Applications
At its core, virtualization technology allows multiple operating systems to share computer hardware, such as a server.This allows for:
- Server Consolidation - virtualization allows for consolidating operating systems and applications. Each machine can run multiple virtual servers, thus requiring less hardware.
- Failover/High availability - standardized configurations or images can be saved to a file so a virtual server can easily be duplicated or restarted on another machine. In the event of physical server failure, the virtual server image can be restarted on a different physical server with little or no impact to the end user.
- Server Pooling - virtualization enables dynamic allocation of computing capacity across different hardware resources. The virtualization software monitors utilization of each virtual server. Should a virtual server experience an increased load, additional resources from other underutilized physical servers can be allocated to it.
Benefits
- Cost efficient - reduce your hardware, storage, and maintenance costs. Multiple Virtual Servers can share the same physical server yet remain completely independent of each other
- Stable -end users will not be impacted by a physical server failure as other physical servers will seamlessly pick up the slack
- Efficient - computing capacity is dynamically allocated across different hardware resources.
- Easy deployment - standardized configurations allow Virtual Servers to be easily duplicated which speeds up deployment and scalability
- Full administrative control - you have administrative control over your own Virtual Server environments while UBC IT takes care of managing the physical hardware.
- Regular back ups - files are automatically backed up daily
- Secure - this service comes with a configurable virtual firewall so you can block unauthorized access
Limitations
Virtual Servers are not suitable for every server application. Some current limitations are:
- Applications requiring any additional hardware such as peripheral cards or USB security keys.
- Applications that require large amounts of processing power, such as graphics applications.
Technical Requirements
- a computer with network/internet connectivity
- a CWL account
