Although virtualisation technology has been around in the mainframe and Unix worlds for years, its more recent move into the X86 commodity server space has caused a bit of a stir.
On the one hand, it is seen as an important means of boosting computing efficiency due to its ability to boost server utilisation. While the average PC server uses only about 10 per cent of its CPU capacity at any one time, virtualisation software can increase this figure to as much as 70 or 80 per cent.
Virtualisation technology is also seen as a possible means of cutting costs by reducing server sprawl. This is because it enables organisations to run different operating systems and applications in partitions on the same physical server, which can lead to savings in terms of hardware procurement, power and cooling bills and data centre space.
The software is now in the early mainstream phase of adoption in the large enterprise space. It is also expected to take off among small to medium-sized enterprises during 2008 and 2009 after Microsoft ships the Windows Server Virtualisation free-of-charge add-on to its Longhorn server operating system at the end of 2007.
As a result, the time seemed right to explore the pros and cons of the technology through the eyes of real-world users — in this case, financial services giant Standard Life, and well-known charity Comic Relief.
Standard Life: Extraordinary technology
Standard Life implemented virtualisation technology in 2004 as part of a wider Intel server-consolidation project to cut running costs and simplify management and administration. More...
Comic Relief: Laughing all the way to the Grid
"The most important time for us is event days, as they're our primary means of fundraising. So it's 100 percent imperative that we have an infrastructure in place that can handle peaks in activity and provide an efficient and secure service to everyone who wants to give us money," says Martin Gill, head of new media at Comic Relief. More...
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