Microsoft and Compellent Release ‘Virtualization Blueprint’
“Increasing IT Efficiency in a Dynamic Datacenter with a Virtualized Storage Solution” outlines steps for maximizing benefits and cost savings in a virtualized IT environment.
Those that are building a dynamic, efficient data center need to consider storage virtualization as a key component. That was the at the heart of a new Microsoft and Compellent report shared with attendees of Tech-Ed North America 2010 last week.
According to Microsoft and Compellent, the report–Increasing IT Efficiency in a Dynamic Datacenter with a Virtualized Storage Solution–outlines the steps organizations can take to maximize benefits and cost savings in a virtualized IT environ
ment.
The companies unveiled the report by saying IT budgets, these days, remain flat or in decline. At the same time, demand continues to rise for IT services that can support growth and maintain 24/7 support. As such, the companies say, “organizations require solutions that not only provide the capacity and performance to meet application requirements, but also offer sufficient return on investment and, better yet, cost-reduction measures.”
Compellent’s vice president of business development and alliances Bruce Kornfeld says the report is a blueprint, a resource of recommendations for the virtual data center. Moreover, he says, these recommendations are shared by Compellent.
“The true benefits of the dynamic data center can only be achieved when storage and server virtualization are implemented together,” Kornfeld says. “We’re pleased to be able to demonstrate real hardware cost and power savings to end users as the result of the partnership.”
Below are some of the key takeaways of the report.
DATA CENTER COMPONENTS
As outlined in Increasing IT Efficiency in a Dynamic Datacenter with a Virtualized Storage Solution, some of the key technology components recommended for a dynamic data center include:
- Server virtualization solutions, such as Microsoft Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager
- Storage virtualization technologies, including automated tiered storage and thin provisioning
- Storage and server connectivity (Fibre Channel or iSCSI, based on organizations’ needs)
- Persistent, scalable hardware infrastructure that supports a tiered storage environment
EFFICIENCY AND COST SAVINGS
The virtualization report describes key benefits companies can realize when they deploy Microsoft server virtualization with Compellent storage virtualization technologies.
The two companies argue that efficiency gains include hardware cost reduction, server utilization improvement, energy and space reduction, and reduced licensing costs.
Increasing IT Efficiency in a Dynamic Datacenter with a Virtualized Storage Solution is downloadable from the Compellent Web site.
