Analysis: Enterprises are using virtualization technology from Microsoft, VMware and Citrix for servers, desktops, applications and storage. While virtualization saves money, it creates management headaches. Vendors ranging from BMC, CA, HP and IBM are building virtualization management tools, but more cross-platform capabilities are needed.IT
managers who are used to being praised for the huge equipment and
operational savings accrued from implementing server virtualization
solutions from VMware, Citrix
XenServer
and now Microsoft Hyper-V are facing the task of preserving these
savings with effective and efficient virtual machine management.
Between server, desktop, application and storage virtualization, IT
managers will face a growing threat of rising management costs unless
effective management and capacity planning tools are put in place, and
soon. VM sprawl—the creation of virtual machines without a life cycle
plan for ongoing utilization monitoring, configuration management
(including patch management), and an automated process for VM placement
according to physical host, business process and security policy
constraints—must be stopped at once.
Check out the eWEEK Labs review of Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008.
If your organization creates VMs without at a life cycle plan, you are in immediate peril.
Currently installed tools from BMC Software, CA, Hewlett-Packard and
IBM/Tivoli aren’t yet ready for the next challenge IT managers face
when it comes to x86 server virtualization. And while the existing management tools
that prevailed in production environments in the age of one app/one
hardware server won’t do to manage dynamic virtual environments, we
have learned enough from these systems to understand what should be in
a cross-platform virtualization tool.
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