Article about PVC
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C"1 LL1 CO O CCCID VIRTUALISATION FEATURE Future gazing Aninflexion point hasbeen reached nowthatthenumber virtualservers being shipped outstripping the number physical machines saysTony Dennis He examines the implications forfinancial institutions asvirtualisation becomes standard operating procedure andasksmeansthetraditional perceived problems such as knowledgeable staff shortages andlack vendor support and security arenowthing the past? Asbecomescommoditised pricesmay also fall For number years nowserver virtualisation hasbeenkey element many banksand insurance companies' strategies get more efficiency out their data centres andinfrastructures Independent researchcarriedout by KRClast year onbehalf Microsoft for itsVirtualisation BankingSurvey showed thatthe majority58 per cent large tier-one banks surveyed theUSandUKhave already implemented virtualisation across multipleaspects their infrastructures. Nevertheless therepressing needensure comprehensive management consolefor typically complex virtualised environments and people arestill learning howget thebest outandensure totally secureenvironment Yetthe uptake trend towards virtualisation continues because thetraditional problems are receding asthe technology becomesmore common andbest practice slowly established plus anyway thebenefits far outweigh anypossibleimplementation issues The question nowwhat thebest way introduce it? study fromIDCResearch entitled Western Europe ServerVirtualisation Forecast Analysis 2007-2013 showsits popularity byillustrating that for thefirst timeever last year the number virtual machine VM shipments exceeded thenumber physical serverssent outtopping two millionunits IDCalso saidthat the drop hardware spending caused by the recessionhasledbreak point 2009 withVM shipmentsexpected bemore than10 per cent higher than physical server shipments predicts that by 2013 theratiobetweenvirtual and physical server shipments will beAlongside thewell-known andwell publicised benefits virtualisation presents potential implementation challenges administrators thatneedbemastered says Giorgio Nebuloni research analyst withIDC European Systems Being so quick and relatively straightforward the deployment virtual machines can generate sprawling environments where managers lose visibility theamount VMsandontheir actualutilisation. Management Effective management the key remain control your data centre. Virtualisation hasdelivered generous benefits itsusers but compared its physicalcounterpart introduces new dynamic that not managedproperly can openup Pandora' Box saysStephen Beaver virtualisationevangelist' with softwarevendor Tripwire The speed andscaleforwhich virtualisation renownedgenerating newlevel complexity and impacting configuration management morethan ever The ability take things downand put themback up andmovethemaroundmakesforan extremelydynamic environment. Knowing the relationship between the various components aninfrastructure now paramount though headds. Provisioning dependencymapping patching and auditing areall required thisnewvirtualworld. Thecatchthat management infrastructure forvirtualisation just isn' as matureasthat the physical world As an example Beaver citesfinancial firm withseveral VMsonsingle piece hardwarethat were interfacing storage system Alertsfromthe storage equipment thatthedevicewasabout fail were being storedlogbutthe administrator didn' knowthe log existed Hence theentireinfrastructure failed after30 days Thesolution Beaver believes that professionals should select management toolsthat can aggregate information andconsolidate management tasks Thiswill enable professional staff make bothautomated and intelligent decisions. Standards examples and competition Financial institutions'worries about being tooreliantonone singlesupplier and paying too high price for the technology arenow diminishing The dominant position VMware which historically has beenthechief innovatorandthe biggest vendor now waning asothervendors suchasIBMMicrosoft with Hyper-V and Citrix Xen increasingly target themarket. For sometimenowclients havelooked virtualisation deliver improved cost performance viaincreasedvirtualisation andbetter useexisting assets says Graham Murraybusinessexecutivewith IBMFinancial Services Innovative clients have moved furthertowards platform virtualisation though move beyond the basicbenefits environment which platformoptimisation nowthe key consideration Thisallows clients movetowards themostcost effective platform typically onLinux Indeed virtualisation withLinux onSeriesservershastaken off asclients such as BankNewZealand andAllianz Australiahave successfully migrated noncore apps ontheir Seriesplatform. One company that hasn' specified the usual vendor suspectsthough BlueCrest Capital Management The company' teamreviewed numberserver virtualisation products and management N° and issue date : 1505 - 01/09/2009 Circulation : 12775 Frequency : Bimonthly FinancialSector_1505_30_315.pdf Web Site: http://www.fstech.co.uk Page : 30 Size : 85 % 1052 cm2 Copyright (Financial Sector Technology - FST) No reproduction without authorisation 1 / 2
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C"1
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VIRTUALISATION FEATURE
FuturegazingAninflexionpointhasbeenreachednowthatthenumber of virtualserversbeingshipped is outstripping thenumber of physicalmachines
, saysTonyDennis . Heexaminestheimplications forfinancial institutionsasvirtualisationbecomesstandard
operatingprocedure ,
andasks if it meansthetraditionalperceivedproblems ,
suchasknowledgeablestaffshortages ,
and a lack of vendorsupportandsecurityarenow a
thing of thepast?As it becomescommoditised pricesmayalsofall
Fora number of yearsnow
,
servervirtualisationhasbeen a keyelement in manybanksand
insurance companies'strategies to getmoreefficiencyout of theirdatacentresand IT infrastructures . IndependentresearchcarriedoutbyKRClastyearonbehalf
of Microsoft,
for itsVirtualisationin BankingSurvey ,
showed thatthemajority (
58percent)
of largetier-onebankssurveyed in theUSandUK
,
have
already implementedvirtualisationacross
multipleaspects of their IT infrastructures.
Nevertheless,
there isa pressingneed to
ensure a comprehensive managementconsolefortypicallycomplexvirtualisedenvironments
,
andpeoplearestilllearninghow to getthebestout
of it andensure a
totallysecureenvironment . Yettheuptaketrend towardsvirtualisationcontinuesbecausethetraditionalproblemsarerecedingasthetechnologybecomesmorecommonandbestpractice is slowlyestablished
, plusanyway thebenefits faroutweigh anypossibleimplementationissues . Thequestion now is what is thebest
way to introduce it?A studyfromIDCResearch entitled
WesternEuropeServerVirtualisationForecast
& Analysis2007-2013,
showsitspopularitybyillustratingthatforthefirsttimeeverlastyear ,
thenumber of virtualmachine
(
VM) shipmentsexceeded thenumber of
physicalserverssentout; toppingtwo
millionunits . IDCalsosaidthatthedrop in
hardwarespendingcausedbytherecessionhasled to a breakpoint in 2009
withVMshipmentsexpected to bemorethan10percenthigherthanphysicalservershipments ,
It predictsthatby2013,
theratiobetweenvirtualandphysicalservershipmentswillbe
3
:2.
"
Alongside thewell-known andwell
publicised benefits,virtualisationpresents
potential implementation challenges toIT
administrators thatneedto bemastered
,
"
saysGiorgioNebuloni,
a research analystwithIDCEuropeanSystems .
"
Beingsoquickandrelativelystraightforward ,
thedeployment of virtualmachinescangeneratesprawlingenvironments
,
whereIT managerslosevisibility of theamount
of VMsandontheiractualutilisation. "
ManagementEffectivemanagement is thekey to remain
in controlof yourdatacentre.
" Virtualisationhasdeliveredgenerousbenefits to itsusers
,
butcompared to itsphysicalcounterpart ,
it introduces a newdynamic that
ifnotmanagedproperly ,
can
openupPandora' s Box,
"
saysStephenBeaver
,
a virtualisation ' evangelist' withsoftwarevendor
, Tripwire .
" Thespeedandscaleforwhichvirtualisation
is
renowned is generating a newlevel of
complexity and impacting configurationmanagement morethanever . Theabilityto takethingsdownandputthembackupandmovethemaroundmakesforanextremelydynamicenvironment.Knowingtherelationshipbetweenthevariouscomponents in an
IT infrastructureis nowparamount though ,
" headds."
Provisioning , dependencymapping ,
patchingandauditingareallrequired in
thisnewvirtualworld. "
Thecatch is thatmanagementinfrastructure forvirtualisation just isn' t asmatureasthat in thephysicalworld . Asanexample ,
Beavercites a financial firmwithseveralVMson a singlepiece of
hardwarethatwereinterfacing toa
storagesystem . Alertsfromthestorageequipment thatthedevicewasabout to failwerebeingstored
in a log ,
butthe
administratordidn't knowthelog
existed . Hence theentireinfrastructurefailedafter30days . Thesolution
,
Beaverbelieves
,
is that IT professionals shouldselectmanagementtoolsthatcanaggregate informationandconsolidate
management tasks . Thiswillenableprofessional staff to makebothautomatedandintelligentdecisions.
Standards, examples andcompetition
Financial institutions'worriesabout beingtooreliantononesinglesupplier andpayingtoohigh a priceforthetechnologyarenowdiminishing . Thedominant
position of VMware,
which historicallyhas
beenthechiefinnovatorandthebiggestvendor
,
is nowwaningasothervendors,
suchasIBM,
MicrosoftwithHyper-VandCitrix
/Xen
, increasingly targetthemarket." Forsometimenowclientshavelooked
to virtualisation to deliverimprovedcost
performance via increasedvirtualisationandbetteruse of existingassets
,
"
saysGraham Murray ,
a businessexecutivewithIBMFinancialServices .
" Innovative clientshavemovedfurthertowardsplatformvirtualisation though ,
to move beyond thebasicbenefits to a V +
1 environment in
whichplatformoptimisation is nowthekeyconsideration . Thisallowsclients to
movetowards themostcosteffectiveplatform , typicallyonLinux . IndeedvirtualisationwithLinuxonSeries z
servershastakenoffasclients,
suchasBank of NewZealandandAllianzAustralia
,
havesuccessfully migratednoncoreappsonto theirSeries z platform.
"
Onecompanythathasn' t specifiedtheusualvendorsuspectsthough is BlueCrest
CapitalManagement . Thecompany' s IT
teamreviewed a number of servervirtualisationproductsandmanagement
N° and issue date : 1505 - 01/09/2009Circulation : 12775Frequency : BimonthlyFinancialSector_1505_30_315.pdfWeb Site: http://www.fstech.co.uk
Page : 30Size : 85 %1052 cm2
Copyright (Financial Sector Technology - FST)No reproduction without authorisation
1 / 2
toolsbefore installingthetechnology ,
including thosefromVMwareandCitrix.However
,
it eventuallydecided to adoptParallels'VirtuozzoContainersinstead .
AsAndrewRoberts
,
co-head of ITat
BlueCrest, explains :
" What it essentiallycamedown to wascost
, performance and
manageability .Theothersolutionswould
nodoubthelpuswithserverconsolidation
butwhenwelooked at theadditionalnumbersaroundmanagement ,
wejustweren' t confidentabouttheTotalCost of
Ownership (
TCO).
BlueCrestidentifiedvirtualisationasa
costeffective approach to consolidatingexistingHPProliantservers . Thisenabled
itto freeupspaceforinstallingnew
hardware . Thetechnologyalsoneeded to
bothseamlesslyintegratewiththeexistingIT infrastructureandbeeasy to operatebyBlueCrest' s team of administratorswhohave a broadrange of skillsandresponsibilities . Mostnotably ,
it isnow
beingusedregularlyforUserAcceptance
Testing (
UAT)
of itsmarketaggregation
applications ,
disasterrecovery ,
aswellas
hosting thestandardbackofficeapps.There' s
a perceivedlack ofstandards
withthetechnology butvendors likeCitrixareattempting to tackle this . SotirisKousouris
,
a senior IT manager at
Piraeus
Bank,
who'veworkedwiththevendor,
revealsthat :
" WehaveusedCitrixXenAppforsixyears to virtualiseourapplications.
ImplementingXenServerforourservervirtualisationneedscompletesthefinalpiece of thepuzzleforus. "
According to
KousourisCitrix' s commitment to opensourcetechnology and a standardised
approach , mainlyviaitsXen.orgopencommunity ,
is encouraging.
Security , managementanddatarecovery
Securityandtheability of existing ITstaff
to copewithvirtualisationarethetworemaining ' traditional '
problem areaswithvirtualisation still to beexamined.Virtualisationenvironments sharemany of
thesamesecuritychallengesfacedbyphysicalserverenvironments thoughso
ensuring a safeplatformshouldn' t betoodifficult
, arguesSimonYoung , generalmanagerforserversecurity ,
at TrendMicro .
"
Onechallenge is theinability of
appliance-basedsecurity to dealwithattacksbetweenvirtualmachines
(
VMs)
onthesameserver, highlightingtheneed
formechanisms to bedeployeddirectlyon
theserver to protecttheseenvironments,
"
headmits,
butgenerally it shouldbefairlystraightforward , stressing theprovisothat :
"Arequirementhasemergedforanapproach to virtualisationsecuritythatallowsprotection to occurascloseaspossible to theassetitself. "
MartinNiemer, groupmanager ,
EMEA,
VMware, agreesthatvirtualisation
hasthesamesecuritychallengesasphysical .
"
It doesn't addsecurityconcerns
,
nordoes it improvesecurity ,
" hestates." Therearenorealnewchallenges ,
ratherthesameoldproblems." Niemer
points to thefactthatVMwarehasachieved CommonCriteriaEvaluationAssuranceLevel 4 asproof of
hiscompany' s commitment to security .
"
I
thinkthatachievingthat[
Level 4
]
is
extremelyimpressive."
Niemer' s approach to managing thevirtualenvironment is similarlyconfident." We' re dealingwiththesame IT personnelsothere' s
a requirement to givethemthesametools . Theabilityformanagementtools to
workwithinheterogeneousenvironments
,
suchasVMwareandCitrix,
andalsopatchintoIBMTivloiandHPOpenView
,
is crucial .Otherwise new
virtualisation management toolswillsimply increasecomplexityandexpense ,
which is counter-productive."
Thisapproachcontrastswithadvice
givenbyForresterConsulting inresearch
commissioned byTripwireentitledRemovingBarriersToBetterServerVirtualisationEfficiency .Thestudysaysthat
it canbeimpractical to trainalladministratorsonservervirtualisation in
larger IT shops ,
therearesimplytoomany
people . Evenso, largenumbers of
administrators arebeingtrainedbutForresterbelieves thatmore
virtualisationaware managementtoolsandprocessesarenecessary before firmscanfullyvirtualisetheirproductionserversandreach thelowestpossiblecostperVM.
ErnestoLobo,
a recoveryengineerwithKrollOntrack
, sayshe' s spotted a ten-fold
increase in thenumber ofdatarecovery
requests in virtualenvironmentsoverthelasttwelvemonths . This is
as a result of
boththewidespread adoption of virtual
technologyacrossalltypes ofbusiness
[
not
justthefinancialsector]
,
aswellastheuniquedatamanagementchallengesposedbyvirtualenvironments
,
hesays." We' re seeing firmsusevirtualisation to
storedatafrommultipleserverson a
VIRTUALISATIONFEATURE
singlestoragedevice, effectivelyplacing
alltheireggs in
onebasket . Thevolume of
data at riskfrom a singlefailure is
thereforemuchgreater , makingdataloss
potentiallymorecatastrophic in a virtualenvironment . In
somecasesphysicalserversarestillthesuitableoptionand
physicalandvirtualconsolidationshould
bedonesensibly." headds .
" Thedataitself
isnotanymorevulnerable in virtual
environments,
sofirmsshouldn' t bedissuaded fromusingthetechnology [ justuse it appropriately ].
"
Thebigquestion is whathappensnext?
Whatfutureuseswill a fullyvirtualiseddatacentreheputto?According to Stevan
Vidich,
a technologistwithMicrosoftFinancial Services :
" Asvirtualmachines
become trulyportableentities,
andmore
organisations look to outsourcing ,
wewillseenewchallengesaroundsecurity ,
data
protectionandcompliance . It willbeeasyto dropyourcustomer-facing applicationvirtualservers into a Cloud
,
federated or
otherwise,
butensuringcontrolwillbeanother matter. "
Casestudy :
RoyalLondonAssetManagementRLAMhasembarkedon a
virtualisation
projectusingVMwareESXsoftware
workingwithKelway ,
a specialist IT
reseller . Theobjective is to reducethetotalnumber of physicalserversdownfrom35
to eight . Thisis expected to delivercost
savings of £75 ,000overfiveyears from
powerreduction,
with a ReturnonInvestment
(
ROI)
withinthreeyears."
ByworkingwithKelway to virtualise
ourservers,
wewillproduceanenvironment that is fullyflexibleandfuture-proofed ,
"
arguesDennisLeeks,
IT
managerwithRLAM .
" We intend to
reducethenumber of physicalserversbyalmost threequarters ,
whichwillprovideuswithroom to growandsupport futurebusinessdevelopments.
"
Thebusinesshas180endusersplustwoserverrooms . However
,
thesitehaslimitedspaceandwouldeventuallyhave
runout of capacity foradditional servers.
Previously , procuring anewservertook
fourto sixweeks,
butnow anewserver
canbeupandrunning in anhour." Theflexibility of procuring a new
server in anhourmeanswecanbemuch
moreagileasa depaiintentandsupporttherest of thebusiness in a moreresponsiveway ,
" heconcludes. FsFl
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N° and issue date : 1505 - 01/09/2009Circulation : 12775Frequency : BimonthlyFinancialSector_1505_30_315.pdfWeb Site: http://www.fstech.co.uk
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Copyright (Financial Sector Technology - FST)No reproduction without authorisation
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