Virtual Encounters:
Researching the challenges of deploying IT virtualisation

Server virtualisation is the hottest technology in the IT sector. But as it has proliferated, complexity can get in the way of ROI

Server virtualisation is facing its first real test of maturity. After the initial wave of euphoria and 'quick-wins', the rapid and widespread application of the technology - especially on x86 platforms - is presenting a whole new set of challenges.

None of those have yet dampened the enthusiasm for the core facility to run multiple, independent virtual machines on distinct physical servers. As the research in this report underscores, adoption of server virtualisation is generating major benefits:

• More efficient use of existing hardware resources resulting in decreased hardware spend.
• Reduced footprint and energy consumption as a result of consolidation, resulting in lower data centre costs.
• Greater business flexibility through the rapid provisioning of systems - freed from the hassle of purchasing and setting up physical servers, users say they can bring a new 'machine' on stream in less than half an hour.
• Higher availability as the result of the ability to create test environments within the same box and to freely move application workloads from one 'machine' to another.
• Lower systems management overheads due to the increased number of servers each administrator can handle, with some claiming they can manage four to five times more virtual servers than physical servers.