How Virtualization Has Transform IT Disaster Recovery?
This is a series discussing about What Are the Current Trend for IT Disaster Recovery?
DRP-5000 Course Reading: This blog served as pre-reading for participants attending the IT DR Expert Implementer course or course code DRP-5000. You are expected to discuss about the current and future trends affecting IT disaster recovery (DR) and briefly share your immediate and future investment on you IT DR strategy based on a series of latest trends and it will be facilitated by an IT DR expert.
Another major trend in the IT DR space is Virtualization. Many IT and IT DR professionals are excited and see it as one of the greatest improvements to the continuity of businesses during a disruption.
What is Virtualization?
Traditionally, organizations have a “one-application, one-server” approach in place. This is where each application has its own server(s) to run from. This approach reduces the risk of applications interfering with each other as they run. However, resource utilization of the server especially, in the use of the processor time, is often very low (about 10%). Here is where, Virtualization with its software works by enabling organizations to place several “virtual” servers onto one “physical” server, thus allowing one processor to serve several server instances and enabling resource to be utilized up to as high as 75 to 80%.
For all intents and purposes, it is important to note that virtual servers are completely independent of one another, they only share the same physical server resources.
How Virtualization Can Reduce IT DR Recovery Costs and Enable Shorter Recovery Times?
Because the entire server is represented by a single file, backup and recovery is greatly simplified. Some organizations backup the single file so the entire application is in one snapshot while others continue to backup each individual virtual server.
Regardless of the approach, IT DR is as easy as restoring the file and starting the server. Should there be a disruption, this will minimize the time needed to reconfigure applications and reset databases. In addition to speeding recovery times, virtualization is also helping IT Infrastructure managers reduce its IT expenditure.
Reduce Cost for "Shared" Virtual Servers
If servers running virtual machines are deployed individually, it is an expensive option. Virtualization has the ability to combine as many as ten to twenty physical servers onto one physical server. This has significantly reduced the cost of purchasing individual servers for each application. Further, organizations using virtualization often report significant reduction of cooling requirement and space savings. This is extremely beneficial for organizations which usually run out of space over a period of time.
With a virtual environment, a business can speed up recovery times by easily storing machine images, rather than worrying about repairing individual servers and computers. Many organisations first started server virtualization because they would like to consolidate servers to achieve cost savings, reduce power consumption, conserve space, and eliminate under utilized physical resources.
Implementation Result in Meeting Shorter RTO
Based on industry feedback, Virtualization enables organizations to meet shorter recovery time objectives (RTOs) using the virtual fail-over servers without incurring the cost and space concerns created by idle physical servers. Also, it improves systems management along the way by leveraging seamless data and system image movement across physical platforms.
Benefits of Server Virtualization
In summary, in the context of IT DR, any organisation who opted for virtualization will experience dramatic benefits in return. The main benefits offered by virtualization are cost savings and centralized management of its IT operations. The detailed benefits are:
1. Reduced Hardware Costs
In virtualization, multiple physical machines are converted into virtual machines. All virtual machines hosted on a single or several physical machine. This will reduce the requirement of purchasing multiple hardware resources. Thus, it allows an organisation to centralize its operational environment which in-turn offers a significant savings in investment costs for purchasing hardware devices.
2. Faster Server Provisioning and Deployment
Server virtualization enables system provisioning and deployment within minutes, allowing an existing virtual machine to be cloned without the hours and costs, which is usually spent installing a new physical server.
This saving in time and cost add up substantially over a period of time as the organisation expands. This does not to include the growing number of racks and cables to be purchased to accommodate for the increasing number of physical servers. The move to implement data center virtualization is most certainly necessary for most organisations to keep up with the explosion of data resources needed to keep pace with the growing business.
3. Greatly Improved IT Disaster Recovery
Perhaps the greatest benefit of server virtualization is the capability to move a virtual machine from one server to another quickly and safely. Backing up critical data is done quickly and effectively because an organisation can effortlessly create a replication site.
Most organisation-wide virtualization platforms contain software that helps automate the fail-over during a disaster. The software allows the organisation to test a IT DR fail-over during peacetime. If a disaster occurs to a data centre, an organisation with this preparation and infrastructure will be able to take appropriate measures for a swift and safe recovery.
4. Significant Energy Cost Savings
Other server virtualization benefits resulting from the migration of physical servers to virtual machines allows an organisation to consolidate them onto fewer physical servers. This results in a reduction of both cooling and power costs. Among the other benefit is to allow the organisation to “go green” as part of its corporate sustainability responsibilities.
5. Increased Productivity
The reduction of physical servers means there are less of them to maintain and manage. As discussed earlier, applications that used to take days or weeks to provision are now done in minutes. This allows IT professionals more time to spend on more productive tasks such as driving new business initiatives, cutting expenses and raising revenue.
Conclusion
Server virtualization brings positive transformations, such as reduced hardware costs, improved server provisioning and deployment, better IT DR solutions, efficient and economic use of energy, and increased staff productivity.
Virtualization is an IT trends that is here to stay. It may seem like a daunting task to move to a virtual infrastructure but one of the driving force which is the demand by IT DR will continue to get IT and business senior management to push ahead with this trend.
