Bravura Networks Blog

By Brad Reeves, Technical Writer

Computer networks have evolved into complex operations throughout the years with the addition of many new technologies such as: switches, servers, boosters, firewalls, phone systems and much more. It takes a huge knowledge base to set up and maintain these systems and unfortunately wallets can feel the pain. The answer is here however. Virtualization will save you money in power and payroll, enable new technological capabilities, and reduce network complexities.

Virtualization is the method of partitioning one physical server computer into multiple “virtual” servers, giving each the appearance and capabilities of running on its own dedicated machine. Each virtual server functions as a full-fledged server and can be independently rebooted. The term virtualization broadly describes the separation of a resource or request for a service from the underlying physical delivery of that service. With virtual memory, for example, computer software gains access to more memory than is physically installed, via the background swapping of data to disk storage. Similarly, virtualization techniques can be applied to other IT infrastructure layers: including networks, storage, laptop or server hardware, operating systems and applications.

Using virtual technology such as VMware will help reduce operating costs up to 50 to 75%. The main money saver when it comes to virtualization is power. Today power is an enormous expense to all companies but by utilizing virtualization, power hungry server costs can be cut by as much as 6 times! Just the power consumption alone can sway a customer to virtualize, and by doing so they save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month! Another way virtual technology will save money is by having the capability to cut payroll. Consolidation is the key here. If there is less to manage physically, there is no reason to have as many people on staff to manage the physical hardware. One person can easily manage literally hundreds of servers.

By implementing virtualization it not only can save hundreds or thousands of dollars a month in power and payroll, it also enables new capabilities for engineers to manage and test new solutions. VMware vCenter displays a comprehensive view of all the VM (Virtual Machines) across all virtualized servers and clusters. This function displays performance reports including: CPU usage, RAM consumption and more. With this information engineers can easily match VM’s that work well together in order to utilize hardware capabilities. Or even better they can turn on load balancing which does everything automatically. It is easy to add or delete VM’s on an as need basis. This is a perfect solution for test environments with little to no cost incurred to the company.

Please call us today and talk to one of our experts on VMware and virtualization

We are both VTSP and VSP certified!

Contact Brad Reeves at breeves@bravuranetworks.com