Server Virtualization Challenges
by Mouhamad Jamal-Eddine
Although server virtualization has a number of prodigious benefits, including lower costs and fewer hardware requirements, there are some issues IT and company management need to watch out for. No technology is perfect, and there are challenges associated with server virtualization as well as some great opportunities.
High Software Costs
One of the biggest costs associated with server virtualization is the cost of the software licenses. Server virtualization allows you to host a number of different servers on the same piece of hardware, but each of those server installations requires its own individual software (hypervisor) license.
You can mitigate those costs by using open source software (hypervisor), but you will need to make sure you have people who can support those open source systems. If you choose proprietary software instead, you could run into some high licensing fees.
Planning Costs
One of the biggest advantages of server virtualization is that it allows you reduce the number of physical servers you have at your company. But in order to make the most of your server virtualization program you must plan your requirements properly. You can save money going forward by using virtual servers instead of physical ones, but in order to achieve the greatest cost savings you might want to consider reducing the size, complexity and cost of your server room and its support systems. That means a proper strategic planning, and sometimes a great deal of up-front cost for large enterprises, to achieve those long term cost savings.
Training Costs
If your IT staff are used to working with physical servers hosting a single application, they might not be prepared to support your newly virtualized environment without having the right training. Server virtualization has its own unique challenges, and your IT staff will need training in order to meet those challenges and support the virtual environment effectively. It is important to factor these up front training costs into your budget before you start your server virtualization.
Management Concerns
Server virtualization does reduce your management, maintenance and support costs, but simply making your servers virtual does not mean you get rid of its costs. Many businesses mistakenly think that server virtualization means they will no longer need to manage their servers, but this is simply not the case.
Legacy Support Issues
Some legacy systems do not respond well to virtualization, and it is important for businesses to thoroughly test their systems before moving to a virtual server environment. Many legacy systems expect, for instance, that each piece of hardware must have a single IP address, MAC address, WWN, and those systems might not respond properly when a number of different servers, each with its own unique IP address, exists on the same box. However, many hypervisors companies are sorting out these issues now.
Hardware Investment
The number of virtual servers you can host on a single box will depend in large part on the quality of the hardware you are using. If your servers are more than a few years old, they might not have the power they need to host more than one server application. In order to make virtualization work, you will have to make at least a few new hardware purchases. Factoring those up front hardware costs into your budget is important, and it will make the server virtualization process go a lot more smoothly.