Virtualisation - Saving Costs Virtually

 Server.jpgVirtualisation promises to cut energy costs, development time and development costs as well as save money on your day-to-day running. But just how do you implement a virtual solution? 

In the last year virtualisation has moved from a hot topic in the IT departments of big enterprises to something that every business is looking at. To those who have already moved to a virtualisation-based solution, the move should not have been difficult. The benefits of virtualisation are clear, and have been outlined in IT Manager in previous issues (see box Virtualisation benefits). However, for those who are taking the first step the biggest problem is not calculating the benefits of virtualisation, but calculating what extra work the move will require, what the route to virtualisation entails and how they should proceed.

The first step should be to conduct initial testing of virtualisation software to get a sense of what the technology can do for your environment. Most solutions offer free downloadable trial versions. Next, as part of a staged approach, begin by planning a scaleable environment where hardware resources can be increased or decreased based on demand, and software can run from anywhere. Then look at which of your servers in your current infrastructure could be possible candidates for virtualisation.

Choose a server that’s non-critical and mostly under-utilised. Generally, the benefit of virtualisation increases with the number of physical servers you virtualise, so any investment will only start to make good business sense when the environment runs at a ratio of at least three virtual machines per physical server. It is also a good idea to follow someone else who has already implemented virtualisation.

Addleshaw Goddard, one of the UK’s leading law firms, is one such business and has a few tips that new companies can learn from. The firm acts for more than 80 FTSE 350 companies and nearly 100 public sector organisations. Its 1,220 employees, including 162 partners, are based in three UK cities – London, Leeds and Manchester. A core aspect of Addleshaw Goddard’s business is to document production and client communication. To support these activities, the firm requires a reliable IT system that performs well.

Daniel Simms is Head of IT Operations for Addleshaw Goddard and his department faced a constant problem; each time a different application was deployed, a new server had to be purchased and integrated with the data centre. This was cost-prohibitive, a poor use of resources and adversely affected IT infrastructure performance.

The technical team also had to:

  • Reduce data centre management time and complexity
  • Ensure consistent infrastructure across all sites
  • Control spiralling hardware costs
  • Deliver a cost effective testing environment for future rollouts
  • Meet demand for quick deployment of a training environment

Addleshaw Goddard first assessed VMware software as part of a tactical project to build two high-performance training and development systems quickly and cost-effectively. Running entirely on ESX Server, the initial VMware implementation hosted Interwoven’s Worksite Document Management System (DMS) and trained more than 1,000 users.

The deployment was such a success that Addleshaw Goddard has since used VMware software for every major IT project. The firm’s virtual infrastructure is comprised of management tools, Vmware VirtualCenter and VMotion, that have transformed each of its data centres into a single pool of computing resources that can be tapped into on demand.

The benefits for moving to a virtual infrastructure included:
Hardware and management cost savings
Existing hardware is used more effectively with servers operating at higher capacity while delivering improved performance.
Increased technical agility
Centralised application management allocates computing power to specific applications, guaranteeing optimal performance at peak times. Testing time is decreased – new servers can be cloned and provisioned in minutes.
Reduced server downtime
Virtual machines can simply be moved in real-time from server to server so essential maintenance occurs without any impact to the end-user.
Staff efficiencies and improved customer service
Key business applications are quickly deployed. The high performance and reliability of applications in virtual machines leads to increased staff efficiencies and better customer service.
Virtual infrastructure in practice
With staff members accessing applications running in standardized virtual environments, ESX Server enables IT consistency and compliance across the business.

Controlling IT resources across offices in four different locations, as well as a separate disaster recovery site, yields considerable management instant provisioning capabilities of VirtualCenter have simplified this task while reducing administration time.

VMotion provides the ability to move virtual machines between physical servers in real time and is used by Simms and his team to eliminate downtime and carry out testing procedures.

They are frequently able to conduct server maintenance in the middle of the day by simply moving virtual machines between physical boxes. “We have created an infrastructure for the future that gives us greater visibility than we’ve ever had before,” says Simms.

Lastly, keep your expectations low. Although there are many examples of users who have replaced tens of servers with a single server running lots of virtualised servers, you’re more likely to see reductions that are closer to six virtual machines per server.