| The potential advantages for virtualizing your servers | | | | server file, the longer it would take to copy the file. |
| are many, but this article focuses on the three main | | | | Nevertheless, the amount of time involved with doing |
| reasons why a small business may want to look into | | | | a file copy vs. a restoration from tape or online |
| virtualization. Virtualization is usually something that | | | | backup would be significantly less. |
| you hear about in a larger company that has several | | | | Improve Server Utilization |
| servers and hundreds of employees, but it does | | | | Most Small Businesses that I have encountered that |
| have its place in much smaller businesses if done | | | | have a 2-5 servers could really manage on much less |
| correctly because it can improve disaster recovery, | | | | in today's "virtualization capable" world. A lot of small |
| server utilization, and reduce power consumption. | | | | businesses of this size tend to "dedicate" a server to |
| Improve Disaster Recovery | | | | particular Line of Business Application or function such |
| You have the potential to get your server back up | | | | as a Mail Server, Database Server, File Server, etc. |
| and running faster if there was a critical hardware | | | | Most of these servers are using only a fraction of |
| failure on your server it that server is virtualized. You | | | | that server's processing power. With Virtualization, |
| could potentially copy the "virtual server" file over to | | | | those servers can be consolidated onto fewer |
| another piece of hardware and then install a virtual | | | | physical servers and the amount of processing power |
| machine player such as "VMware Player" and boot up | | | | and memory needed can be added as the needs of |
| your "virtual" server file within minutes and have it | | | | the virtual servers change. |
| fully functional again almost regardless of the | | | | Reduce Power Consumption |
| hardware that it is physically running on. | | | | When you combine your servers and eliminate |
| If this hardware problem had happened in a regular, | | | | unneeded physical servers, you are going to see a |
| non virtualized environment, you would have to fix | | | | reduction in the amount of power consumption. This |
| the hardware problem on that specific server before | | | | is not only due to not having as many servers or |
| using it again, or at minimum restore from backup to | | | | monitors plugged in, but also in the reduction of |
| another piece of hardware. This usually isn't just a | | | | cooling costs associated with cooling those unneeded |
| matter of waiting on the restore files to be copied, | | | | servers. I don't know of a study out for how much |
| but usually a fresh installation of the operating | | | | you can save in a small business of the size that we |
| system on the replacement hardware is involved. | | | | described above, but I know that in larger |
| With virtualization, your server can be backup up and | | | | environments the savings costs associated with |
| functional in the amount of time that it takes to do a | | | | cooling their data centers can be as high 85%. |
| file copy. Note, obviously that the larger the virtual | | | | |