Acknowledging And Handling Server Virtualization's Shortcomings

Saturday, 30 September 2006 by Michel Roth

From SearchServerVirtualization: Server virtualization has rosy prospects today, because it offers such benefits as decreasing the operational costs of servers, saving storage space, conserving power and increasing utilization. But before you pick this rose, check for the size of its thorns.

While there has been much written about the technical wonders of server virtualization, there has not been as much discussion on the business implications of the technology. Virtualization, like any other advancement in technology, needs to be analyzed on how it meets the needs of the organization and how well it lives up to its promises.

...Virtualization is here to stay, and all organizations should ascertain if it makes sense for their environment. However, organizations must understand that virtualization is a tool that can yield such benefits as increased server utilization, reduced power consumption and so on. Those benefits, however, won't come cheaply, so factor in the issues I've mentioned above to calculate the true cost of a virtualization implementation. Be sure to do a cost comparison between a traditional versus virtualized environment.

Read the entire article here.