For forward-thinking business enterprises, virtualizing IT infrastructure has become standard practice. In fact, to stay competitive in a tepid U.S. economy, enterprises find it increasingly critical to innovate new ways to leverage their existing virtualization products and services. International Integrated Solutions, Inc. (IIS) prides itself on industry-leading innovation and proactive service, which will pave the way in a virtualized IT industry.

Virtualization is far from the latest fad in the IT industry. The economic potential of virtualization has been theorized for quite some time, but leveraging virtualized infrastructures for maximum return on investment requires an outsider’s perspective. IIS provides enterprises with new strategies to optimize return on investment through innovation, careful planning, proactive trouble-shooting and reliable maintenance. IIS understands how to make the most of each company’s virtualization strategy.

LEVERAGING VIRTUALIZATION DEPLOYMENT AND OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES IN THE 21ST CENTURYTODAY’S IT NEEDS TO ACCOMPLISH MORE WITH LESS. VIRTUALIZING YOUR IT INFRASTRUCTURE CAN SAVE YOU 25% OR MORE ON YOUR OPERATING COSTS.

ENTERPRISES

NEED NEW

STRATEGIES

TO OPTIMIZE

RETURN ON

INVESTMENT

Choosing to migrate to a virtualized infrastructure will not soothe every IT woe. Virtualization is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but following the best deployment practices when implementing virtualization will maximize the benefits of the technology for the unique needs of each company. Companies will enjoy simpler and more efficient systems that increase performance and productivity while lowering costs.

Enterprises differ greatly in the class and volume of load spikes that users place on infrastructure components. Peaks and valleys in the usage of an SQL server is one example. The best deployment practices begin with conducting a full assessment of resource utilization. Many enterprises choose to perform this resource auditing through in-house methods, but third-party assessment is another option IT departments should strongly consider.

The major benefit of opting for an IT consultancy during the assessment phase is gaining an outsider’s perspective. Often, decision makers within an IT department do not have access to every mission-critical component, or they miss opportunities to maximize resource utilization altogether. Getting a second opinion from an outside source helps to address this problem. Third-party auditors can also keep operational expenditures within reasonable parameters without stressing current human resources – an issue which might otherwise cause problems further down the IT supply chain.

THE BENEFITS OF VIRTUALIZATION HINGE ON BEST DEPLOYMENT PRACTICES

THE BEST

DEPLOYMENT

PRACTICES

BEGIN WITH

CONDUCTING

A FULL

ASSESSMENT

OF RESOURCE

UTILIZATION.

After auditing, IT managers must analyze the data to identify areas that are good candidates for virtualization. A complete migration to a virtualized infrastructure may not make sense for a small business, but large enterprises may need a significant upgrade to keep pace with competitors. IT departments can either build virtual architecture themselves or outsource virtual components. Choosing the level of virtualization that is best for a company’s individual needs is essential, and the help of an expert outside opinion, as from one of the world-class consultants at IIS, can ensure that IT solutions are truly a great fit for each company.

One method of building an in-house virtual architecture relates to the way hypervisors interact with operating systems. Using the “bare metal method”, the hypervisor oversees the resource allocation of operating systems and applications within a virtual machine. This technique makes it possible to avoid frequent patching of operating systems and applications. Instead, technicians apply a single patch to the hypervisor. Another in-house method is to allow the original hardware’s operating system to control hardware while hosting the hypervisor.

Finally, the last general aspect to consider is security policy. Virtual machine sprawl is one of the biggest challenges of securing a virtualized infrastructure. Unpatched virtual machines can become rogue units in an instant. Expert consultation with a leading service provider like IIS can alleviate companies’ security concerns proactively.

VIRTUAL MACHINE

SPRAWL IS ONE

OF THE BIGGEST

CHALLENGES

OF SECURING

A VIRTUALIZED

INFRASTRUCTURE.

Contrary to the industry hype, simply migrating to virtual components does not guarantee exceptional return on investment. Surely, the economic potential of virtualization is vast, but gaining maximum value out of a virtualization deployment hinges upon using the best optimization techniques.

Optimizing a virtual infrastructure gives IT departments several benefits. After tweaking virtual deployments, IT departments may be able to lower labor costs by reallocating human resources to the right areas. Transparency is another underrated benefit of optimization. Once infrastructures have been optimized, future optimization efforts become clearer, since infrastructures have already been modified to take advantage of stable production capacity. When optimizing virtual infrastructure, it is important to remember that optimization is a complex and ongoing task, because the dynamics of enterprise systems can change in the blink of an eye.

The best optimization practices basically encompass dynamic resource allocation techniques. Ideally, IT departments should conduct thorough performance profiles of virtual components. System administrators must keep in mind that virtual systems have many of the same optimization concerns as physical systems, mainly resource allocation between virtual machines and within individual virtual machines.

THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR OPTIMIZATION

THE BEST

OPTIMIZATION

PRACTICES

BASICALLY

ENCOMPASS

DYNAMIC

RESOURCE

ALLOCATION

TECHNIQUES.

OPTIMIZING

A VIRTUAL

INFRASTRUCTURE

GIVES IT

DEPARTMENTS

SEVERAL

BENEFITS.

10 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR DATACENTER MORE EFFICIENT 10 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR

RESOURCE

ALLOCATION IS A

NEVER-ENDING

BALANCING ACT,

WHICH TAKES

TIME TO MANAGE

EFFICIENTLY.

When allocating dedicated resources, system administrators should locate known bottlenecks and optimize hardware resource consumption accordingly. There are still physical limitations of virtual systems. Another interesting optimization practice is to over-allocate CPU resources to account for resource intensive virtual machines. However, when sharing CPUs, it is good practice to make sure applications can in fact utilize this configuration. Otherwise, this method can actually cause more harm than good.

Yet another optimization practice is to tweak the resource allocation between machines. System administrators must keep in mind that moving resources to one virtual machine shorts the resources of another machine. Resource allocation is a never-ending balancing act, which takes time to manage efficiently. In some situations, moving a virtual machine to a different host may be the best optimization strategy. It is also important to tune individual virtual machines. System administrators may overlook this technique because physical systems do not have the same resource allocation properties of virtual infrastructures.

Given the rigorous demands of today’s economy, U.S. enterprises can no longer wait to migrate to a virtualized IT infrastructure in some way. IIS has the skill, integrity and innovative mindset necessary to navigate the challenges of deploying and optimizing a virtualized IT infrastructure efficiently. They specialize in implementing virtualization strategies that combine industry-standard best practices with forward-thinking, proactive IT solutions – improving efficiency, saving on costs, and optimizing IT infrastructures for today’s pressing needs.

A TRUSTED PARTNER FOR VIRTUALIZATION STRATEGIES

IIS SPECIALIZES

IN IMPLEMENTING

VIRTUALIZATION

STRATEGIES

THAT COMBINE

INDUSTRY-

STANDARD BEST

PRACTICES

WITH FORWARD-

THINKING,

PROACTIVE IT

SOLUTIONS