Is Virtualization for Real?

Heres a virtualized version of a joke: Three hypervisors walk into a DC (data center). The first hypervisor points to the servers and says to the other two: Watch what I do. He snaps his fingers and all the servers run at full capacity, emitting noise, smoke and starting a fire in the DC.

The second hypervisor smirks and says: Thats cool, but thats nothing. Watch what I do. He snaps his fingers at the sprinklers which immediately jump to life by spewing fire retardant on the servers and cooling the room with soothing musicand cones of ice-cream for all the engineers present in the DC.

The engineers clap and applaud the two hypervisors who give each other high-fives for their magic. They then turn to the third hypervisor whos just standing by. The two hypervisors taunt the third: I bet you cant do anything to beat our feat. The third hypervisor looks at the other two and at the engineers in the room, nods, and snaps his fingers. And all three hypervisors instantly disappear from the DC.

Is virtualization for real? A year ago CIOs would have laughed at the virtualization joke. Not any more. The rush to wring more efficiency in the DCthe heart and soul of large enterprisesis prodding more companies to virtualize the three key elements that make up the DCservers, storage and the network. This in turn is helping more large companies move to a cloud-like delivery model where computing power, storage capacity and bandwidth will be virtualized and delivered to the users on demand.

Virtualization is the creation of a virtual (rather than an actual) version of a server, an operating system, a storage device or network resources. For example, in storage virtualization, dozens of storage devices on a network may be pooled together. These will appear and function like a single storage device which is managed from a central console.

More than 80% of large enterprises now have a virtualization program or project in place, says Gartner. Virtualization now drives efficient IT from all angles, including DC design, platform updates, application and infrastructure modernization, as well as traditional and new delivery models such as infrastructure utility and cloud computing.

A recent IDC Asia survey notes that uncertain economic conditions have accelerated interest in cloud delivery models because of the models ability to deliver IT and business services at a much lower capital outlay. Private clouds are being implemented within DCs of large enterprises, says IDC. Many companies are looking at external private clouds, or what the telcos call virtual private clouds. These virtual private clouds provide a very attractive, fast-track option for many large companies and will figure prominently in the next 3 years.

Gartner says virtualization will be the highest-impact issue between now and 2015. It will change how you manage, how and what you buy, how you deploy, how you plan, and how you charge for services.

A poll of 900 companies worldwide by TheInfoPro Group found that 64% of respondents chose virtualization as the top technology driver. The poll was commissioned by Brocade Inc. In the next 18 months, 71% of respondents noted that they will be running at least 30% or more of their Aon virtual machines, Brocade says. Virtualization is becoming a standard best practice in the DC.

That may be true with DCs in general, but not quite in India yet. According to analysts, although there is enough awareness about server and storage virtualization in India, the takeup rate of virtualization in DCs still lags behind markets such as Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, and South Korea.

One reason for virtualization being top of mind in key markets is the rush to cloud computing. Virtualization is the first step on the journey to the cloud. And as some markets rush to embrace the private cloud faster than others, server and storage consolidation and virtualization are becoming hot topics in the rest of Asia. Virtualization may be virtual in India right now, but it will soon get real. Get ready.

Raju Chellam
The writer is a former Dataquest editor & currently MD of TechTrenders Asia, based in Singapore
maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in