Re: [Fed-Talk] Virtualization
Re: [Fed-Talk] Virtualization
- Subject: Re: [Fed-Talk] Virtualization
- From: Rex Sanders <email@hidden>
- Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:44:15 -0800
Virtualization is best used to replace multiple servers running at low
utilization, with fewer servers running at higher utilization, often
sharing a back-end SAN for storage consolidation. This can reduce capex
and opex, at the expense of more software complexity, and often at the
expense of security.
Some studies state that average corporate server utilization is around 15%.
Running multiple VMs on the same machine means each runs a little slower
than on a dedicated machine, but your VMs weren't working hard anyway.
If you cram too many VMs on one server, or all the VMs are accessing the
network or accessing storage or need 64 GB RAM simultaneously, or server
hardware crashes and takes out six VMs, you can create other problems.
That's why companies are making big bucks with VM management software, and
a whole new class of sys admin knowledge and training is required.
VM security is rapidly evolving, but in the early days people just ignored
the problems of VM base attacks, cross-server attacks on the same hardware,
and others. Yet more layers of security complexity have been introduced to
deal with these problems.
Are we having fun yet?
All because Windows historically did a poor job of keeping one application
from crashing or compromising the entire server, which led to one server
per app, which led to server proliferation, which led to the re-invention
of virtualization (a 1960s mainframe concept).
-- Rex
A cranky old mainframe and Unix guy (and Mac OS X).
At 8:07 AM -0800 11/10/10, Link, Peter R. wrote:
>#3--I know everyone wants to virtualize everything but has anyone done a
>study on how well virtualized OSes run compared to running the same OS
>native on the same hardware?
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