VegaStream Tutorial - The Advantages & Disadvantages of Using Virtual Machines

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H AR OLD R E AD

V I R TUALI Z ATI ON PR ACTI CE M AN AG E R

H T T P : / / W W W. A L L I N . C O M

A L L I N C O N S U L T I N G S A L E S @ A L L I N . C O M 7 8 1 . 2 1 3 . 6 9 1 7

Getting Started with

Server Virtualization

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Agenda



_Overview



_{Getting Started}



_Challenges



_{Potential Pitfalls}



_Resources

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Overview - Virtualization Concepts



_{Thin layer Between HW & OS}

(iceberg)

 Eliminates OS/HW dependencies  Virtual Machines are files

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Overview – Solutions



_{Top Three Virtualization Solutions}

 VMware vSphere  Microsoft Hyper-V  Citrix XenServer

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Overview – Advantages



_Flexibility

 Rapid provisioning, Templates

 Reduced HW dependencies, easily add capacity  Workload balancing –Move VMs from host to host



_{Reliability - Improved Disaster Recovery}

 High Availability and Fault Tolerant capabilities



_{Reduce number & types of servers}

 Reduced capital & operating expense

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• Provisioning time reduced to minutes instead of days or weeks Configure hardware Install OS Configure OS & Tools Assign IP Address Configure Network Deploy from Template Poweron VM <1 hour of work 20-40 hrs of work

Before Server Virtualization

After Server Virtualization

Procure hardware

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Overview – Limitations



_{Introduces overhead}



_{Not good for high bandwidth & low latency applications}



_{Does not support unique hardware}

 i.e. FAX card



_{Need compatible CPUs to use VM migration}

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Getting Started



_{Virtualization is a Journey, not a "project"}

 A fundamental shift in datacenter operations



_{Four Maturity Stages (Forrester Research)}

 Acclimation – familiarization, low hanging fruit

 Strategic Consolidation – ‘virtual first’, remaining servers  Process Improvement – Integrating new capabilities

 Pooling & Automation – processes -> policies

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Getting Started - Planning



_{Make Detailed Plan(s)}

 System focus vs. Individual Server focus

 VM application behavior affects other VMs

 Include sections for:

 Implementation, P2V, Validation & Management



_Consider

 Application Availability Requirements  Business Continuity Requirements  Revised Backup Strategy

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Getting Started - Planning



_Consider….

 Control access

 (e. g. failure from network change example)

 Impact on Staff & Organization

 Create/update standards, processes, policies  Training – Train the right people, limit access  Stakeholder & Management Buy-In & Input  Set Expectations



_{Rethink Disaster Recovery}

 New Opportunities  New Risks

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Getting Started - Planning



_{Inventory Current Applications}

 Identify virtualization candidates  Note dependencies

 CPU & Memory utilization

 I/O performance requirements  Compute Load – Static or variable  3rdparty license & support

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Getting Started - Education



_{Evaluate Free Virtualization Software}

 Get hands on experience with products and tools



_{Evaluate & Compare Features and Cost}

 Starter Kits

 Management Tools & Integration



_{Train Key Staff}

 Techs

 Management  e.g. drive by deployment

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Getting Started – Infrastructure Design Overview



_{Centralized Storage}



_{New Servers}

 More memory, network ports

 e.g. Ports – 2-DMZ, 2-Prod, 2-VMotion, 4-Storage (2 bonded)

 64 bit required



_{Host Sizing Guidelines}

 Load host CPU to 60%  Load memory to 90%

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Challenges



_{Storage and Networking}

 Biggest Pain Points

 Migration from Local to Centralized Storage

 Do not undersize

 Snapshots and templates

 Greater demand for VMs

 Sufficient IOPs & bandwidth

 Network Planning for VMs

 Bandwidth

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Challenges, contd.



_{Virtual Machine Sprawl}

 New VM request policy  License issues



_{New Management Techniques & Tools}

 Decoupling of applications - servers  Naming Conventions

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Potential Pitfalls



_{Insufficient Planning - 5 Ps}



_{Don’t wait for all the kinks to be worked out}



_{Don’t skimp on training}



_{Don’t overlook importance of hardware}

 You can never have enough memory or storage



_{Do 1 thing at a time – e.g. Don’t change IP addresses or}

system names when doing P2V

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Resources

• Dell Virtualization Advisor

- http://advisors.dell.com/AdvisorWeb/Advisor.aspx?advisor=c82c3ec8-c94f-4602-9a41-c20382db1cd0&c=us&l=en&cs=555