By Steve Ranger, 27 October 2009 15:19
NEWS
It might not currently be as widespread as industry hype might have it - but server virtualisation is poised to grow rapidly as smaller businesses catch on to the benefits.
Server virtualisation allows multiple instances of an operating system to run simultaneously within one physical server, cutting the amount of hardware organisations have to buy and manage. And because fewer physical servers are required, virtualisation also helps to cut energy costs: no small thing for CIOs and CFOs after a recent study found that, thanks to rocketing energy prices, it now costs more to power some servers than to buy them in the first place.
Despite virtualisation's cost-cutting potential, only 16 per cent of workloads are running in virtual machines today, according to a new report by analyst Gartner. The company predicts that figure will rise to around 50 per cent of x86 architecture server workloads by the end of 2012 - roughly 58 million machines.
According to Gartner, small businesses are among the most enthusiastic adopters of virtualisation.
While large enterprises have been quick to pounce on virtual machines as a way to reduce server sprawl and power costs, increased competition by server vendors means smaller firms can now get in on the action too.
The analyst firm recommends a 'start small, think big' approach to virtualised server deployments - beginning with a specific project that builds towards a wider strategic plan which includes management and process changes.
"Starting small both reduces risk and provides for a learning curve while building the foundations for sustainable reductions in TCO and improvements in service quality," Tom Bittman, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, said in a statement. "The other aspect, 'thinking big', means it's important to proactively plan ahead for the major process and management changes virtualisation brings - not to mention how virtualisation is a path to cloud computing."
While virtualisation and cloud computing are not synonymous, virtualisation can act as a gateway tech for cloud by forcing the changes required to make it effective.
"Virtualisation forces users to let go of the physical implementations of their services, and deal with their provider in terms of service levels and results. When a provider becomes a cloud computing provider, users need to do a more complete job of describing their requirements in service terms," Bittman said.
According to figures from IDC, 16.5 per cent of all new servers shipped in the second quarter of 2009 were virtualised - up from 14.5 per cent last year.
Physical server shipments however are down 21 per cent year-on-year - to 246,000 physical servers - as businesses kept a tight leash on server hardware spending.
The worldwide server installed base has aged significantly over the last year, according to IDC, while virtual machine densities on such systems have increased sharply. Consequently, the market is poised for the beginning of a significant infrastructure refresh cycle in the months ahead, with virtualisation continuing to play a key role.
Michelle Bailey, research vice president of Datacenter Trends at IDC, predicted the next phase in virtualisation will require a reinvention of IT policies and procedures and the adoption of automation tools as virtual machine densities rise and customers find themselves facing virtual server sprawl issues.
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