Server Consolidation and Microsoft Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V

Have you ever stood in your server room and wondered if you could reduce the amount of hardware that you had to inventory, monitor, and manage? Minimizing the amount of hardware clutter is now easier than you think, and in most cases you already have some of this technology in your network.

The solution we are talking about is called server virtualization. Server virtualization allows a single piece of server hardware to run multiple Virtual Servers. This technology is made possible using Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V server role.

The advantages to server virtualization are as follows:

• Server Consolidation
• Business Continuity Management
• Software Test and Development
• Dynamic Data Center

Server Consolidation
Most of the servers running in a typical IT environment run between 5 percent and 15 percent utilized. This means that power, cooling and rack space are not being used as efficiently as they could be.

Business Continuity
As IT professionals we strive to keep the Information Systems available with as many 9’s as possible. Utilizing Hyper-V in a failover cluster configuration will allow you to perform the necessary maintenance on your servers and still keep the virtual systems available.

Software Test and Development
IT systems have become a utility in modern business, creating and implementing these systems require proper planning and testing. With Hyper-V you have the flexibility to quickly implement, test, and develop systems to support all your business needs in a safe environment.

Dynamic Data Center
Server Virtualization has an extended set of management tools found in System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM). These tools enable virtual machines to be quickly reconfigured and migrated, while maintaining flexible control of resources. These features give IT staff the ability to effectively manage the data center and quickly adapt to issues or demand.

Additional Features available in Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V

• Dynamic memory management allows virtual servers to adapt to demand.
• Additional support for up to 64 logical processors in host servers.
• Live Migration from one host server to another without interruption.
• Cluster Shared Volumes allow multiple host servers to share access to SAN storage.
• Dynamic VM storage allows hot plug-in and removal.
• SMP support for up to four processes in a virtual machine (Server 2008).
• Support for large memory allocation per virtual machine (VM).
• Pass-through disk access and broad support for SAN and internal disk access.
• Virtual switch capabilities and support for Microsoft Network Load Balance (NLB).
• Improved access and utilization of hardware resources on the Virtual Server.
• Physical to virtual migration.
• Snapshot running virtual machine for backup and recovery.

For more information about Server Virtualization, Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, and how your organization can adopt these new technologies Request a Free One-Day IT Network Assessment!

Written By:
Jim Graham, MCITP
IT Solutions Manager
FMT Consultants, LLC