Your Phoenix Guide to Virtualisation and Cloud-Based Solutions from VMware

YOUR PHOENIX GUIDE TOVIRTUALISATION AND CLOUD-BASED SOLUTIONS FROM

www.phoenix-es.co.uk [email protected]

We hope you’ll enjoy this ‘Phoenix Guide to Virtualisation and Cloud-Based Solutions from VMware’Phoenix has been working with VMware for almost fi ve years now and we have always recognised the great opportunity presented by the VMware vision and product portfolio. We have made a huge investment in this technology which is borne out by our achievement of the highest level of partnership – we are a VMware Premier Solution Provider.

We believe that VMware solutions off er many of our customers true business benefi ts across a number of areas including:

• Consolidation of the data centre through server virtualisation, thereby reducing operating expense

• Reduction of the cost of the desktop through VMware end-user computing

• Improved business continuity and disaster recovery (DR) though the implementation of VMware virtual servers

• Reduction in management costs by moving to a single platform to support the entire user and server requirements

• Provision of greater mobility for users by the deployment of a virtual desktop

• The ability to migrate data from site to site; or site to cloud facilities

• Provision of low-cost application services wherever the data may reside

The IT industry is currently in a period of great change and interest in technologies like VMware is becoming more and more mainstream. If you haven’t already asked this question, it is likely that you will soon be wondering if now is the time to look at the benefi ts aff orded by server and desktop virtualisation? If the answer is yes, this may mean that an updated infrastructure strategy is required around your server, desktop, backup, security, continuity and DR requirements.

We hope this guide to the virtualisation portfolio from VMware and Phoenix.vCloud helps you understand some of the solutions available to your organisation. We also hope it answers some of the questions you may have about how this approach could meet your requirements.

Virtualisation and cloud computing are complex topics – so if you would like to know more about any of the subjects covered in this Guide, we would welcome the opportunity to meet with you on a no-obligation basis.

Best regards

Sam MuddDirector - Phoenix Enterprise Solutions

CONTENTS04 What is Virtualisation?

06 VMware vSphere 5

10 The Phoenix Approach to Virtualisation

13 VMware Capacity Planning Service

14 Case Study: Leeds Bradford International Airport

20 VMware View 4.6

26 Case Study: New College Durham

30 Phoenix VDI: Desktop Virtualisation

34 Simplify IT Management

38 Cloud Computing

43 Considering Virtualisation?


ContentsYour Phoenix Guide to Virtualisation and Cloud-Based Solutions from VMware

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it possible to save, copy and provision a virtual machine rapidly. Full systems including applications, operating systems, BIOS and virtual hardware can be moved, within seconds, from one physical server to another just as you would any other type of fi le. Virtualisation decouples the physical hardware from the operating system to deliver greater IT resource utilisation and fl exibility.

Virtualisation is not new - it was fi rst introduced in the 1960s to allow partitioning of large, mainframe hardware, a scarce and expensive resource. Today, x86 servers and PCs provide more aff ordable, very powerful processing power. VMware has applied the virtualisation concept to modern data centres in order to solve some of the problems associated with the proliferation of less expensive hardware, including under-utilisation, escalating management costs and vulnerability.

A virtualisation layer, referred to as the hypervisor, replaces the host operating system on a physical server and transparently maps each virtual machine to the actual physical hardware. This makes it possible for a physical server to run multiple virtual machines, simultaneously and in isolation, safely increasing the utilisation of server hardware.

A physical server does not know it has been virtualised - each virtual machine is given its own set of virtual hardware (e.g. RAM, CPU, NIC, etc.) upon which an operating system and applications are loaded. The operating system sees a consistent, standardised set of hardware regardless of the actual physical hardware components. In this way, a virtual machine can run heterogeneous operating systems and applications, on any hardware platform, without incompatibility issues.

Virtualisation encapsulates a physical server into a small number of fi les, making


FeatureWhat is Virtualisation?

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What is Virtualisation

What is Virtualisation?Virtualisation encapsulates a physical server, including the hardware, operating system and applications into a single, portable software container known as a virtual machine


FeatureWhat is Virtualisation?

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on?Why VMware?Founded in 1998, VMware is a leader in virtual infrastructure technology with over four million users and more than 20,000 organisations in Europe that rely on virtualisation in production environments for server consolidation, business continuity, software development and testing, and desktop provisioning.

VMware customers have realised signifi cant benefi ts from virtualisation, including lower total cost of ownership, higher return on investment and improved service levels.

Why Phoenix Enterprise Solutions? Phoenix is a VMware Premier Solution Provider -

VMware’s highest level of partner accreditation. This achievement, along with the achievement of Authorised Consultant, Infrastructure Virtualisation, Desktop Virtualisation, Virtualisation Management and Business Continuity Competencies, refl ects our continued investment and focus over the last fi ve years in becoming a virtual infrastructure expert

Phoenix has been named VMware Academic Global Partner of the Year 2010/2011

Having trained both technical engineers and software sales advisers on all of the nuances of a virtualisation solution, we also off er software compliance advice in and around virtualisation licensing where needed

Phoenix Technical Consultants are trained to the same level as VMware’s own consultants – but available at lower rates!

Phoenix can assist with every stage of your VMware project, from building a business case to project planning and implementation

Phoenix VMware customers include: Benfi eld Motor Group New College Durham Leeds Bradford International Airport PDSA Sheffi eld Hallam University Cherwell District Council West Berkshire District Council

VMware vSphere 5


ProductVMware vSphere 5

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VMware vSphere 5The best platform for cloud infrastructures

VMware vSphere is the industry-leading virtualisation platform for building cloud infrastructures. It enables users to run business-critical applications with confi dence and respond to their business faster. vSphere accelerates the shift to cloud computing for existing data centres, while underpinning compatible public cloud off erings, paving the way to the only hybrid cloud model.

Used by more than 250,000 customers - including 91% of the FTSE 100 - and leveraging more than a decade of industry-leading VMware technology, vSphere provides unparalleled agility, control and effi ciency while fully preserving customer choice.

In today’s technology-driven environment, business agility depends on IT agility. For many organisations, however, the potential business value of information technology has become trapped within traditional IT infrastructures that are too rigid, costly and complex to keep up with the pace of real-time business.

In fact, most IT organisations spend 70-80% of their time and budget just ‘keeping the lights on’, leaving little time to innovate or support strategic business initiatives.

With users demanding faster response times, and management demanding lower costs, organisations need a better strategy.

CLOUD COMPUTING: A NEW MODEL FOR ITTo break this cycle so that organisations can transform IT from a cost centre to a strategic asset that energises the business, a new model for IT services is emerging: cloud computing.

Cloud computing is an approach to IT that leverages the effi cient pooling of resources to create an on-demand, self-managing virtual infrastructure that can be allocated dynamically as a service. This approach abstracts applications and information from the complexity of underlying hardware infrastructure, so IT organisations can focus on business needs and strategic innovation.

VMware & the CloudAs the global leader in virtualisation, VMware is charting an evolutionary course to cloud computing that can accommodate the applications of today and the cloud-based IT services of tomorrow. Working with industry leaders, VMware is helping organisations of all sizes move beyond the limitations of traditional IT and revolutionise the way IT serves the business.

USING vSPHEREConsolidate & Optimise IT HardwareWith vSphere you can delay costly and disruptive data centre expansion projects by consolidating more virtual machines on a single physical server without sacrifi cing performance or throughput.

You can also use vSphere to create powerful multicore virtual machines and virtual machine clusters that span multiple physical servers to support even the most demanding applications.

In addition, vSphere reduces the complexity of hardware management through comprehensive virtualisation of server, storage and networking hardware. On average, vSphere customers can slash IT capital expenses by more than 70% and IT operating costs by more than 30%.

Improve Business ContinuityvSphere helps organisations reduce the cost and complexity of business continuity and disaster recovery with always-on IT

capabilities and layered protection against service outages and data loss.

vSphere eliminates planned downtime and maintenance windows with live migration of virtual machines and shared storage. vSphere also helps to minimise unplanned downtime with hardware independent failover for virtual machines. Fault tolerance capabilities provide lockstep redundancy for the most critical application loads.

In addition, organisations can leverage agentless backup and recovery capabilities to prevent data loss, with built-in deduplication to reduce data storage requirements.

Streamline IT OperationsvSphere lowers operational overhead and dramatically simplifi es the management of large, geographically distributed development, QA and production IT environments that include a heterogeneous mix of applications, operating systems and hardware platforms.



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vSphere also simplifi es the provisioning of IT services and provides a uniform assurance of service levels regardless of physical infrastructure or the actual location of the services. This allows IT staff to move application loads from one virtual infrastructure to another without needing to reconfi gure or customise policies or confi gurations.

Deliver IT as a ServicevSphere is the only virtualisation platform that gives you the power to realise the benefi ts of cloud computing while maintaining security, compliance and complete control over corporate assets.

With an array of management and automation capabilities such as advanced resource pooling, automated resource allocation, role-based administration, zero-touch infrastructure and self-service portals for end users, vSphere dynamically aligns IT resources with business needs, making it possible to deliver IT as a utility-like service.

By adopting vSphere as an IT-as-a-service (ITaaS) platform, organisations

gain the ability to transform IT froma cost centre to a strategic advantagethat saves energy - human, fi nancial and environmental.

CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURESWith vSphere you can create private, public and hybrid cloud infrastructures – it is the only virtualisation solution that off ers an evolutionary path to cloud computing. By adopting vSphere, you can avoid ‘rip-and-replace’ solutions in favour of a common platform you can use to make a pragmatic transition to cloud-based solutions and services.

Private Cloud InfrastructuresvSphere enables organisations to turn their existing data centres into private clouds that can more effi ciently and eff ectively manage existing applications as well as the next generation of fl exible, on-demand IT services.

Capabilities such as resource pooling and dynamic resource allocation, centralised management and automation, and a self-service portal for end users all help to reduce costs and increase agility while ensuring security, compliance and control over IT assets. vSphere also helps IT administrators streamline routine operational tasks to enhance service-level agreements, increase productivity and free up time for more strategic initiatives.

By adopting vSphere as a private cloud platform, IT teams can deliver IT services more fl exibly and effi ciently while automating key processes such as systems management and application provisioning.



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VMware vSphere Licensing - vRAMThe new vSphere licensing model continues to be based on processor licences and eliminates the restrictive physical entitlements of CPU cores and physical RAM per server, replacing them with a single virtualisation-based entitlement of pooled virtual memory (vRAM). This will simplify the process of purchasing deploying and managing vSphere while facilitating the move to shared infrastructure as a service.

Public Cloud InfrastructuresVMware partners with hundreds of hosting and service providers to enable compatible public cloud infrastructures. In the future, this will help establish vSphere as a common cloud platform so that IT as a service will span across public and private clouds through federation.

By off ering you the freedom of open standards and interoperability of applications, VMware off ers the best choice for organisations that want to expand IT capacity or migrate applications to the public cloud.

A common management and infrastructure platform ensures visibility of pooled resources along with the elasticity to provide the highest service levels for applications. Through a broad ecosystem of leading cloud service providers, organisations can get VMware virtualised

services, ranging from on-demand, pay-as-you-go infrastructure to enterprise-class, production-ready off erings.

Hybrid Cloud InfrastructuresThe VMware vision for cloud computing is to bridge internal resources with available external resources, enabling you to create hybrid cloud infrastructures that span seamlessly across connected clouds, both private and public.

The model ultimately allows organisations to achieve the full benefi ts of cloud computing by leveraging a strategic mix of internal and external solutions for data storage, application hosting and disaster recovery while retaining full control over their IT infrastructures. Organisations that adopt private or public cloud solutions based on vSphere will be in the best position to employ this hybrid cloud model as it becomes mainstream.


Product VMware vSphere 5

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The PhoenixApproach toVirtualisatio

VIRTUALISATION ASSESSMENT SERVICEPhoenix Enterprise Solutions will run a Virtualisation Evaluation Tool on your server infrastructure and desktop infrastructure to understand:

The performance of the current environment

The impact on the new virtual infrastructure

The design of the new infrastructure

Phoenix Enterprise Solutions will present its recommendations, outlining the technical reasons for the design. We can also provide a business justifi cation and Total Cost of Ownership analysis. Our aim is to provide you with a comprehensive

set of recommendations to enable you to understand how to design, procure, implement and manage a server or desktop virtual infrastructure.

SERVER VIRTUALISATIONMany organisations currently suff er from excessive power and server maintenance costs while also reaching physical capacity limits in their data centre. Virtualisation is not new - it merely decouples the physical hardware from the operating system to deliver great IT resource utilisation and fl exibility.

We work with customers to help optimise their data centre while reducing costs by up to 50% and releasing capacity through Server Virtualisation and consolidation.


FeatureThe Phoenix Approach to Virtualisation

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The Phoenix Approach to VirtualisationAs a leading VMware Virtualisation Partner, Phoenix Enterprise Solutions has designed a range of services and tools to enable you to understand the benefi ts that server virtualisation and desktop virtualisation can bring to your organisation

x to on

Benefi ts Up to 75% capacity release (normal

utilisation is on average around 7%) Conservative ratio is 10 physical servers

to 1 virtual server Typical savings of 50% on costs

and resources Green IT - reduced operational costs

(power, cooling, connectivity) will show as ongoing cost savings

Time to implementation and benefi ts cut by 50%

Minimal hardware budget - provision new servers within seconds ‘for free’

Return costly data centre space to business unit

Reduce server management costs Reduce support headcount

Phoenix Enterprise Solutions is accredited to the highest levels in the support of VMware Virtual Server deployments. We have a range of services that we can off er you in the delivery of a virtual server environment:

Capacity Planning Server Health Checks Design ROI and Business Case Preparation P2V Disaster Recovery Solutions VDI Reviews and Comparison Licence Compliance Analysis under

Virtualisation Options Proof of Concept Project Management

DESKTOP VIRTUALISATIONDesktop virtualisation can be used to deliver a full desktop experience, unrestricted by hardware or location.

Desktops can be allocated to end users upon request, perhaps to a thin client terminal. Initially, authentication to Active Directory is carried out and then a full desktop is delivered to end users - who may not even be aware they are using a virtual machine! >>



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Desktop virtualisation is an attractive concept, not just for existing users of virtualisation technology, but to any organisation struggling to manage end user desktop software and hardware eff ectively, especially over multiple locations.

Benefi ts Deliver full PC desktop environments Thin client devices are more reliable in

manufacturing environments Better application compatibility than

other thin client solutions Plug-and-play terminals mean desktops

can be replaced 24 hours a day No confi guration of endpoints required

for desktop refresh Centralised control - no individual

support and maintenance of PCs, centralised backup

No investment in additional skills required if a VMware house

Identical end user experience to physical desktops

Solution ArchitecturePhoenix Enterprise Solutions is able to deliver solutions that meet your requirements either via storing your virtual desktops on a Storage Area Network, or using Phoenix Enterprise Solutions’ unique off ering around server-based architecture and the Fusion-io memory.

End User ClientsPhoenix Enterprise Solutions is able to provide a range of Client devices including Wyse, HP, Dell, and IGEL.



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‘Desktop virtualisation is an attractive concept, not just for existing users of virtualisation technology, but to any organisation struggling to manage end user desktop software and hardware eff ectively, especially over multiple locations.’


ServiceVMware Capacity Planning Service

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Phoenix Enterprise Solutions is here to help you establish clearly defi ned objectives for virtualisation. We recommend the VMware Capacity Planning Service (CPS) to deliver detailed analysis of existing server capacity and provide critical insight within a virtualisation project.

What is the VMware Capacity Planning Service from Phoenix?Phoenix Enterprise Solutions VMware consultants have been highly trained to provide services around data collection and, in conjunction with their existing skills, experience and methodologies, are able to help customers answer the following questions:

VMware Capacity Planning Service

VMware Capacity Planning ServiceVirtualisation has the potential to radically alter the way you manage your IT, but one important question often goes unanswered - how do you start?

What is my server utilisation and how many servers can I make redundant?

If I virtualise my servers, what options would I have?

How many new physical servers and VI3 licences should I purchase?

What is my implementation plan for virtualisation?

The VMware Capacity Planning Service from Phoenix provides comprehensive capacity planning, virtualisation and server consolidation estimates. Our virtualisation customers have already benefi tted from a robust business case and accelerated project plan.

Our Capacity Planning Service provides the following:

Installation of CPS and collection of detailed server performance metrics (typically over a 30-day period)

Data analysis and modelling Report preparation for customer to own Presentation back to customer of

management summary

LBIA delivers a punctual service and best-in-class facilities to maximise the travel experiences of the more than three million passengers who pass through its gates every year. Airport facilities include a passenger terminal that houses an array of shopping, dining and travel services.

THE CHALLENGE Centralise storage to complement virtual infrastructureWith Bridgepoint’s 2007 purchase of LBIA came the private-equity fi rm’s commitment to develop the airport to increase passenger throughput, expand the route network and enhance terminal facilities to deliver best-in-class services to passengers and visitors.

For Adrian Rollins, IT manager at LBIA, delivering on these objectives meant taking a hard look at the airport’s existing IT infrastructure, built on physical servers with local storage. “We were already

experiencing the problems of server sprawl - that is, proliferating but underutilised hardware, high support costs, rising energy usage, and decentralised backup/recovery processes that had the potential to put some business applications and data at risk. Expanding the current structure to meet the growth and business continuity requirements of Bridgepoint’s master plan for the airport would have only exacerbated IT issues.”

Rollins says that detailed cost analyses and a looming capital spend to replace end-of-life systems accelerated the search for a more scalable and cost-eff ective IT solution. Working with Phoenix, a leading provider of consultancy, development and software auditing, the LBIA team determined that a virtualised-server environment with shared storage would better support the airport’s changing business requirements and priorities.

Leeds BradfoInternational Airport


Case StudyLeeds Bradford International Airport

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Leeds Bradford International AirportOwned by Bridgepoint Capital, Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBIA) off ers passenger fl ights to over 70 leisure and business locations

In conjunction with the decision to move to a VMware-based environment, LBIA outlined the following essential storage requirements:

High availability and replication technologies to implement aff ordable disaster recovery (DR) and ensure business continuity

Administrative simplicity and cost effi ciencies to reduce total cost of ownership (TCO)

Architecture fl exibility to support growth and responsive business service

THE SOLUTIONStandardise on NetApp for high availability/DR, cost savings and agilityFrom a fi eld of potential suppliers that included fi nalists Dell (EqualLogic), HP and NetApp, LBIA selected NetApp based in part upon diff erentiating RAID-DP (a

double parity RAID 6 implementation), deduplication and replication technologies.

Rollins points to the unique value of NetApp software tools: “NetApp technologies and management software let us achieve space and operational effi ciencies that we simply couldn’t easily accomplish on competitive off erings - the choice really came down to deploying a physical box versus a full software solution. The scalability and integrated NAS/SAN functionality of the NetApp Data ONTAP operating system also gave us confi dence in our ability to support a broad and always-evolving set of business objectives.”

LBIA currently leverages some 24TB of NetApp storage capacity. A NetApp FAS2050 system (populated with SAS disk drives) at the primary data centre provides storage (via CIFS) for Windows fi le shares and (via iSCSI) to the VMware >>

ord l



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environment running across two ESX servers. LBIA uses NetApp Snapshot technology to maintain three days’ worth of backups online and then archives them to tape.

NetApp SnapMirror software enables routine replication of virtual servers and data to a NetApp FAS2050 system (with economical SATA disk drives) at the LBIA DR site. This NetApp system provides storage for a third ESX server and also serves as primary storage for LBIA test and development environments. A suite of NetApp SnapManager products simplifi es data management, including confi guration, backup, and recovery operations for Microsoft Offi ce SharePoint Server, Exchange Server, SQL Server, and VMware environments. Rollins adds, “With NetApp software, we can do more granular restores than we can using SharePoint, for example, right out of the box.”

Applications running in the LBIA VMware-on-NetApp environment include: Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server and SQL Server-based applications; a Sun Accounting system for utility billing and revenue management, a Gentrack Airport 20/20 passenger

information system, and the airport’s Bluetooth queue monitoring solution.

BUSINESS BENEFITSDelivering the enjoyable journey, 24x7The new infrastructure enables LBIA to meet within-minutes recovery time objectives (RTOs) with a maximum four-hour data loss on all critical applications. As NetApp SnapManager for Virtual Infrastructure works with VMware vCenter, administrators can automatically create application-consistent backups of virtual machines as well as instantly recover datastores, VMs and vmdk or individual fi les within VM guests.

Rollins points out that this level of protection comes in sharp contrast to the limited recoverability aff orded in the previous physical-server-with-local-storage infrastructure. “In the past, recovering from a single server failure could take up to 24 hours. And, depending upon when the failure occurred, we could lose as much as 72 hours’ worth of data restoring from tape. Today, we leverage NetApp Snapshot technology to make frequent online backups. For our Sun Financial, we run backups at three-hour intervals, so RPO



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“Start to fi nish, the highly productive working relationship with Phoenix helped us expediently design and implement a solution to meet all of our business objectives. The rollout took just four weeks, during which time the Phoenix team also led a successful skills transfer to ensure our administrative self-suffi ciency at the hand-off .”ADRIAN ROLLINS, IT MANAGER, LBIA

for critical fi nancial data is never more than three hours. As we’re able to replicate our entire server state - the operating system, applications and data - we can bring back complete systems in minutes, not hours or days. We recently had an occasion to restore our Bluetooth system - the whole process took three minutes.”

Rollins credits the expertise of the Phoenix staff , as well. “Start to fi nish, the highly productive working relationship with Phoenix helped us expediently design and implement a solution to meet all of our business objectives. The rollout took just four weeks, during which time the Phoenix team also led a successful skills transfer to ensure our administrative self-suffi ciency at the hand-off . Their assistance was particularly critical during the actual cutover that we had to complete during a brief scheduled downtime between 11pm and 4am, when there would be

no disruptions to airport services. We successfully accomplished the transition and have experienced no downtime since.”

Another benefi t that Rollins notes is the ability to use NetApp FlexClone technology to copy production environments for the purpose of non-disruptive DR testing: “We know our plan works and that we can maintain business operations. This disaster recovery solution also integrates all key systems. Had we gone the external services route, we would have had signifi cantly higher costs for a skeletal DR solution that covered only the most mission-critical systems. Instead, the NetApp solution with VMware gives us extremely aff ordable business-operations protection that encompasses all of our applications. We are also implementing multi-use DR and expect to leverage the FAS2050 to provide enterprise IT services to our concession and other business partners.” >>



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Asked about the impact of downtime to LBIA, Rollins emphasises that it’s not just about hard costs: “The information on the terminal screens throughout the airport? Our passengers rely on that to move through the terminal and get to their fl ights on time. The information must be up to date and available 24x7. Our services can make the diff erence between stressful travel and an enjoyable journey. It’s diffi cult to put a value against goodwill, but it’s essential to our business. Helping passengers move airside - where they can relax over breakfast or enjoy a few minutes of shopping - also generates business for our retail partners.”

Grounding high IT costsRollins can put a real number on TCO savings: “Over fi ve years, the VMware-on-

NetApp solution will reduce our server/storage TCO by 21%, or nearly £78K. In four years, energy savings will exceed £19K - that’s about a 44% reduction. By the time we’ve moved all of our systems into the virtual environment, we’ll see close to an 84% reduction in data centre footprint. To airport management, the numbers present a very compelling story.”

LBIA attributes savings in part to better resource utilisation and NetApp storage effi ciencies, including thin provisioning and deduplication that saves as much as 77% capacity for production-data volumes. Rollins comments that IT is also now more effi ciently resourcing staff : “We’ve eliminated the expensive support costs of managing individual servers and direct-attached storage and put our staff to work



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“We now have a highly scalable foundation in place to simultaneously support the growth and budget-control objectives of the airport,” summarises Rollins. “With our ‘VMware fi rst’ policy, we’ve successfully contained server sprawl. The new infrastructure also makes it much easier to consolidate data for business intelligence. Right now we’re building a management information system that will pull together parking statistics, terminal throughput and other data invaluable to airport businesses.

“We also have the ability to off er retailers access to IT services - virtual-server environments, DR services, etc. It takes just minutes and a few mouse-clicks to provision and segregate new server and storage resources for them. Providing IT services to partners not only helps LBIA attract new business, it helps the company recoup infrastructure investments. The VMware-on-NetApp environment lets us do more with less and at the same time gives us the fl exibility and scalability to continue to support the business in delivering best-in-class facilities that will enhance our status as the region’s premier airport.”

on higher-value tasks. And, we’re delivering more services within the existing budget.”

The sky’s the limit: scalability for growth, fl exibility for businessBy all accounts, LBIA is on track to meet Bridgepoint’s objectives for growth. The City of Leeds recently approved a £28M investment to enhance facilities, Ryanair’s introduction of 14 new routes expands the LBIA network to more than 70 destinations and the airport master plan forecasts passenger throughput will reach around 5 million by 2016.



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‘Working with Phoenix, a leading provider of consultancy, development and software auditing, the LBIA team determined that a virtualised server environment with shared storage would better support the airport’s changing business requirements and priorities.’

“With our ‘VMware fi rst’ policy, we’ve successfully contained server sprawl. The new infrastructure also makes it much easier to consolidate data for business intelligence. Right now we’re building a management information system that will pull together parking statistics, terminal throughput and other data invaluable to airport businesses.”ADRIAN ROLLINS, IT MANAGER, LBIA

VMware View 4.6 is the latest release of VMware’s leading desktop virtualisation solution built for delivering desktops as a managed service - moving from a device-centric model to a user-centric model of desktop delivery.

With VMware View 4.6 you can manage operating systems, applications and user profi les independently of each other. VMware View simplifi es desktop management, reduces desktop operational costs and increases control for IT while providing end users with fl exible access, creating a superior desktop experience for end users.

HOW DOES IT WORK?Today’s desktop environment links together desktop components - hardware, operating system, applications, user profi le and data - in ways that are diffi cult to support and maintain. VMware View uses virtualisation to break the bonds between the desktop and associated OS, applications and hardware, and dynamically assembles and delivers desktops and applications to users as centrally hosted virtual machines, personalised for the individual user.

Transform desktop management and provide the best user experience with VMware View 4.6


ProductVMware View 4.6

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VMwareView 4

VMwareView 4.6

WHAT’S IN VMWARE VIEW 4.6?With the expanded VMware View 4.6 solution, you can apply powerful tools traditionally reserved for mission-critical data centre applications to desktop environments.

VMware vSphere 4 for DesktopsVMware vSphere serves as the platform for VMware View 4, and as a result, you can extend the benefi ts of industry-leading server virtualisation to the desktop. Integrating desktop infrastructure with VMware vSphere provides unifi ed management and a host of features that improve performance, reliability and business continuity, including:

The ability to group servers, which host virtual desktops, together for redundancy and eliminate single point of failure

Consolidated backup to centralise backup for desktop virtual machines

Automated failover and recovery to keep desktops running non-stop

Dynamic load balancing for desktop computing resources

VMware View Manager VMware View Manager, a key component of VMware View, is an enterprise-class desktop management solution that streamlines the management, provisioning and deployment of virtual desktops.

Users securely and easily access virtual desktops through VMware View Manager, >>



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4.6 By encapsulating the desktop OS, applications and user data into isolated layers, VMware View enables you to change, update and deploy each component independently for greater business agility and improved response time. The result is a more fl exible access model that improves security, lowers operating costs and simplifi es desktop administration and management.

and upgrading and patching are done centrally from a single console so you can effi ciently manage 100s or even 1,000s of desktops from a small image - saving time and resources.

Data, information and intellectual property remain in the data centre and never have to leave - except with your permissions and security policies intact.

VMware View ComposerVMware View Composer uses VMware Linked Clone technology to rapidly create desktop images that share virtual disks with a master image to conserve disk space and streamline management. User data and settings are segmented from the desktop image, so they can be administered independently.

As a result of this Linked Clone model, all desktops that are linked to a parent image can be patched or updated through VMware View Manager simply by updating the parent image, without aff ecting users’ settings, data or applications. This leads to a dramatic reduction in storage needs and costs while simplifying desktop management.

ThinApp 4VMware ThinApp application virtualisation software is an agent-less solution that decouples applications from operating systems by isolating and encapsulating them into EXE or MSI fi les.

This technology reduces application deployment time and costs by enabling multiple versions of applications to run on a single OS without confl ict, or the same



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version of an application to run on multiple operating systems without modifi cation. ThinApp simplifi es upgrading and patching applications and reduces storage needs for virtual desktops, because applications are hosted separately and streamed to users on-demand, with all personal settings preserved.

PCoIP Display ProtocolPCoIP is a high performance display protocol purpose-built to deliver virtual desktops and to provide end users with the best, total rich desktop experience regardless of task or location. With PCoIP, the entire computing experience is compressed, encrypted and encoded in the data centre before being transmitted across a standard IP network to PCoIP-enabled endpoint devices.



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HOW IS VMWARE VIEW USED?Desktops as a Secure Managed ServiceWith VMware View 4.6, it’s easy to deliver cost-eff ective virtual desktops and applications securely from the data centre to internal or external users. VMware View with PCoIP provides a superior total desktop experience to all users across any type of network, no matter where users are located. Confi dential data and information is removed from the endpoint device, and access is tightly controlled and managed. Strong network encryption protects data in transit – SSL VPN features are provided by Cisco, Juniper or F5 solutions and integration with RSA SecurID enables two-factor authentication. These features can help reduce the risk of data leakage or malicious code intrusion and simplify regulatory compliance.

Desktop Business Continuity & Disaster RecoveryVMware View extends the reliability, automated backup, data protection and disaster recovery abilities traditionally reserved for server applications to the desktop. Bring the power of VMware vSphere to your desktops and standardise on a single platform to manage your desktops through the data centre to the Cloud.

Remote or Branch Offi ce AccessDeliver high-performance virtual desktops from centralised data centres or centralised servers onsite, to remote or branch offi ces. No need to staff remote locations with IT resources, since desktop management and provisioning are done centrally and users get the benefi t of a high performance personalised desktop environment even over a high-latency, low-bandwidth connection.

Windows 7 MigrationEliminate many of the problems typically encountered during OS migrations, such as high costs, application compatibility with the new OS and lack of hardware support. Minimise the cost and disruption of migrating users and applications to Microsoft Windows 7 desktops. Extend the life of existing desktop hardware to access virtual Windows PC desktops, reduce application confl icts and costly application porting and regression testing by delivering Microsoft Windows 7 as a virtual desktop with VMware View 4.6.

Unlike legacy display protocols, which were built to deliver applications, PCoIP was built from the ground up with desktop delivery in mind. Highly tuned with adaptive technologies, PCoIP ensures the best user experience regardless of end-user location on the LAN or across the WAN.

VMware View DisplayOptimise delivery of graphics to the variety of monitor confi gurations, ranging from a single display to multiple display options. With support for up to four monitors, VMware View Display delivers multi-monitor >>

by sending the appropriate ‘slice’ of the display output to each monitor.

VMware View MultimediaEnsure the best user experience of rich audio and video. Multimedia streams are rendered at the client leveraging local resources and delivering the best possible user experience for rich audio and video content. With multimedia content being rendered at the client, dependencies on the server hosting the virtual desktop are reduced therefore allowing for better performance and scalability of the server infrastructure.

WHAT’S NEW IN 4.6?View Client with Local ModeVMware View is the only solution in the market to address the need for access to virtual desktops while an end-user is online or offl ine. VMware View enables

you to ‘check-out’ a virtual desktop to a physical device in order to support devices like laptops that do not always have network connectivity.

VMware View includes a ‘heartbeat’ feature that communicates back to the data centre for synchronisation, update and remote expiration of virtual desktops.

vShield Endpoint IntegrationEnable offl oaded and centralised anti-virus and anti-malware (AV) solutions with the ability to integrate with AV solutions. AV services run centrally in a security VM and this centralisation of AV through vShield Endpoint eliminates agent sprawl across desktop virtual machines. Centralisation also helps to eliminate AV storm issues typically associated with AV services distributed across virtual machines.



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Location Based PrintingAutomatically connect a View desktop to the closest printer to simplify printing for end users. VMware View will automatically discover, connect and print from a virtual desktop to any local or networked printer that’s defi ned on the client device. Universal print drivers eliminate compatibility issues. Virtual Printing includes compression to deliver high-quality printing with enhanced performance, even over suboptimal network connections.

Tiered StorageEnables the ability to distribute the View environment across diff erent tiers of storage to ensure a balance of performance and cost.

View Manager EnhancementsThe View Manager interface has a complete new look and feel due to a move to a new Adobe Flex backend. This new backend not only enhances the look and feel but administrators will notice that the interface is also faster and more responsive meaning even the largest of View deployments can be effi ciently managed from a single interface

Kiosk ModeSupport for public or shared endpoint with automatic login – no credentials required to access the desktop.

Full Windows 7 SupportView 4.6 provides support for Windows 7 32 bit or 64 bit running as a VM.

View Client for Mac OSView Client supported on Mac OS 10.5 or greater to enable Mac user access to a View hosted Windows OS.



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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF VMWARE VIEW?Streamlined ControlVMware View Manager lets you manage all desktops centrally in the data centre and provision desktops instantly to new users, departments or offi ces. Create instant clones from a central image, and create dynamic pools of desktops for quick provisioning and rapid updating.

Lower CostsVMware View reduces overall costs of desktop computing by up to 50 percent by centralising management, administration and resources and removing IT infrastructure from remote offi ces.

Increased End-User SatisfactionVMware View’s PCoIP display protocol provides a superior end-user experience over any network. Adaptive technology ensures an optimised virtual desktop delivery on both the LAN and the WAN.

Better SecuritySince all data is maintained within the corporate fi rewall, VMware View minimises risk and data loss. Built-in SSL encryption provides secure tunnelling to virtual desktops from unmanaged devices.

Reliable Business Continuity & Disaster RecoveryAs VMware View is built on VMware vSphere 4, you can automate desktop backup and recovery in the data centre.

Reduce Carbon Footprint & Energy CostsWhen used in conjunction with thin client devices, which typically use one tenth of the power of a traditional PC, VMware View helps reduce energy costs and reduce the carbon footprint by up to 80%.

New College Durham (NCD) is a Beacon College in the North East of England. Each year NCD enrols approximately 10,000 students and has been rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.

At New College, excellence extends beyond the classroom to the IT department, which strives to use technology as eff ectively as possible to support the goals of the College.

“When it comes to IT assets such as our desktops, we need a fast reliable platform so that teachers and students don’t have to do without access to Microsoft Offi ce, Internet Explorer and other essential applications that they’ve come to depend upon. NCD is also continuing to strive to reduce its Carbon Footprint,” said George Wraith, Head of Systems at New College Durham.

This goal led the College to explore desktop virtualisation as a cost-saving strategy.

“Normally we replace our desktops every four years, but desktop virtualisation would enable us to signifi cantly extend the life expectancy of our desktops, using the new P20 clients, to 10 years. This, combined

with the huge savings in reduced power costs, would dramatically reduce the total cost of ownership of our desktop estate,” continued Wraith.

NCD decided to evaluate VMware View so together with Phoenix, they ran a Proof of Concept. This was carried out using existing hardware and a high performance SSD solution to ensure suitable backend storage performance based on a Capacity Planning exercise Phoenix had previously run on the existing 1,200 desktops at the College.

DEVELOPING THE SOLUTION WITH PHOENIXFor New College Durham, the support and knowledge-sharing that the Team at Phoenix Enterprise Solutions provided was extremely important.

“The Phoenix Team came in and did a ‘health check’ on our existing desktop infrastructure to make sure it was ready to handle the latest version of VMware View,” says Wraith.

“To have Phoenix come in, analyse the environment and then design a high performance VDI solution based on market-leading technology has ensured that we

New CollegDurham


Case StudyNew College Durham

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New College Durham New College Durham makes exemplary use of VMware View - reducing the costs of their desktop environment

have a cutting edge system. Our solution massively exceeds the performance possible via large, traditional SAN-based technology - ours is a modular, building blocks-based solution that builds linearly and is also signifi cantly cheaper than the SAN-based option.”

THE TECHNOLOGY Phoenix and NCD have worked closely with Fusion-io to deliver one of the world’s fi rst VDI solutions - running entirely on Fusion-io Storage Technology.

NCD now has a VDI solution for Windows 7- based on the world’s fastest Solid State Storage solution. This ensures that the heavy IO loads experienced on an hourly basis with hundreds of users logging on/off and launching applications are more than catered for. A traditional SAN-based solution would have required many shelves of disks for the complete solution, had high power usage and signifi cant cooling with high maintenance costs. The Fusion-io solution exceeds the performance of an entire large SAN Array. >>

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“We achieved a huge boost in performance on our applications. Logins that used to take a minute or more were completed in a matter of seconds. So, not only is VMware View helping us provide a better desktop experience, it is also helping it run much faster - which enables teachers and students to be more productive.”GEORGE WRAITH, HEAD OF SYSTEMS, NEW COLLEGE DURHAM

With around 200,000 IOPS and almost 1000MB/s or 1GB/s per server this means around 800,000 IOPS of performance across the 4 vSphere Hosts - NCD is confi dent that they are able to cater for this version and future versions of Windows without any issues. Power usage is just 25 watts per server per card - saving thousands in power costs compared with a SAN solution.

Working on the recommendation of the Phoenix Team, therefore, NCD began a rollout of VMware View. Starting with the replacement of 140 desktops in the Learning Resource Centre, one of the College’s busiest environments, they then rolled out another 220 WYSE P20 PC-over-IP (PCoIP) Terminals to 20 classrooms.

THE RESULTSVirtualising the desktops has had an immediate impact.

“We achieved a huge boost in performance on our applications,” says Wraith. “Logins that used to take a minute or more were completed in a matter of seconds. So, not only is VMware View helping us provide a better desktop experience, it is also helping it run much faster - which enables teachers and students to be more productive.”

Application delivery has also received a boost.

“With VMware View delivering PCoIP support, users have noticed a signifi cant improvement in graphics rendering with some of the applications that traditionally would not have worked well in a virtualised desktop environment,” commented Wraith.



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“The performance is better than we expected and VMware View is doing exactly what it should do. With this latest version supporting Windows 7, the whole environment is reliable and a great example of VDI working at its best.”DARREN GOLDSBOROUGH, HEAD OF IT SERVICES, PHOENIX ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS

Additionally, the ability to centrally manage the virtual desktops makes it easier for NCD to make better use of its IT personnel.

“It takes a lot of time and eff ort to send people out to the actual physical workstations to do upgrades or updates. With VMware View, everything is centralised and we can make changes to desktops in a matter of minutes. Each time the user logs off the desktop is refreshed and each user always logs on to a clean image - helping make much more effi cient use of our people, reducing costs and increasing effi ciency.”

The WYSE Management Suite allows all terminals to be managed centrally - this includes confi guration and fi rmware upgrades. The initial deployment was simple - it was a case of plug in the power, network, monitor, keyboard, mouse and walk away - the rest was done centrally.

In conclusion, Wraith said, “VMware View simplifi es the management, deployment

and security of the College desktop infrastructure while providing much better performance and lower power requirements than traditional desktops.”

Summing up the whole project, Darren Goldsborough, Head of IT Services at Phoenix Enterprise Solutions said:

“The performance is better than we expected and VMware View is doing exactly what it should do. With this latest version supporting Windows 7, the whole environment is reliable and a great example of VDI working at its best.”

FUTURE PLANSBased on the initial success of VMware View, NCD is seeking to further its usage of desktop virtualisation throughout the College. This will be accomplished over the next couple of years - NCD is looking to replace the remaining 800 desktops with WYSE P20 Terminals and expand the VMware Server Farm.



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Borne out of our experience of server-based computing, thin-client deployments and, more recently, virtualisation projects, the Phoenix VDI solution architecture provides you with the option to deliver virtual desktops via VMware technology.

Our solution provides IT teams with the fl exibility to quickly deliver and refresh desktops, reducing the threat of potential data loss or theft, lowering the complexity and cost of desktop management and providing end-users with the functionality of a stand-alone desktop.

THE RIGHT SOLUTIONIn our experience, the main barrier for organisations attempting to deliver virtual desktops is price versus cost savings. Most current VDI solutions depend on Storage Area Network (SAN) storage - this is expensive and relies on slow I/O disks. Eff ective VDI, however, requires quick I/O for read and write functions.

The Phoenix VDI solution removes the need for a SAN and brings all virtual desktop access back to the server – meaning you can grow your virtual desktop requirements when you wish by just adding one server at a time. We have designed our solution to support 80 Windows 7 users or 100 XP desktops per server.

SERVERDepending on your preference for hardware manufacturer, Phoenix is able to provide the VDI solution using HP, Dell or IBM hardware.

As the server is the core block of the solution, it is designed to support 100 users and provides the following standards:

Four, Six and Eight-Core Intel technology Minimum of 128GB RAM Local disks to support VM Swap Files Six to ten Network Ports/10 Gbps Ethernet

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) from Phoenix Enterprise Solutions is an end-to-end client virtualisation solution based on the best managed and virtualisation-ready HP, Dell or IBM servers and thin client access devices

Desktop Virtualisatio


FeaturePhoenix VDI: Desktop Virtualisation

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Desktop Virtualisation

Phoenix VDI

STORAGEThe type of storage used in a VDI implementation has a profound eff ect on the overall functionality. In our experience, there is only one way to deliver VDI eff ectively to the user - and that is by moving the storage away from expensive Storage Area Networks, back to the server.

Having tested our architecture methodology, we believe the operation on IO transactions out-performs any other solution for virtual desktops, at a fraction of the cost of a Storage Area Network.

Using industry standard technology, Phoenix will implement a minimum of 600GB of client storage, thereby supporting the amount of storage required to deliver 100 VDI user desktop

images, with the provision of over 100,000 IOPS.

SOFTWAREThree key pieces of software are required to create a Phoenix VDI solution: >>

ion



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‘Our solution provides IT teams with the fl exibility to quickly deliver and refresh desktops, reducing the threat of potential data loss or theft, lowering the complexity and cost of desktop management and providing end-users with the functionality of a stand-alone desktop.’

A virtualisation layer to host the virtual desktops - VMware vSphere

A desktop operating system installed into the virtualisation layer

A connection protocol to join the remote client and virtual desktop - VMware VDI broker may be used

SERVICESIn addition to Software Technical Support Services providing you with telephone access to our Response Centres and experienced Technical Specialists, we off er services for VDI that will enable you to deploy a more reliable, scalable and manageable desktop infrastructure at lower and more predictable costs.

These services include:

VDI Assessment & Planning Services VDI Quick Start Service

Bundled within our VDI off ering is a layer of installation services so that

following the initial planning, you will have a system that has been professionally installed and confi gured, enabling your organisation to deliver this solution quickly.

ACCESS DEVICESWe off er a choice of clients to fi t the needs of a variety of deployments but recommend the deployment of thin clients to serve as access devices. While it is possible to redeploy desktops as general access devices, maximum savings and effi ciency comes from stateless, low-power thin client devices.

Wyse, HP, IGEL and Chip PC Thin Clients serve as ideal access devices for VDI by providing enhanced security, easy manageability, high reliability and low Total Cost of Ownership.

All thin client solutions are purchased outside of our VDI off ering in order to provide you with greater fl exibility.



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.

Move beyond.In today’s business environment there’s no room for compromise. With VMware, IT departments can untangle complexity and enable a more agile enterprise without sacrificing service levels for efficiency. Through our industry-leading virtualisation solutions, we’re revolutionising the way IT serves the business - and providing a clear, pragmatic path to cloud computing.

Go to The Source. vmware.com/movebeyond

.

A PLATFORM WHEREOBSTACLES DISAPPEAR AS

POSSIBILITIES EMERGE

Copyright © 2010 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

IT management processes must change as the infrastructure becomes more fl exible and ‘cloud-like’. Traditional tools and processes that were designed for siloed, static physical infrastructures do not provide the automation and control needed for inherently dynamic virtualised environments and cloud infrastructures.

THE VMWARE APPROACHVMware management solutions are built for dynamic environments to dramatically transform how organisations manage IT and deliver services. VMware’s approach enables a zero-touch infrastructure, with the built-in automation and policy-based control required to deploy a self-service model.

VMware Virtualisation and Cloud Management solutions fundamentally simplify how IT is managed, accelerating IT service delivery, increasing operational effi ciency, automatically assuring compliance and reducing business risks.

VMware infrastructure and operations management solutions build on the

strength of the vSphere platform and provide the underpinnings for successful cloud implementations. IT organisations can drive the highest levels of effi ciency, automation and security while reducing operational costs with VMware vCenter Server, the foundation for the VMware vCenter product family. The industry’s most advanced virtualisation management platform enables seamless end-to-end data centre management through a rich set of APIs that enable integration with third-party management tools.

VMware infrastructure and operations management solutions simplify your virtual data centre operations across virtual and physical environments with ‘set and forget’ policy-driven administration and automated IT processes. The IT team can optimise capacity with VMware vCenter CapacityIQ, streamline disaster recovery with VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager and ensure continuous confi guration compliance with VMware vCenter Confi guration Manager.

Simplify IT Managem


FeatureSimplify IT Management

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VMware fi rst simplifi ed infrastructure complexity through virtualisation - now VMware is simplifying IT management complexity with next generation management solutions

Simplify IT Management

Today, customers rely on VMware more than ever to run mission critical applications – 84% of virtualised applications run on VMware vSphere. As the rate of change accelerates and SLA expectations grow, data centre and application teams need to ensure performance and gain better visibility into unknown, unexpected, and unwanted application dependencies. For example, with VMware vCenter Application Discovery Manager, users can quickly understand application dependencies with unparalleled accuracy to accelerate moves and changes with higher levels of control and assurance.

Using SpringSource Hyperic, IT organisations can monitor and manageperformance for Web and custom applications across physical, virtual and cloud environments. VMware vCenter AppSpeed makes it simple to monitor application transactions and break latency issues down to the contributing components using non-intrusive technologies designed for virtual infrastructures.

End-User Computing ManagementWith the increasing consumerisation of IT, end users are becoming more demanding, requiring anytime, anywhere access from an ever-growing array of applications and devices. VMware end-user computing management allows IT teams to:

Provision and deploy virtual desktops rapidly

Manage virtual desktop images more easily Deliver virtualised applications to

endpoint devices >>

Application ManagementVMware application management solutions enable IT to quickly, accurately and confi dently transition applications to virtualised environments and cloud infrastructures. With VMware application management solutions, IT teams can:

Dynamically map application dependencies across the data centre

Monitor and assure application performance

Encapsulate applications to ensure portability and mobility

ment



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These capabilities enable IT organisations to move toward user centric management and embrace cloud-ready services to deliver the right content, in the right context, in a secure, policy driven manner.

Desktop and application virtualisation breaks the bonds between software, hardware and operating systems, eliminating the need actually to install or manage desktop environments on end user devices.

From a central location, IT administrators can deliver, manage and update all Windows desktops and applications in minutes. This approach makes the testing, provisioning and support of applications and desktops much easier and less costly. For example, you can modernise your desktop infrastructure with VMware View and VMware ThinApp. Both off erings allow you to better manage traditional desktop layers (operating system, applications and persona) and increase the security and compliance around these components while providing the freedom and fl exibility of access across a variety of end-user devices. This is possible because desktops, applications and data are secure in the data centre and delivered as a managed service.

IT Business ManagementVMware IT business management solutions allow IT and service providers confi dently to deliver new levels of self-service while ensuring these new services are automatically governed with appropriate business and process-level controls. Self-service without business governance can lead to sprawl, cost, licensing, chargeback and security issues. To address these issues, VMware solutions:

Enable transparent cost reporting Govern cloud provisioning processes Track cloud software license usage

For example, solutions such as VMware vCenter Chargeback help users gain cost transparency and accountability across business units to model, measure and assign costs for IT service delivery.

In addition, VMware Service Manager streamlines traditional IT service management (ITSM) processes with intuitive, graphical workfl ow modelling and enforcement, along with simple automation of complex change, confi guration, release and provisioning tasks.



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‘IT organisations can drive the highest levels of effi ciency, automation and security while reducing operational costs with VMware vCenter Server, the foundation for the VMware vCenter product family. The industry’s most advanced virtualisation management platform enables seamless end-to-end data centre management through a rich set of APIs that enable integration with third-party management tools.’

Cloud computing provides a vastly more effi cient, fl exible and cost-eff ective way for IT

to meet escalating business needs - IT as a service. VMware off ers an evolutionary and

practical path to this new model, with solutions that harness the power of the cloud while

ensuring security and preserving the value of your existing technology investments.

Phoenix.vCloudOur current vision is to provide our customers with the ability to benefi t from either:

Th e delivery of IT through an on-premise infrastructure

Th e delivery of IT through our vCloud solutions

Th e delivery of IT via a mixed environment

Th e core objective of this service is to enable an agile data centre and user experience,

thereby driving down the cost of managing the IT infrastructure. Over the next few

years, we perceive that vendors such as VMware will provide solutions that enable a

‘consumerism’ approach to delivering applications, storage and support that will make

your IT available to users whether offi ce-based or on the move. User mobility and data

availability will be of paramount importance to any organisation searching to achieve the

business agility needed to meet ever-changing market requirements.

Find out more: www.phoenix-es.co.uk

Phoenix.vCloudPhoenix works closely with VMware and their preferred vCloud Partner to enable you to embrace the benefi ts presented by delivering the data centre and desktop in the cloud

While it is understood in the industry that cloud computing provides clear cost benefi ts, CIOs are having diffi culty getting a true fi x on the business value that cloud might off er beyond cost reduction.

A recent global survey revealed a direct link between cloud computing and business agility - how business outcomes are associated with agility, the role of IT for agile companies and the importance of cloud computing to business leaders.

In this survey, corporate decision makers linked cloud computing directly to business agility. This data is helpful in re-evaluating the IT cost-agility equation, looking at cloud approaches and reframing assessments of IT’s value to the enterprise. It shows that the hype around cloud computing is maturing into facts about what cloud can really deliver to both IT and the business.

Defi ning Business AgilityBusiness agility is the ability of an organisation to adapt rapidly and cost-effi ciently in response to changes in

the business environment. According to McKinsey & Company, the leading global management consulting fi rm, the benefi ts of agility include faster revenue growth, greater and more lasting cost reduction, and more eff ective management of risks and reputational threats.

From Cloud to Business AgilityForward-thinking CIOs are deploying cloud computing as a strategic weapon - not just for IT, but to enable full business transformation, eventually changing how they operate their business.

In a couple of years, many organisations will talk about how cloud helped them create a much tighter connection between IT transformation and business transformation. That will be the win in this cloud era.

Cloud Computing enabling IT AgilityFor organisations with agile IT functions, business and IT leaders agree that infrastructure and technology are the primary drivers of that agility. The survey shows that agile organisations that have already adopted enterprise-wide cloud deployments are paving the way for their IT organisations to become more

What is the true value of cloud computing to your organisation?

Cloud Computing


FeatureCloud Computing

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Cloud Computing

responsive and fl exible to the demands of the business. In contrast, in companies with non-agile IT organisations, a fundamental disconnect exists between what IT and business stakeholders see as the problem - IT cites money and skill sets, while business cites a lack of infrastructure and technology to meet its needs.

Linking Cloud Directly to Business OutcomesSoftware as a service (SaaS) grew quickly in popularity because of its ability to rapidly satisfy the needs of business users, not CIOs or IT teams. When line-of-business leaders had diffi culty getting into IT’s priority queue, they went to the cloud for software solutions.

Now cloud is fulfi lling its promise to be more than just SaaS, but also infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS), and business users are taking advantage of these new capabilities and going around IT again. Line-of-business leaders now have good alternatives, and they are choosing them because their businesses demand greater agility.

Cloud EconomicsWith business agility established as the primary business driver, the other half of the IT equation is cost. Virtualisation - the foundation for cloud - is well-documented to provide IT cost savings. Funds can be redirected to IT innovation that accelerates business, such as cloud. >>

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‘Now cloud is fulfilling its promise to be more than just SaaS, but also infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS), and business users are taking advantage of these new capabilities’

Today, the availability of on-demand, inexpensive, self-service computing capacity via public clouds is creating new competition for internal IT organisations. Public cloud providers off er a pay-per-use model for IT and publish upfront rate cards on using compute and storage resources. The cloud industry rate card is so attractive that it is driving IT organisations to try to improve services and service level agreements (SLAs) at lower costs than those at which they off er IT services today. In a sense, the public cloud has been a wake-up call for IT organisations. They must now consider the variety of cloud models - public, private and hybrid - with diff erent cost savings.

The beginning of the cloud era is the right time for IT to change its own understanding and measurement of IT. This change is long overdue, as many IT departments today do not know the cost of IT for specifi c applications or line-of-business usage. Costs are assumed to be ‘corporate taxes’ spread across the entire business. The cloud era dictates that IT departments will have to become much more knowledgeable and accountable for knowing exact costs, allocation models, accurate chargebacks etc. This is an impossible task in an environment of heterogeneous silos of technology.

For most enterprises, the hybrid cloud is the most economical model. According to

recent VMware and EMC research, hybrid cloud deployment would reduce typical total IT spend by approximately 20 to 30%.

Hybrid clouds off er lower IT spend through virtualisation and consolidation, optimised workload sourcing, optimised provisioning and higher productivity in application development and maintenance

More than Economics: The Value of Hybrid CloudIf you remember, not long ago IT decision makers had to choose between deploying applications on an intranet or extranet, and then most applications just ran on the internet. In three years, the distinction



40

‘For most enterprises, the hybrid cloud is the most economical model. According to recent VMware and EMC research, hybrid cloud deployment would reduce typical total IT spend by approximately 20 to 30%.’

between private and public clouds will slowly dissipate, and the two will complement each other in a way that leverages the best of both worlds - a hybrid cloud that may simply be called the cloud. The need for both, however, will remain because there is so much investment in legacy environments within the data centre. That is not going away. It would be nice to have it just run better and be more cost-eff ective in someone else’s data centre, but if that could happen, everyone would have outsourced IT by now.

There are reasons (security, compliance, operational control, etc) why organisations are continuing to maintain their data centres. So, we need to maintain those characteristics and bring the benefi ts of cloud computing to the data centre, or we’re missing a large >>



41

Business Transformation Across IndustriesThe importance of agility strengths can be seen in diff erent industries:

NHS organisations are in the midst of a major business transformation as they adopt electronic health records to reduce risk of accidental deaths and lawsuits, and to improve patient engagement with improved safety and quality of care. To support those business requirements, IT undertakes an overall IT modernisation eff ort to safely accelerate the transition from manual paper-based fi le systems, so digital information can follow the patient. With cloud computing, NHS organisations gain on-demand and cost-eff ective delivery of patient records to any clinician, in any hospital, in any location, with greater reliability, resiliency and security of patient information.

Similarly, governments, schools and other public-sector entities are being mandated to transform their cost structures. In addition, they must respond to risk and crisis, supporting citizens and providing services for disasters and unforeseen events, and adapt to external constraints (e.g., dynamic changes in policy and budgets). To support agency needs, IT begins a transition that will enable it to rapidly deliver and scale citizen services, as well as effi ciently adapt to the changing demands of government. Cloud computing provides a variety of agencies with a dynamic, secure and compliant solution that dramatically reduces IT services delivery time.

Around the world, retail banks are seeking to grow their customer bases and revenue by delivering new mobile services to market faster, so that end users have greater control of their fi nances. IT is aligning with business goals, getting business-critical, customer facing mobile applications into production faster, so that customers can access them sooner. IT is enabling the transformation using a cloud computing approach. This includes a compliant, secure and controlled test and development environment that IT can leverage quickly to provide production applications that end users can access on any device, at anytime, anywhere.

piece of the opportunity to drive greater agility. That is why the emphasis is on private cloud. But why stop there? There is always going to be the need for more resources. Think about demand that is spike-based by season or event, or an acquisition requiring an organisation to ramp up and then ramp down.

Another case may be that the organisation just does not know what the demand will be, so it needs to make sure it has capacity for unpredictable situations. So stopping at the boundaries of the data centre does not make sense when you have the rich public cloud option available that can be integrated into the enterprise IT strategy.

That is why hybrid is such a valuable solution.

The key to hybrid cloud is the standardisation of frameworks and infrastructure across public and private cloud, including:

A common platform Common management Common security

Standardisation is what makes applications and data portable and accessible across clouds. Given both the business and cost benefi ts, it is clear that hybrid clouds are the deployment model of the future.

Why VMware for your Cloud?By allowing enterprise IT to intelligently and dynamically anticipate and respond to business needs, cloud computing creates competitive advantage. If your business

is thinking about building for the cloud, why not build for your cloud? Although true cloud computing is a standardised approach, the way every individual business approaches cloud computing is not. VMware is here to help you move beyond the limitations of a one-cloud-fi ts-all approach.

How you will want to approach cloud computing depends on your business. Do you want to begin with an internal (private) cloud? Do you want to leverage public cloud services? Do you want a combination?

In other words, it is not about the cloud, it is about your cloud. With its unrivalled experience, large customer base and partner ecosystem, VMware can help you move beyond your current IT limitations, to your cloud - where you can accelerate IT, which in turn accelerates meaningful results for your organisation.



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‘With its unrivalled experience, large customer base and partner ecosystem, VMware can help you move beyond your current IT limitations, to your cloud - where you can accelerate IT, which in turn accelerates meaningful results for your organisation.’

V


FeatureConsidering Virtualisation?

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As one of the foremost VMware Premier Solution Partners in the UK, the real benefi t of working with Phoenix Enterprise Solutions on your VMware projects lies in the fact that we have been trained to the same level as VMware’s own consultants. We off er the same methodologies and best practice employed by VMware themselves – but can off er competitive daily rates for all customers.

If you are considering implementing a VMware solution, then Phoenix has devised a number of services and tools to assist you with the development of your project.

FIND OUT MOREPlease contact your Phoenix Account Manager for more information about how Phoenix Enterprise Solutions can help you plan, design and implement your VMware project.

Considering Virtualisation?

Pre-sales Workshop (Free of Charge)

Understand the VMware solution set and the benefi ts you will achieve by introducing virtualisation technology into your IT

Capacity Planning Service

Understand the current performance of your servers and the consolidation ratio you can achieve by adopting a virtualised infrastructure

Technical Design Workshop & Documentation

Understand the migration plan for your servers, software and skills from physical servers to virtual machines. Design a technical architecture that best fi ts your requirements for virtualisation

Software Licensing Audit

Provide the most cost eff ective software licensing advice for the migration

Business Case Analysis

To work with you to provide a business case for the introduction of VMware including cost benefi t analysis, ROI analysis and a TCO analysis

0845 265 1265 / [email protected] / www.phoenix-es.co.uk

Considering Virtualisation? Get help from the experts

© Copyright 2011 Phoenix Software Ltd. Phoenix Enterprise Solutions is a division of Phoenix Software Limited. Phoenix Software Limited - Blenheim House - York Road - Pocklington - York - YO42 1NS - t: 0845 265 1265 - f: 0845 265 1266 - e: [email protected] Software Limited is a company registered in England and Wales, with company number 2548628 and VAT number GB 755 3490 15

Images: Used under licence from Shutterstock.com, unless stated. (09/11)

Phoenix Enterprise Solutions is a VMware Premier Solution Partner - VMware’s highest level of partner accreditation. This achievement, along with more recent successes in achieving the Authorised Consultant, Infrastructure Virtualisation, Desktop Virtualisation, Virtualisation Management and Business Continuity Competencies, refl ects our continued investment and focus over the last four years in becoming a virtual infrastructure expert. Having trained both technical engineers and software sales advisers on all of the nuances of a virtualisation solution, we also off er software compliance advice in and around virtualisation where needed.

We were also named VMware Academic Global Partner of the Year at the recent VMware Partner Exchange event held in Florida.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss how our experience will prove invaluable when delivering your successful virtualisation or cloud computing project.

t: 0845 265 1265e: [email protected]: www.phoenix-es.co.uk

Documents

Your Phoenix Guide to Virtualisation and Cloud-Based Solutions from VMware