Virtualisation can aid energy crisis

Between 2010 and 2015 the cost of electricity is going to exceed the cost of IT infrastructure, according to an IDC estimation.

Stefan Jacobs, VP of storage for Sun Microsystems energy consumption, says this is already a major issue across the globe.

"Worldwide, the current IT infrastructure consumes more than 100 billion kilowatts of electricity - costing organisations over $7.2 billion annually," he says. "Between 2000 and 2005 the power consumption doubled, and is on track to double again by 2010. Over 60% of data centres are running out of power, cooling capabilities and space."

One solution to all this, explains Jacobs, is to go the virtualisation route.

He defines virtualisation as: "A technology, both hardware and software-based, that allows the creation of several 'virtual machines' on a single large server, each capable of running different operating systems and different applications."

Jacobs says virtualisation as technology is no longer restricted just to servers, and the technology is now used across the board, from the front-end client devices, the servers, the storage and the network. "This enables organisations to do more with less," says Jacobs.

By using virtualisation technologies, organisations reduce the number of physical machines needed to deploy business systems, he says. "This not only reduces the footprint required, but reduces the cooling required, the amount of electricity required, which in turn reduces the monthly operation costs."

Current worldwide trends indicate that a lot of work is being put into creating processors that use less power and at the same time deliver more compute power. "This leads to reduction in the number of servers and space required to provide more compute," he says. "And there is a renewed interest in thin-client technology, as thin-clients can use as little as four watts per device, far less than even the eco-efficient light bulbs.

The use of tape as a long-term storage medium is becoming more recognised as an economical and ecologically sound way of preserving data. "According to the Clipper Group1, a disk system occupies 6.2 times more floor space than that occupied by the tape system, with the same capacity, and the disk system costs over 25 times more money to power and cool than a similar capacity tape system," he says.

Despite the many benefits, however, virtualisation is not wholly devoid of challenges. "Just because you don't see it, it does not mean there are no problems," explains Jacobs.

One real issue with virtualisation, he says, is you have a real danger of recreating your physical sprawl problem in a virtual world, with all the same problems of managing and controlling it.

"It is so easy to create a new machine; at least in the past there was a certain level of control in procuring and deploying a new server. It is imperative for organisations to make sure they have the same levels of processes and procedures in place to control the new virtualised environment."

Another serious challenge, he explains, is ensuring there is a balance in the server workloads, not deploying too many virtual machines with too many critical business applications. Not all applications are good candidates for virtualisation, he says, one has to do proper planning and design to ensure the right technology is used with the business applications.

"Virtualisation is once again not a silver bullet that solves all problems. It requires proper thought and planning, it must be part of the architecture planning within the organisation, it requires a strategy for deployment, and the necessary processes to support it."

Stefan Jocobs will speak at the ITWeb Virtualisation of the Enterprise conference on 16 July.