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Improve Data Center Operations with Virtualization

Strategy to Streamline Data Center Operations

Server maintenance presents various challenges for data center operations, not least of which is physically moving the hardware. Trying to lift the equipment can be difficult due to the heavy weight, and this can reduce employee confidence when attempting the task. Due to the fact that many servers are underutilized, virtualizing the data could be a way to create more space, increase efficiency and reduce energy costs.

Virtualization has become a popular choice for data centers to better employ their space and take advantage of the benefits therein. According to a recent survey by SolarWinds, 700 IT professionals acknowledge that virtualization dramatically alters operations tasks. However, by using advanced tools in conjunction with virtualization, IT can more easily move workloads over geographic locations. It also helps influence mobility and application control within the data center.

While virtualization has become more popular, there are still a few roadblocks to consider when transferring the data and using such a configuration. Personnel must ensure that the IT hardware can store end-to-end applications to become fully virtualized, according to Transworld Data president Mary Shacklett. However, the practice can still provide significant benefits for the data center. “Despite the assortment of challenges, virtualization is a key foundational piece and driver for the future evolution of the data center and for the ascent to the cloud – which is where IT is going,” Shacklett wrote. “Some organizations will attain virtualization faster than others, but none will be without it.”

Virtualization optimizes data center operations. Organizations are always looking for ways to make their business more efficient and one way is to virtualize the data in underutilized servers. Here are a few ways that virtualization will help with data center operations:

  • Saves energy Data centers eat up a lot of power and create significant heat buildup. Virtualizing the servers reduces the amount of hardware needed which then creates less heat. It also reinforces less power consumption, making the center more energy efficient, according to InfoWorld. This will also lower utility costs and be a step toward better environmental practices.”In addition to saving more of your company’s green with a smaller energy footprint, server consolidation with virtualization will also reduce the overall footprint of your entire data center,” according to the source.
  • Improved disaster recovery Data centers can run complete backups for the servers or take snapshots to better prepare for potential disaster events. This also makes it easier to reinforce the data as the servers can take snapshots throughout the day to ensure up-to-date information is kept, according to TechRepublic. The constant support will help data centers have a higher recovery success rate and allow for faster redeployment of the data.
  • Push to the cloud The cloud has already helped numerous organizations and can also help store data. The center could house a powerful infrastructure used to access virtual machines and will make cloud migration more feasible for the data center. Cloud environments could make the virtualization process more efficient and open up other opportunities for the technology within the center.

Server maintenance is part of the job of a data center employee, however, lifting and moving servers slows down productivity and can potentially injure employees. Virtualizing underutilized hardware can significantly reduce the amount of servers and conserve floor space, increasing energy efficiency and becoming a more cost-effective solution for data centers.

If you are doing a data center migration, here’s a helpful article on data center migration steps.

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