In an effort to use IT resources as strategically as possible, many datacenters are turning to a virtualized infrastructure. Though it can take a variety of forms, the most common example is partitioning a single server into two or more “virtual” servers, each of which runs a separate instance of an operating system and applications.

Businesses typically first use virtualization to create a robust test and development environment with a limited number of servers. This cost-effective approach enables new software to be tested in a simulated real-world setting without fear of disrupting the production environment. Today, enterprises are taking advantage of enhanced features, performance and reliability to deploy virtualization in their production environments.

In fact, a recent Yankee Group survey found that three out of four of IT decision makers have implemented or are planning to implement virtualization. And an IDC survey found that those currently using virtualization expect that 45 percent of new servers they deploy within a year will be virtualized.

“We have seen a tremendous growth and demand for Virtualization Solutions in the past year.  Today’s virtual infrastructure solutions are ready for the demands of a highly available production environment, and companies are moving to include this technology throughout their data centers,” says Subo Guha, Dell’s director of enterprise software marketing.

Operational efficiency, fast deployment

Is it possible to replace 50 standalone servers with just 10 clustered systems? With today’s virtualization solutions and management software, the answer is yes. By running multiple applications and operating systems independently and concurrently on a single server, you greatly improve asset utilization and reduce the complexity of managing many standalone systems.

Data centers today no longer can accept operating at utilization rates of 10 or 20 percent. By consolidating disparate operating systems and applications that previously resided on many servers onto fewer platforms, companies can slash hardware and administrative costs.

Allocating resources on the fly

Virtualization delivers benefits beyond saving money by consolidating servers and storage. It offers a logical view, rather than a physical view, of computing resources and data, enabling administrators to relocate or replicate workloads quickly from one virtual workspace to another.

In this way, business needs can be prioritized, service levels improved, and equipment can be maintained with no effect on application functionality or availability. The ability to allocate computing resources on the fly improves operational efficiency across the board, while speeding up deployment of new servers and other devices.

Besides improving asset utilization and application availability, virtualization helps enterprises efficiently enable disaster recovery. Fewer physical servers are needed to support a DR environment, as daily backups are sent to standby virtual servers.

Processor and OS developers are now developing and integrating more and more virtualization technologies into their core offerings, leading many to predict that virtualization will be standardized and become part of almost all server systems in the near future.

Subhed: Scale out with Virtualization

Virtualization is a key part of a Scale Out strategy and is a technology that all IT managers should consider deploying. It increases datacenter efficiency by enabling applications and services to be deployed quickly, and its rapid recovery times help deliver high availability.

Virtualization reduces TCO by enabling computer resources to be used more effectively and, because fewer physicals platforms are needed, administration and licensing costs are also reduced. Virtualization also reduces downtime, since assets can be re-allocated at a moment’s notice for maintenance and disaster recovery scenarios are streamlined. At its very essence, virtualization opens the door to optimize an enterprise’s IT environment across the board.

Dell: Making it real

Dell has worked extensively with industry leaders to drive the evolution of virtualization standards. Dell is offering cutting-edge virtualization solutions, all of which have been rigorously tested with best-in-class server, storage and software components:

• VMware ® ESX Server TM is a software platform that allows multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical server. Each virtual machine can run a different operating system and application without interfering with other virtual machines on the same physical server.
• Microsoft ® Virtual Server 2005 TM  is a powerful and cost-effective virtual machine platform for Microsoft Windows Server TM environments, enabling multiple applications to run independently on an individual server.
• Soon to be released, Xen is an open-source, secure virtualization software platform from XenSource. Dell partners Red Hat and Novell SuSE plan to incorporate Xen as an optional Linux software program later in 2006, at which point Dell will test Xen for compatibility with Dell PowerEdge servers.

Dell is ready to help you take advantage of virtualization’s benefits, whether it’s a minor implementation in a test environment or a comprehensive deployment in a production system.

Dell Services offers the assessment, design and implementation support you need to launch a virtualization initiative. Dell will help you assess your IT infrastructure and operational practices to develop a road map to consolidate and virtualize.

Dell’s FastStart Workshops help you get up and running quickly with the range of VMware ESX Server products. And Dell offers Proof of Concept Workshops to test your business requirements in a preproduction environment.

Throughout the process and beyond, Dell Services will provide you with a single point of contact.