Knowledge Bubble

So What’s All the Fuss about Server Virt?
It’s a buzzword that’s gaining ground in Bristol IT services. ‘Server Virt’ is a syllable-saving way of saying server virtualisation. If you’re not mad about the shortening of this simple word, let’s find out what it means!

The Nuts and Bolts
Servers cost money. They have to be 100% solid (or as close as possible to that), and with all the information stored on them, they are not supposed to be easily disposed of. So they’re built to a high spec rather than a low cost. Just like a vault is to a treasury, servers for your business are not bits of kit to penny pinch over (regardless of how competent your IT support might be). Company directors acknowledge that fact, and so servers are more often than not bought with a ‘belt and braces’ approach.

Servers also take up space. Not only are they substantial pieces of hardware, they usually need storing in a 19″ rack, alongside supporting equipment

• network cabling
• power supplies
• computer screens

and kept at a distance from small particles of dirt, liquids and little (or devious) fingers. This normally means putting them in a room set aside for them or at least a partitioned area in the building.

Servers consume quantities of energy. Not simply the electricity required to run a powerful computer that’s switched on and working hard 24 hours a day, but also the oxygenation and cooling they crave to keep them operating at the optimal temperature (a server in a small space can produce excess heat).

All this would be copable with if you only ever needed one of them.

But that’s the problem: more than one server is frequently needed. No matter if that’s to fulfill different functions, to operate as a fail-safe, or to deal with alternating demands like spikes in website usage or numerous visitors reading their e-mails as they hit the office, businesses frequently have a ‘peak server load’ requirement which outstrips their normal use. It is not possible to turn a server on and off according to demand, so you are left with equipment that is unused a lot of the time.

Get the problem? Lots of pricey equipment, using loads of space in your buildings, getting through quantities of energy, and a lot of it ‘just in case’.

Is there a better way? Well, there may be. Many companies find that virtualising servers is the way forward.

‘Server Virt’ quite literally means separating and changing one physical piece of kit into several different instances of a server. Every instance can either complete similar functions, or be allocated to different types of task.

Why Is It Effective?
The idea is simple enough, but implementing it in a robust manner is more complicated. You need a company similar to this IT services company in Bristol . But the benefits of having one piece of equipment act as several virtual machines, consequently doing the job of multiple physical servers, are evident:

Lower prices (on items that are not needed full-time)
More space (less of it taken up by computer equipment)
Less expenditure on power (by miles! … and a greener footprint to match)

Look into IT services in your area to find how much you can save by virtualising your servers.