A

Virtualization
Roadmap
from Dell and Intel
Virtualization is more than a technology. It is a way of thinking
about problems that allow us to go beyond the physical limitations nor-
mally associated with entire classes of hardware, from servers to storage.
Attaining the maximum benefits of virtualization, however, requires a
plan and constant monitoring to ensure peak performance.

INTRODUCTION
Virtualization is a technology solution
that addresses the real business driv-
ers of cost, time and quality. The basic
principle is that a virtual solution hides
physical limitations from end users,
enabling them to consider, for example,
one physical device to be several logical
devices.
Server virtualization, the most popu-
lar starting point for a virtualization
strategy, allows one real hardware
server to run multiple instances of oper-
ating systems and environments under
the supervision of a layer of software
called a hypervisor. This allows better
utilization of hardware resources, real
estate, energy, and personnel. Advances
in virtualization software have made
some level of adoption a simple deci-
sion for most organizations.

1

Flexible Sourcing
Consumption Based Billing
Self-Service Consumption
Dynamic Resource Pooling
VALUE
requires IT resources, but does not want
to be constantly aware of the limitations
of specifying, implementing, and man-
aging it.
As shown in the diagram above, an
enterprise approach to virtualization

Simplified Service Model can begin with technical benefits of

Fully Stateless Infrastructure improving availability, enabling mobil-
Rapid Deployment
ity, and improving utilization, but the
benefits do not stop there. They extend
Improving Availability to simplifying the IT architecture, and
Enabling Mobility
ultimately to accurately aligning billing
Improving Utilization
with consumption.
BUSINESS BENEFITS THE CONTINUOUS
OF A VIRTUALIZED ENTERPRISE
VIRTUALIZATION LIFECYCLE
As shown in the figure at right, we can
technical benefits of improving availability, ultimately to accurately aligning billing with
Attaining the full benefits of virtual- think of this approach as a continuous
enabling mobility, and improving utilization, consumption.
butization, however,
the benefits requires
do not stop more than
there. They cycle with four phases, from planning
the simple
extend purchase
to simplifying of hypervisors
the IT architecture, and and though provisioning, protection, and
changing software licenses. It requires operations. A roadmap for virtualiza-
an enterprise to take a complete life- tion will include ongoing iterations,
The cycle
C o n t iapproach
nuous Vi rtualizat i o n Lapplica­
to hardware, i fecycle
tion with successive cycles moving the
and data management.
As shown in the figure at right, we can think of
The efficient enterprise today – and
this approach as a continuous cycle with four
into
phases, fromthe futurethough
planning – willprovisioning,
leverage virtu-
alization
protection, and an array
and operations. of technolo-
A roadmap for
gies designed
virtualization to remove
will include human error
ongoing iterations,
with successive cycles moving the enterprise up
and labor from the tasks associated
the value stack as previously discussed.
with establishing and scaling the IT
Duringinfrastructure.
the planning phase it is important to
prioritizeComing
and identifyfrom a history
short durationof reacting to
projects
demand changes with long lag times,
with the highest impact from virtualization. For
each cycle, IT will go through a process of
this on-demand approach to allocation
discovery and inventory of applications and
of IT resources is generally a welcome
infrastructure to identify the best opportunities
change to the
for improvements. line of business
In conjunction staff who
with ongoing
application portfolio management efforts, one
would expect to see ongoing attention to capacity 2 virtualization technologies have improved,
As
planning. Dell, Intel and VMware have collaborated to
optimize them to run natively on Intel Xeon
 INTEL® XEON® PROCESSOR 5600 SERIES
enterprise up the value stack as previ-
ously discussed.
During the planning phase it is im-
portant to prioritize and identify short
duration projects with the highest
impact from virtualization. For each
cycle, IT will go through a process of
discovery and inventory of applica-
tions and infrastructure to identify the
best opportunities for improvements.
In conjunction with ongoing applica-
tion portfolio management efforts, one
would expect to see ongoing attention
to capacity planning.
After each planning exercise, the high
value virtualization projects will be al-
located to resources from the processor
up through the selected hypervisor. Ef-
fective workload migration is critical to
the success of the effort, at this stage.
As virtualization technologies have
3
improved, Dell, Intel and VMware have
collaborated to optimize them to run
natively on Intel Xeon processor-based
platforms. This has allowed for more
effective workload migration across
multiple generations of Dell Xeon serv-
ers, including the latest in the Power
Edge family of servers, the 5600, 6500
and 7500 series.
As shown in the diagram above,
better virtualization technology helps
a new 5600 Series platform with ap-
proximately 5X the raw performance of
a 2006 Xeon 5100 platform deliver up
to 8X the virtualization performance
of the same platform using indus-
try standard VMmark performance
measurements.
Typically executed next or in parallel
with the provide step, although planned
for in advance, the protect phase
 App AppAppAppAppAppApp
OS OSOSOSOSOSOS
t t t t t VMOTION TECHNOLOGY q q q q q
ESX Server
Hardware
includes backup and disaster recovery
activities and testing.
Going into the operational phase,
systems are tune for optimal virtual
machine performance, and measured
against SLAs set during the planning
phase. A key advantage of modern
virtualization software is the ability to
reallocate virtual workstreams from one
physical machine to another without
interruption. This capability, known as
live migration, enables both fault toler-
ance and dynamic capacity manage-
ment. As shown in the diagram at right,
a typical configuration with Dell ESX
servers based on Intel Xeon processors
and VMotion technology from VM-
ware allows such seamless operation.
Shared storage is a requirement for live
migration.
Over 40% of the virtualized platforms
today feature live migration. By 2011,
that number is expected to reach 80%.
The requirement to offer live migration
4
App
OS
ESX Server
Hardware
will create increased demand for shared
storage. As users come to expect seam-
less failover or scalability, the demand
will continue to increase.
Throughout these phases, constant
attention must be paid to regulatory
compliance and enterprise governance
issues, including appropriate audit and
security measures and controls.
COMPLETE VIRTUALIZATION
LIFECYCLE SUPPORT FROM
DELL AND INTEL
Virtualization is the cornerstone of
computing for the foreseeable future,
so a comprehensive strategy to benefit
from all it offers is now a business re-
quirement. As with many technologies,
the road to success is often best when
traveled with a trusted partner. Dell,
Intel, VMware and their partners have
made some of the seminal advances in
this area, and offer complete product
and service support for the enterprise,
 MAJOR DELL & INTEL
PHASE
ACTIVITIES/CONCERNS PARTNERS
VMware, Symantec
Test lab/QA
Vizioncore, Platform Computing
Planning Discovery/Inventory
Microsoft, PlateSpin
Capacity Planning
Double-Take

VMware, Citrix XenServer

Bare Metal
PlateSpin, Double-Take
Provisioning Hypervisor Deployment
Microsoft, Symantec
Workload Migration
Vizioncore

VMware, Citrix XenServer

Back up/Disaster Recovery PlateSpin, Double-Take
Protect
High Availability Microsoft, Symantec
Vizioncore

Charge Back
VMware, Citrix XenServer
Workload Orchestration
PlateSpin, Platform Computing
Operations SLA/Policy Mgmt
Microsoft, Symantec
VM Performance
Vizioncore, Double-Take
VM Update/HW Update

Audit & Compliance Symantec

Compliance
Antivirus, Firewalls Reflex

regardless of how advanced the firm zation and IT infrastructure planning

is today.
In the chart above, we highlight some
of the additional partnerships Dell
and Intel offer to support enterprises
through each cycle, from planning
through optimizing the operational
systems. As always, it is important to
begin with setting and then exceeding
realistic user expectations, and nobody
has more experience in this area than
the team from Dell and Intel.
The modular approach to vir­tu­ali-
enables firms of all sizes to choose an
appropriate starting point and attain the
business objectives that should be at the
heart of all technology investments.
A comprehensive data center strategy
for virtualization clearly extends beyond
server virtualization, and requires spe-
cialized expertise in a number of areas.
As shown in the figure above, Dell,
with a portfolio of partners driven by
customer-demand, offers a wide range
of services to accommodate customer

5
budgets and unique requirements. Each
of the boxes represents a field tested off-
the-shelf solution that can be tailored to
an individual firm, bringing the benefits
of best practices and experiences from
many similar engagements. This en-
ables the Dell team to offer comprehen-
sive virtualization services on a fixed-
price basis to reduce risk and improve
ROI for clients in all industries. p

Platform
Planning
Optimization Data Facilities Disaster
& Networking
& Management Efficiency Recovery
Management
Virtualization

Capacity,
Business
Data Center Server Storage Efficiency and
Optimization Impact
Strategy Virtualization Consolidation Reliability
Assessment
Opt.

Capacity Cloud
Planning
Planning & Computing Storage Site Performance
and
Performance (Private & Optimization Selection Tuning
Architecture
Mgt. Public)

Design &
Systems Virtualized Data Conceptual Capacity
Implement
Management Operations Protection Design Planning
Systems

DC Windows
Energy Program
Consolidation Server
Management Management
& Migration (Hyper-V)

Data Center Database Testing and

Operations Optimization Compliance

HPCC

Unix to
Linux

Active
Directory