What is Virtualization 2.0?
Feb 21st, 2008 by Rick Barnard
We’re almost into March of 2008, so it would be silly for me to provide any “predictions” for 2008. However virtualization is huge in the market, so lets focus on where that will go over the next 12 months. Some define the next phase as Virtualization 2.0, but what is Virtualization 2.0 really?
Last year, industry analysts and other pundits began making distinctions between the different types or phases of virtualization. They said that virtualization is more than server virtualization (Virtualization 1.0) and that there is a logical next step, a second wave in fact where the entire data center will be virtualized.
How will data center virtualization evolve? There are some core values and principles that will drive its adoption, mainly SIMPLICITY AND CHOICE. Make virtualization easy to deploy and manage, and provide the most choice of virtualization and data center technologies to enable lower costs with better service levels. Here are a few examples of how these values might manifest:
- Eliminate complexity, don’t just manage it! Eliminate as many components as possible, while delivering the performance and service levels required for mission and business critical applications. Less is better because each platform, network, cable, I/O, OS, third party software tool in the data center has to be procured, deployed, integrated, and managed over their independent and interdependent lifecycles.
- Simplify the management and integration of new technologies. Let’s use server virtualization as an example. VM sprawl is a problem and new virtualization technologies will emerge and compete with each other. Provide a single domain for managing both physical and virtual resources to allow IT to manage thousands of VMs (possibly from different technology vendors) without complexity.
- Provide choice of the best technologies in the market. Processors, OS/hypervisors, networking fabrics, I/O subsystems, unknown technologies. Integrate the best of breed technologies today and in the future.
- Deliver open virtualization management capabilities. Managing the virtual data center can not be isolated to what hypervisors or platforms are used. A single virtualization and management architecture is critical to manage all processing, network, and storage resources within the data center. But, buyer beware….”not all IO Virtualization is created equal.”
The result of data center virtualization (Virtualization 2.0) is focused on flexible resources that can be dynamically deployed, re-purposed and managed based on business requirements and service levels.
If you believe in virtualization, then you should be excited for 2008. Because, you ain’t seen nothing yet…