Hanging onto
virtualization savings
By Cameron Sturdevant
g WEEK labs
As the use of technologies from Microsoft, VMware and others grows,
so does the need for cross-platform management tools
PAUL CONNOLLY
IT managers who are sprawl—the creation of vir- it comes to x86 server virtual-used to being praised tual machines without a life ization. And while the existing
for the huge equip- cycle plan for ongoing utili- management tools that pre-ment and operational zation monitoring, configura- vailed in production environ-savings accrued from imple- tion management (includ- ments in the age of one app/
menting server virtualization ing patch management), one hardware server won’t
solutions from VMware, Citrix and an automated process do to manage dynamic vir-XenServer and now Microsoft for VM placement accord- tual environments, we have
Hyper-V are facing the task ing to physical host, business learned enough from these
of preserving these savings process and security policy systems to understand what
with effective and efficient constraints—must be stopped should be in a cross-platform
virtual machine manage- at once. virtualization tool.
ment. If your organization creates Even organizations currently
Between server, desktop, VMs without at a life cycle only using VMware should
application and storage vir- plan, you are in immediate put cross-platform manage-tualization, IT managers will peril. ment tools on the strategic
face a growing threat of ris- Currently installed tools from short list for 2009. Arell Chaping management costs unless BMC Software, CA, Hewlett- man, assistant vice president
effective management and Packard and IBM/Tivoli aren’t of network administration for
capacity planning tools are yet ready for the next chal- United Bancorp, is a user of
put in place, and soon. VM lenge IT managers face when CONTINUED ON PAGE 31
