Virtualization Can Increase Efficiency, Improve Flexibility and Ease BCP
With virtualization on the minds of many IT managers these days, Scalent Systems is releasing its Virtual Operating Environment V/OE 2.0 DR Edition.
Data center managers increasingly are trying to achieve greater management control, higher utilization, improved availability of server resources and improved business continuity planning. However, traditional server repurposing — changing which servers are running, what software is running on them, and how they're connected to network and storage — has been time-consuming and costly. But Scalent's new solution will allow customers to take their data centers from powered-off hardware without any installed software to live and connected to network and storage servers in less than five minutes, the company claims.
Scalent says the infrastructure flexibility creates a significant increase in server utilization and reaction time. Instead of provisioning each application silo for peak demand conditions, IT can provision for average demand and shift spare resources to match business needs. Specific business systems can be redeployed as dictated by business priorities, time of day or other criteria, the vendor notes.
"The modern multitier architecture depends on multiple interdependent and interconnected machines, says Ben Linder, CEO of Scalent Systems. "Physically replacing part or altering this infrastructure to meet changing demands is too expensive, slow, time-consuming and risky."
Instead of spending hours or days reloading software, changing configurations, and moving machines and cables, with Scalent's virtualization solution IT teams now can rack once, cable once, then reconfigure repeatedly — in minutes and effortlessly, according to Kevin Epstein, VP of marketing for Scalent Systems.
Server repurposing is critical for customers who want to implement a real-time infrastructure. "The key to repurposing is combining image portability with dynamic control of infrastructure elements so that services can be quickly and easily enabled in a matter of minutes," explains Donna Scott, VP and distinguished analyst, Gartner.
Dan Kusnetzky, principal analyst at the Kusnetzky Group (Osprey, Fla.), contends that Scalent is one of the few companies to have a broader view of virtualization. Virtualization can have an impact on a variety of sectors, such as processing, storage or data access. But "most companies focus on just one aspect of virtualization, ignoring everything else that is possible," says Kusnetzky, who says he has been tracking virtualization technology for more than a decade.
"Some vendors focus very tightly on a specific problem. But Scalent steps back to think of the entire category and how to create a solution for that entire category," Kusnetzky continues, explaining that better performance, scalability, availability and agility are some of the potential benefits for buyers.
Kusnetzky points out that Scalent is using the term "virtual operating environment" to highlight the fact that the company is thinking about the entire data center operation, rather than a specific problem. "It's better to start with the architecture and make a solution fit that architecture than just build individual pieces and connect them," he says. "Scalent's approach seems better architected than some others." Melanie Rodier has worked as a print and broadcast journalist for over 10 years, covering business and finance, general news, and film trade news. Prior to joining Wall Street & Technology in April 2007, Melanie lived in Paris, where she worked for the International Herald ... View Full Bio
Tweet This