Data center virtualization definition
Data center virtualization is designing, developing, and implementing virtual versions of physical IT resources, such as servers, storage devices, and networks, within a data center environment. Organizations usually utilize virtualization, or a hypervisor, to create multiple virtual machines (VMs) for running multiple workloads on one physical server. It reduces costs and complexity and improves efficiency, scalability, and flexibility. Data center virtualization can also be applied to storage devices or network infrastructures.
See also: remote access server, firewall
Data center virtualization application
- Server consolidation. Organizations can reduce the number of physical servers they need to support their IT infrastructure and benefit from cost savings, improved efficiency, and reduced complexity.
- Disaster recovery. Organizations can create virtualized copies of physical servers and storage systems. They can use these copies to quickly restore services during a disaster or outage.
- Test and development environments. Developers can test applications and new software in a sandbox environment without impacting production systems.
- Cloud computing. Data center virtualization enables cloud computing, allowing organizations to create and manage virtualized resources they can dynamically allocate and scale on demand.
- Big data and analytics. Data center virtualization provides a scalable and flexible infrastructure for large-scale data processing and analysis.
