IToptimizationWhitepaperWhyvirtualizationmatterstotheenterprisetodayDecember,20072WhyvirtualizationmatterstotheenterprisetodayIBMoffersarich,diverse,andintegratedarrayofvirtualizationsolutions,spanningfromx86systemstoSystemz™mainframestostorageareanetwork(SAN)volumecontrollers.InITtoday,theonlyconstantischange.Achievingbestbusinessresultsfromacomplexenterprise-classITinfrastructuremeansmorethansimplydeployingnewsolutions;itmeansredefiningITasaversatileinstrumentofbusinessstrategy,whichcanchangeinparallelwithchangingdemands.Towardthatend,manybusinesseshavepursuedbig-picturestrategiessuchasconsolidation—toreducethenumberofserversrequiredtosupportITservices—andvirtualization—tounchainthoseservicesfromspecificimplementationsandredelivertheminamoredynamic,virtualform.Throughconsolidationandvirtualization,theenterprisecanachieveasimpler,morescalable,morecost-efficientITinfrastructurethatalignsmoreflexiblywithemergingbusinessgoals.OriginatingatIBMaround40yearsagointhespecificcontextofseparatelogicalpartitionsrunninginparallelonasharedmainframe,virtualizationhastakenonnewlifeinanumberofcontexts:virtualserverstovirtualstorage,optimizednetworks,workstationsinvirtualizedenvironments,andapplicationvirtualization.Andlikeanymajorparadigmshiftinbusiness,virtualizationhasbecomeasuccessbecauseitdeliverscorepracticalbenefitsthatdrivebusinessvalueby:●DecreasingITcostsandbusinessrisks●Increasingoperationalefficiencyandflexibility●Simplifyingdeploymentandmanagement●Enhancingoverallbusinessresilience●Enablingnewformsofinnovation.3WhyvirtualizationmatterstotheenterprisetodayAstoday’scompaniesincreasinglyembracevirtualizedtechnologies,it’simportanttounderstandwhattheymean,howtheyrelatetooneanother,andhowtheyarecommonlyimplemented.Inthepursuitofabig-picturevirtualizationstrategythatincorporatesvaryingvirtualization-centricproducts,industrybestpracticesandleadingexpertisetomakeyourITdivisionmoreefficient,resilient,flexibleandpractical,IBMisoneofthepremiersolutionprovidersintoday’sbusinessarena.IBMoffersarich,diverseandintegratedarrayofvirtualizationsolutions,spanningfromx86systemstoSystemzmainframestostoragevirtualizationandbeyond.Furthermore,IBMcanworkeffectivelywithyoutodevelopkeybusinessstrategiesandprocessestocapitalizeonthosesolutions’benefits—allwhileguidedbyestablishedbestpractices.IBMalsohaslongexperienceintheconcepts,theoryandpracticeofvirtualization,goingasfarbackasthe1960sandtheoriginofvirtualizationitself.Andwhilesomecompetitorsoutsourcethespecificsofsolutionsandconsultingtothirdpartiesoncethey’vegotasignedcontract,IBMdoesnot.Whatisthebenefittoclients?Fullaccountabilitythatthestrategywillworkasdescribed,asinglereferencepointtoanswerquestionsandresolveproblemsintheeventtheyoccur,andatighterconnectionbetweennewbusinessprocessesandtechnologicalsolutions.WithIBM’shelp,businessestodaycanleveragethemanyengagingopportunitiesvirtualizedtechnologiespresentinenhancingeveryaspectofhowITworksintheoverallorganization.4WhyvirtualizationmatterstotheenterprisetodayVirtualizationcanhelpbyshiftingthefunctionalityofmanyserversontofewerservers(consolidation).WhatisVirtualization?Whilesomeformsofvirtualizationaremorecommonthanothers,thegeneralgoalisthesameineachcase:toabstractaformoftechnologyawayfromitsoriginalenvironment—aliteralandphysicalform—andredeliveritinavirtualform.Thisvirtualform,ifimplementedwell,iscapableofthesamefunctionalityastheoriginal,yetisabletodramaticallyincreasecontrolandflexibility.Thevirtualversionis,inshort,significantlyeasiertochangetosuitchanginggoalsbecauseithasbeenfreedfromitsphysicalconstraints.Thisisatremendousadvantageinabusinesscontext,whereITservicesmustcontinuallyberevised,adapted,ordevelopedfromscratchtomeetemergingneeds.Servervirtualizationhasreceivedconsiderableattentioninrecentyearsduetoitsabilitytoconsolidatemanyphysicalserversintomultiplelogicalserversthatcanbedeployedontofewerphysicalservers.Serverconsolidation:Anecessityfortoday’senterpriseManyoftoday’slargestorganizationsfindthat“serversprawl”—therapidincreaseofserversintheITinfrastructure—constitutesacumulativeproblem.Insuchcases,virtualizationcanhelpbyshiftingthefunctionalityofmanyserversontofewerservers(consolidation).Sincethemid-1980sandtheriseofthemicrocomputerasanalternativetolargemainframes,ITdivisionshaveincreasinglymovedmanyservicestosmallerservers,deployingmoreandmoreservicesoninexpensiveserverstomeetspecificbusinessneedsonacase-by-casebasis.5WhyvirtualizationmatterstotheenterprisetodayIBMSystemsDirectorplatformmanagementfamilycanincreaseeaseofusewhilehelpingtoreducecomplexityandcutcosts.Thisapproach,however,turnsouttohavehiddencostsandcomplexities.Considerthecaseofalarge,enterprise-classbusinesswithmultipletypicaldatacenters,eachofwhichhasperhapsathousandservers.Eachserverrepresentsapotentialfaultpoint;ifitshouldfail,itmustbeattendedto,requiringprecioustimefromtheITteam,whichisoftenalreadystrugglingbothintermsoftimeandofbudget,andcausesdisruptivedowntimeforendusers.Similarly,thereisthequestionoflogicalmanagement.Trackingliterallyhundredsofserver