Using Intel Multi-Port Server Adapters to Optimize Server Virtualization and Consolidation

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Using Intel® Multi-Port Server Adapters to Optimize Server Virtualization and Consolidation White Paper
process very straightforward. This approach
enables enterprises to consolidate mission-critical
applications and services running on various
operating systems onto fewer, more scalable
and r
eliable enterprise-class servers, including
blade servers. As a result, IT managers can
s
treamline data center operations, reduce
hardware requirements, and minimize unused
capacity while maintaining application service-
level agreements simply by balancing workloads
and adjusting the resources dedicated to
each virtual machine. The end result: a lower
cost to acquire, deploy, manage, and operate
needed IT resources.
•
Respond faster to business needs. With
VMware VirtualCenter 2 management
capabilities, server provisioning time is
reduced from weeks to minutes. Virtual
machines can be added as needed, allowing
IT administrators to quickly respond to a
variety of situations, including increased
demand for capacity, new requests for IT
services, and the need for improved
performance. Using VMware Infrastructure 3,
administrators can create server templates
to ensure that server configurations for
newly added virtual machines are consistent
with departmental policies.
•
De
velop and test software more
efficiently.
By consolidating multiple test and
de
velopment servers onto fewer physical servers,
IT developers can test new enterprise applica-
tions in large-scale test configurations without
incurring the cost or resource burden of provi-
sioning and configuring a large number of
physical servers.
•
Create cost-effective business continuity
and disaster recovery solutions.
Business
c
on
tinuity means main
taining the a
v
ailability o
f
mission-critical applications in the face of main
tenance needs, hardware failures, and adverse
events. VMotion technology allows administrators
to move live applications on a virtual machine
from one physical server to another physical
server before bringing the primary server
down for maintenance. In this way, VMware
Infrastructure 3 virtualization software can
dramatically improve application availability
and mak
e updates to business-critical servers
possible without a disruption in service. In
addition, virtual machines can be clus
tered
to further increase application availability
by providing automatic failover.
VMware Infrastructure 3 software can also
help administrators implement a cost-effective
disaster recovery solution. In the event of a
disas
ter, multiple production workloads that
were running on virtual machines on physical
servers can be recovered in minutes simply
by copying the virtual machine images to a
physical server at the disaster recovery site
and then restarting the virtual machines on
that server. Using virtual infrastructure in this
way can provide business continuity while
eliminating the need to maintain identical
hardware at both the production and disaster
recovery sites.
•
Migrate legacy and custom applications.
Migrating customized enterprise applications
can be problematic, so many organizations
require their legacy systems to remain opera-
tional at least until the transition is complete.
Because virtual machines oper
ate indepen-
dently of physical hardware and multiple
virtual machines can run on a single ph
ysical
server, IT administrators can protect critical
data and maintain new and old systems simul-
taneously. This can be accomplished by running
these systems in secure virtual machines at
near-native performance levels on standard
Intel Xeon processor—based servers.
Intel® NICs: Providing the Glue for VMware
Virtual Machines
Often taken for granted in servers, NIC capacity
must be carefully maintained on servers hosting
multiple virtual machines. As the number of virtual
machines per serv
er incr
eases, utiliza
tion o
f the
host CPU resources also increases. In addition,