Friday, April 22, 2011

Server Virtualization - Cost Effective and Efficient

Server virtualization technology allows multiple servers to run on the same piece of hardware, even if those servers are running different applications and built on different operating systems. The virtualization process allows companies to more easily share resources, and to make more efficient use of the hardware they have available. Virtualization technology also allows companies to reduce the number of servers they need to purchase and maintain, providing significant cost savings over the life of the hardware.

But the benefits of server virtualization technology go beyond mere cost savings. More and more small companies are looking at virtualization as a way to even the playing field between themselves and their much larger rivals. The Internet allows even the smallest company to look big, and server virtualization technology is one way for those smaller firms to compete.

Consolidating Servers
One of the most significant benefits of server virtualization technology is the ability to consolidate servers and save on hardware costs. Having a dedicated piece of hardware for every server can be very wasteful and cost inefficient, since each server only uses a tiny percentage of the available hardware capacity. By virtualizing the servers and running many different servers on a single piece of hardware, companies can consolidate their computer resources and greatly reduce their costs.

Just consider that running five servers on each piece of hardware means you can go from 50 dedicated servers to just 10. Over time those cost savings can really add up. And the cost savings do not end with the hardware purchases themselves. Each one of those servers needs to be maintained, either by in house staff or outside vendors. Reducing the number of servers reduces those costs as well, allowing the cost savings to multiply with each new virtual server installation.

Reduced Space Needs
Fewer servers means a smaller footprint, and less need for expensive server space and dedicated server rooms. Depending on the size of your operation, you might be able to cut your server room in half, providing more room for the rest of your operations.

A smaller server room also means less energy usage, and lower costs to cool the facility. A dedicated air conditioning unit is a must for any server room, but reducing the size of the room and the number of servers means you can get by with a smaller, and less costly, air conditioning unit.

Reducing your energy consumption also helps you be a greener and more environmentally responsible company. That is an important consideration in today's world, both from a public relations and a cost standpoint.

Greater Flexibility
Modern companies need to be able to move fast and scale up quickly, and virtual server technology is the perfect tool to provide that scalability and agility. Once the basic virtual server infrastructure is in place, adding a new server is as easy as creating a new partition. Once that virtual machine is up and running, it can instantly take advantage of all the resources available on the underlying piece of hardware.

As you can see, virtual server technology has a number of important benefits for companies of all sizes. It is no wonder so many companies are looking to virtualization as a way to save money, simplify maintenance needs and ensure that their software applications are available whenever and wherever they are needed.

9 comments:

  1. This is going to help me a lot. Planning on hosting a couple of servers of my own in the future.

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  2. Thanks for the information. I'm also planning to run some storage or broadcasting servers in the future.

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  3. i knew virtual servers were better, just didn't completely understand why. now I do!

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  4. this is pretty knowledgable stuff

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  5. my school uses virtual servers, they seem to be really stable

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  6. Is a virtual server similar to a virtual drive that one might use for certain things pertaining to PowerISO?

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  7. thanks for the info, will keep this in mind

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  8. nice now I can make virtual server +followed

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  9. Quite an interesting read. A couple of years ago I wanted to start my hosting company, I wonder if I still should...
    Anyway, nice info.

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