Virtual Servers Harry Dickens Arkansas Public School Resource Center Harry Dickens Arkansas Public School Resource Center

How it looks and How it works Virtual Software

What Apps will you run on a Virtual Machine Share Point SQL database Exchange Grade books Time Clock Software Library Software Website Antivirus Windows Update Server

How many Apps can I run on a Physical server ? The machine must be a multi-core processor with 2-4 gigabit of RAM per virtual machine running on the physical server. I have asked several technology directors this question. Their answer has been no more than 5 or 6.

What happens when you virtualize Vitalizing servers on to redundant boxes allows for easier and centralized system administration. Instead of having many servers at each school running many different services that are global to all sites, virtualization saves money and time.

What happens when you virtualize Vitalizing servers on to redundant boxes allows for easier and centralized system administration. Instead of having many servers at each school running many different services that are global to all sites, virtualization saves money and time.

What happens when you virtualize Support cost, especially electricity, are diminished. Example 10 sites connected by fiber all running the same programs on a server could be whittled down to one server at one site. This eliminates the cost to supporting 10 remote servers.

What happens when you virtualize Other cost that go down: remote technicians that have to support them, air conditioners to cool the servers, locked closets or enclosures to house the servers, and peripherals necessary to accommodate a server.

Other things to think about before virtualizing Your network must be fast, redundant and stable since the servers maybe running your entire district at mostly one location. The server needs to be at your network core and your core must be stable.

Other things to think about before virtualizing The server itself has to be redundant to ensure that it can withstand a component failure with limited downtime. Power Supplies - NIC Cards - Hard Drives - and Network Connections

Question to Ask as an Administrator How familiar are you with VM concepts and how important is support? What is the difference between free and paid products? What hardware is needed? Is it readily available? What operating system will you want to run? You will still need IT staff

Question to Ask as an Administrator Consolidation Expectations Upfront Hardware Investments

Virtualization Software VMware/EMCMicrosoftXen URLVmware.comMicrosoft.com/virtual serverXensource.com Free server productVMware ServerVirtual Server 2005 R2XenExpress Paid server products Infrastructure v3 (Starter, Standard, and Enterprise) NoneXenServer and Enterprise Pricing range paid product$ $5750 (two CPU versions)FreeServer : $99/yr Enterprise: $750 Host OS (if any) Server: Windows Server, various Linux Infra v3:bare metal Windows Server, XP Pro SP2 (for testing purposes only) Bare metal Management tools Virtual Center VMotion migration tool System Center VM Manager (beta)Administrator Console Support resourcesHighMedium Advantages Widest selection of pre-built appliances Widest selection of guest OS support Wizards galore for install aids Can run on any IE browser with Internet access Less expensive option Easy cloning of VM images Open source solution that doesn't require any host OS Disadvantages Confusing array of pricing and configuration options Only four "virtual hard disk" pre- built appliances of MS server products Limited hardware support Limited Windows guest OS support

Questions Harry Dickens