhz Pentium III, 2GB RAM
● 2-way 1.26GHz Pentium 4, 1GB RAM
Business Case: Perceptions

● Managing expectation/perceptions
● Loss of flexibility
● Lack of responsiveness
● Diminished security
● Degraded performance
● Loss of control
● Identify specific concerns of each Business
Unit
Business Case: Cost

● Parity with Physical server billing model

● Cost of a VM is much less than a physical
server
● Hardware
● Support
● Transparent billing
● Consistent format
● Regularly validated
Business Case: Service Level
Agreement Elements
● Server Provisioning
● Planned Hardware Add/Move/Change
● Response to Client Request
● Support Availability
● Host Availability
● Guest Availability
● Host CPU Utilization: Average and
Maximum
Provisioning Phase: Evaluate

● Evaluate applications and services:

● Criticality
● Architecture
● Performance
● Security
● Determine Candidacy
● Consideration of other consolidation options
● Comparison to performance baseline
Provisioning Phase: Test & Deploy

● Configure VM on a Qualification host for

testing
● Identical to production
● Confidence gains for both teams (application
and Utility)
● Opportunity to optimize
● Move VM to a Production Host
● Transition to Operations phase
Operations Phase: Responsibilities
Virtual Host
“Physical host and guest
configuration owned and
managed by Utility”

Physical Servers
“Physical server and OS
instance owned and
managed by application or
service owner” Virtual Guests
“OS instance owned and
managed by application or
service owner”
Operations Phase: Monitoring

● VM Guests
● Standard SMS and MOM agents installed
● Monitored the same as other servers in the
network
● VS Hosts
● Management pack on VS Host provides
specialized alerts
● Host-to-guest mappings
● Control over VM states
Operations Phase: Agility

Server 1 Server 2
CPU Utilization = 90%
70% 50%
CPU Utilization = 70%

VM VM VM VM VM VM VM VM
Guest Guest
None Guest Guest Guest Guest
None Guest Guest
1 2 3 4 5 2 6 7
Example

Example VSU Deployment

Future Directions

● Server provisioning and management

efficiency
● Continue to reduce time and effort
● Utilize higher degree of automation
● Increase availability and reliability
● More resilient and dynamic systems
● Enhance disaster recovery
For More Information

● Additional content on Microsoft IT

deployments and best practices can be
found on http://www.microsoft.com
● Microsoft TechNet
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/itshowcase
● Microsoft Case Study Resources
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/casestudies
This document is provided for informational purposes only.
MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT.

© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

This presentation is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS
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