Posted by: Phil Robinson in VMware, server, hardware, Geek on
Feb 18, 2009
A couple of years ago we decided to dive into the world of server virtualization. This is an amazing technology that allows us to run multiple operating systems on a single server. One server can act like many. Microsoft servers run better when their tasks are focused. Take a mail server for example. You wouldn’t want your mail server to also host your data files, database, web site and terminal server. Maybe you have a program that doesn’t play nice with others. Before virtualization, you would need to purchase a separate server for each of these tasks to have an ideal environment. I’ve seen plenty of servers overloaded with tons of applications by clients trying to stretch their server dollar. Heck, I built some of them. Servers can get expensive, especially when you need several.
Server virtualization has changed my world. Specifically a company called VMware. When they introduced their products, they had ‘virtually’ no competition. Now other companies, like Citrix and Microsoft have released their versions of server virtualization software, and are slowly stealing market share. I think that VMware’s products are the most feature rich, and the most stable. The best part about these providers is that they all have a free version. Server consolidation is the future, do more with less. There are many benefits, less power consumption, less hardware to purchase and maintain. High availability, and restoring to dissimilar hardware to name a few.
Don’t get me wrong, I love upgrading, especially servers. But they used to be such a pain. It would consist of me going on-site after hours or on a weekend and being there until the job was done. I’d be reloading programs, migrating users, setting up shares and printers, reconfiguring workstations. There were times I’d get on-site at 5pm after working a full day and wouldn’t leave until sometime the next day. There were always unknowns that would crop up delaying the process. It was all very rewarding in the end, but it was hard getting there.
I did a server upgrade a few weeks ago that just made me sit back and say “wow.” It’s what made me want to write about VMware. It was so unlike the server upgrades of the past, I just can’t get over how cool it was. From the comfort of my couch, I was able to convert 2 slow, old physical servers onto one new VMware server. I started the conversion, watched some TV, checked back on it in a few hours and it was done. I shut down the old servers and the upgrade was complete. The next day we went on-site during the day and removed the old servers. We probably spent a total of 1 hour on-site just delivering the new server and taking away the old ones. No loading operating systems and migrating settings, no copying data, just a conversion process from physical to virtual. The virtual versions of these servers boot faster, operate quicker and instantly utilize the new physical hardware that runs them. We’ve since added a third virtual server to the same box, eliminating all the servers in their server room but the new one. And backing them up is a breeze to with VMware’s snapshot technology.
Next time I’ll ramble a bit about cloud computing. A way to not just virtualize your servers, but eliminate them all together.
For those who know me, you know that I love technology. I am the one who has a new cell phone every six to nine months. My house has more computers than it does people. I am always reading blogs that tell me about new products that are coming out. I am often asked why I love technology so much (usually by my wife as I tell her about the new cell phone I have to buy) so I often wonder, is it simply because I want the newest gadget out there? I would like to think there is a better reason than that. I think the reason is simply I like solving problems. For me, I don’t want a new cell phone simply because it is new; I want a new cell phone in hopes that it will solve everything I hated about my old cell phone. And when that doesn’t work, I have to try again in six months or so.
This same problem solver mentality is seen as I design networks for clients. Usually we install a network and don’t have to change any equipment for three years. Recently, at one of our clients, we replaced a server that we installed about 18 months ago. It made me realize how far technology has come and how powerful it can be. When we installed their server 18 months ago, it was about a 16 hour job. It involved a technician going on-site after business hours, taking the entire network down, and migrating data to the new server. It also involved a technician being on-site the first two hours of business operations to finish the migration and update client computers. While we did an excellent job and it was seamless in the client’s eyes, it was a labor intensive job requiring a technician on-site for several overtime hours.
When it came time to replace the client’s second, aging server, we were able to dramatically change how the work was done using a technology we have been using heavily for the past year, VMware. VMware allows multiple servers to run virtually on a single piece of hardware. For this client, we replaced the 18 month old server and the much older server with a single new server running VMware. The previous server replacement took 16 hours with a technician on-site for most of that time, and it only involved replacing a single server. This time around, we were able to replace both servers with only two hours on-site, and three hours of remote labor. The best part is in three to five years when the client looks at replacing that piece of hardware, it will be a one hour job. That’s why I love technology.
