Many IT departments intend to spend the same or more on storage requirements in 2011 when compared to 2010. With budgets still restricted and IT managers focusing on the larger line items in a continuing effort to reduce costs, data storage is a major target. However, when managers dive into the detail they tend to find that it is not the operational environment which is where the “fat” is found, but in the secondary environments, typically used for testing.

Two typical approaches established by managers are to either, run scripts, or secondly to use software tools to create snapshots. These are usually successful, though scripts frequently do not work and in any event, both approaches come with a hefty price tag. Creating secondary environments is expensive, and there are further complications when companies fail to properly manage table relationships or customized scripts.

Virtualization is a solution to these and other problems, because a small version of the operational environment can be created which is separated from the underlying physical hardware and is capable of being stored absolutely anywhere. By synchronizing the abstraction with the operational databases, this ensures that there is always a testing environment available for use by developers and IT staff working on provisioning or new implementations, but at a fraction of the cost.

The major benefits of virtualization include:

Reduction in CapEx – by improving efficiency in terms of the amount of space required for secondary environments, there is a reduced load on existing hardware infrastructure. Secondary environments can be stored wherever IT staff deem most appropriate, and availability and access to the team working on the data is eased. Customers are therefore able to deploy the most appropriate and effective storage devices for the data being worked on. A practical example can be seen with SAN costs, where a rate of $10,000 per Terabyte is usual, however this can be reduced to around #3,000 per TB with a storage device which is directly attached, fort example an enterprise flash drive. Multiple copies can be created very quickly and speeds are extremely fast, which minimizes testing and development times.

Increased Agility – IT agility is improved because developers and testing staff do not need to wait for provisioning of secondary environments. The storage footprint is also drastically reduced, which means that as many copies can be made as are needed, without impacting on the operational environment’s storage needs or creating increased storage demand across the board.

Streamlining – using a virtual database means that the entire panoply of database tools can be utilized. There is no need to deploy specialist tools or make changes to the storage environment to handle testing and developing. In addition, as virtual databases do not require huge amounts of storage, there is a cost saving in power consumption and cooling systems.

In essence, moving to a virtualized environment opens up windows of opportunity for the client. Testing and development can proceed at a faster pace and incur less overhead, while there is no need to alter the operating environment. By effectively removing the need for replication of storage facilities and infrastructure to handle secondary environments, there is huge scope for cost reduction.

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Category: Computers and Technology
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