HP DL360 Server virtualization technologies for x86-based HP BladeSystem and H - Page 2

Abstract Virtual machine technology is the most widely understood and adopted form of server virtualization technology today. It is a powerful technology that can reduce overall costs, decrease power consumption, footprint requirements, and improve resource utilization. This technology brief describes how HP is using virtual machine technology and expanding into other areas of server virtualization such as physical-layer abstraction and management technologies for virtualization. These include ProLiant iVirtualization, HP Virtual Connect, logical servers, and HP Insight Dynamics - VSE. This technology brief is written with the assumption that readers understand the basics of virtual machine technology. Introduction The term server virtualization refers to abstracting, or masking, a physical server resource to make it appear different logically to what it is physically. In addition, server virtualization includes the ability for an administrator to relocate and adjust the machine workload. In its broadest sense, server virtualization refers to techniques implemented using either software or hardware. However, the term server virtualization is commonly used as a synonym for virtual machine technology, because that is the most widely adopted form of server virtualization technology today for x86-based servers. To avoid confusion, this technology brief uses the term machine abstraction to refer to the broad set of technologies that abstract an entire physical server and allow its resources to be pooled and shared.1 Machine abstraction logically abstracts and isolates the operating system (OS) and application workload from the underlying hardware, and can be implemented using software or hardware techniques. Machine abstraction technology is important because as more server resources are abstracted, the IT organization can become more efficient and effective: Reduces total cost of ownership as physical resources are used to their full potential Increases flexibility because resources can be provisioned or moved as needed Increases scalability because resources can be scaled up or down based on changing workload demands Improves resiliency by simplifying backup, failover, and disaster recovery solutions Machine abstraction can be performed in the software layer (virtual machines), or physical layer. HP introduced physical-layer abstraction with HP Virtual Connect, which abstracts the server-to-network connections. HP also introduced the concept of logical servers, allowing administrators to establish server profiles, or containers, to describe an abstracted server. Figure 1 indicates the locations where logical servers can be landed: Pool of servers such as a BladeSystem Virtual Connect domain (referred to as a physical machine-logical server, PM-LS) Hypervisor-based virtual machine (referred to as a virtual machine-logical server, VM-LS) Figure 1 also shows a centralized management server (CMS) as the top-level orchestration manager for the data center. Using a CMS, server administrators have a single console and server management tool that spans multiple physical machines, gives a comprehensive view of the server infrastructure, and can act as a ―collection‖ tool for all the machine abstractions (physical-layer or software-layer). Figure 1 shows HP Insight Dynamics - VSE as an example of a CMS. HP is bringing Virtual Connect, virtual machine, and integrated management technologies together so IT administrators can create and manage virtual machines and physical machines in the same manner throughout the lifecycle of a server. The following sections discuss each of these technologies. 1 Sharing may be done concurrently or sequentially. 2