These 5 lessons can help make your virtualization projects into real-world successes.
1. Implement slowly. Conduct your migration to virtualization slowly, making sure the new approach delivers the performance you want and everything is running correctly. Do your testing as you would for any new implementation.
2. Show your executives the money (savings). Stephen Bakerman, information technology manager at Owen Bird Law Corp., explained to his executives that if they didn't implement virtualization technology, the company would need to invest in a $20,000 air-conditioning unit and in more battery backup. Bakerman estimates the law firm already has saved some $50,000 by implementing virtualization.
3. Download vendors' free products and try them out. Virtual Iron and VMware both have free trial downloads available on their Web sites. Microsoft Virtual Server is free. Download them and give them a try.
4. Try not to let third-party products overwhelm you. "I remember going to VMWorld and being overwhelmed by the third-party products out there," says John Dolan, principal consultant at Viant Solutions. "What we found is that if you have a unique need that you need a unique solution [for], then look at the third-party solution. But for the bread and butter VMware solution, you really don't need those third-party products."
5. Establish a "default virtualization" policy. Once you've decided to implement virtualization technology and you're on board with it, establish a policy that every new server should be virtualized. "In the past three organizations I've worked in, you have smaller departments that have one-off applications and have a server. You're throwing away a lot of money," says Ron Whitling, senior systems engineer for E-chx, a payroll outsourcing company. "I would recommend that companies establish a default policy for virtualization and make a case why a new server needs to be hardware instead of virtual."
Debra Bulkeley is a technology writer based in Boston, Mass.
