Presentation given at 2011 MNCN Technology and Communications Conference

1. Virtualization Roger Hagedorn, DARTS IT Director Dave Pederson, PPL Systems Support Manager Jason Samuels, NCFR IT Manager Minnesota Council on Nonprofits :: Technology and Communications Conference :: February 23, 2011

2. Servers are like snowmen 2 and virtualization is cool!

3. Servers are like snowmen The base is the hardware 3

4. Servers are like snowmen The base is the hardware The tummy is the operating system 4

5. Servers are like snowmen The base is the hardware The tummy is the operating system The head runs applications 5

6. Servers are like snowmen Put it all together and you have a snowman .. er, server to do your bidding 6

7. Challenges 7

8. Inefficiency Server applications can conflict with other server applications. They need dedicated operating systems to function properly. 8

9. Inefficiency 9 Servers have become more powerful than applications need. Over 90% of computing power could go unused.

10. Inefficiency 10 The result can be “server sprawl” Energy inefficient Not cost effective

11. Vulnerability 11 When equipment fails, the OS and applications need to be rebuilt. X

12. Vulnerability 12 Restoring a crashed server is stressful and costly.

13. How virtualization helps 13

14. The virtualization layer 14 Virtualization works at the base level, it pools resources and emulates hardware

15. Emulation 15 emulate = mimic The virtual layer serves emulated hardware from a resource pool, that operating systems interact with as if it’s actual hardware

16. Efficiency 16 So your snowpile can form more virtual servers than there are physical hosts

17. Efficiency 17 Computing resources are allocated based on each virtual server’s need

18. Reliability 18 If a physical host fails, redundancy inside the virtualization layer picks up the slack Virtual servers don’t need to be rebuilt from scratch X

19. Virtualization case studies 19

20. NCFR Virtualization Case Study By 2010, NCFR was down to four servers Domain Controller / Exchange (2008) Website / SharePoint front-end (2007) Great Plains (accounting) / S.P. back-end (2005) ListManager / Backup D.C. (2005) Aging environment Too many applications running together 20

21. NCFR Virtualization Costs One new server Upgrades to existing server iSCSI SAN Two network switches VMware Business Essentials Plus Nonprofit pricing available! Hardware & software cost: ~$16,500 21

22. NCFR Upgrade Path Upgraded OS and application platforms Migrated DC/DNS/DHCP & file shares into a new Windows Server 2008R2 VM Deployed Exchange 2010 on a new Windows Server 2008R2 VM & migrated mailboxes Great Plains 2010 & ListManager 10.2 VMs Physical-to-virtual conversions of web server and legacy accounting server SharePoint 2010 VMs are next 22

23. Also in use Two repurposed desktop computers VCenter Management server for physical hosts Backup server Symantec Backup Exec 2010 (via TechSoup!) 1.5 TB hard drive installed for on-site backups External hard drive (USB) for off-site backups Backup Domain Controller / DNS / DHCP 23

24. Other considerations iSCSI SAN = most important hardware Two disk arrays 550 GB high-performance (4x 15k RPM SAS, RAID 10) 3.5 TB high-capacity (5x 7,200 RPM SATA, RAID 5) Provides storage for all VMs & data No single point of failure Each disk array has a hot-spare Dual disk controllers Redundant power supplies & network ports Five year parts & service warrantee 24

25. Other considerations Processing power = not an issue Operating systems only use needed Haven’t seen utilization greater than 40% Available RAM = big issue Operating systems cache all they’re given More = better! VMware High Availability Lets you rank which VMs take priority in case a physical host goes down 25

26. What else can be virtualized? 26

27. Virtual applications 27 Desktop applications can be virtualized Desktops on the network can run the application like it’s installed locally, but it’s actually run from a virtual OS environment at the server

28. Desktop virtualization 28 Desktop computers can be like snowmen too Larger investment needed in servers Inexpensive, energy efficient “thin-clients” work as virtual desktop terminals

29. Mobile virtualization 29 Virtualization could run business and personal environments separately and simultaneously on one device Expect to see offered on smart phones by 2013

30. Infrastructure in the cloud 30 Cloud computing = location-independent Faster bandwidth + datacenters + virtualization = alternatives to hosting servers on-site

31. Bonus slide 31 CAUTION: Do not actually put snowmen in your server room. They are a metaphor. X