ANTenna Blog -- How-To

It's grossly overrated for most SMB users, according to one analysis.

Yes, the big buzz about virtualization is that you can save dough by consolidating processes that used to run on dozens of machines onto a handful of machines—if you have dozens of machines.

But what if you don't?

This recent news feature indicates that if you have fewer than 20 servers, virtualization is simply not worth the effort. There are two big reasons:

First, when you consolidate multiple processes on to a handful of machines, those few machines need to be big (i.e., expensive) to handle the load.

Second, for virtualization to work you'll need shared storage, such as SAN, and that's not cheap – SMB users rarely have it.

Meanwhile, you probably need to get new management tools, and most of those who virtualize upgrade from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 Data Center, and that will, obviously, involve expenses. And you'll probably want to pay for a consultant to guide you through the process. You see where this is leading?

But aside from ROI calculations, there's a separate argument for virtualization that has nothing to do with cost cutting: business continuity. With virtualization, moving a process from a machine to another is no big deal, so moving a process off a failing machine to an intact one should be a snap.

But if your idea of business continuity means turning on the machines when you arrive in the morning, that argument, too, probably doesn't carry much weight.

Eventually, virtualization will become a viable, even routine option for the SMB user. But that will probably happen long after the hype has faded away. In the meantime, don’t feel inadequate if you don't virtualize.

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