May 2011 Storage Choices For Virtual Server Forrester Survey

Making Leaders Successful Every Day
March 15, 2011 | Updated: May 31, 2011
Storage Choices For Virtual Server
Environments, Q1 2011
by Andrew Reichman
for Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

© 2011 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Forrester, Forrester Wave, RoleView, Technographics, TechRankings, and Total Economic
ImpactaretrademarksofForresterResearch,Inc.Allothertrademarksarethepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners.Reproductionorsharingofthis
content in any form without prior written permission is strictly prohibited. To purchase reprints of this document, please email clientsupport@
forrester.com. For additional reproduction and usage information, see Forrester’s Citation Policy located at www.forrester.com. Information is
based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change.
For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals
Executive Summary
Virtual server technology is a unifying technology in IT infrastructure around the world. As maturity
increases, more critical production applications are being deployed virtually, raising the stakes for
getting the architecture right. Storage remains a complicated aspect of virtual server deployments, with
numerous technology and vendor choices to make. It’s important to remember that the benefits of server
virtualization are dependent on each element of infrastructure that goes into the environment. Forrester
updated its January 2009 survey on storage for virtual server environments. The results show continued
trends toward consolidation and simplification and a shift from “just making it work” to streamlining
operations. So what does all this mean? Infrastructure and operations professionals should re-evaluate
vendor choices, single-source when possible, and explore alternative storage protocols — and NFS in
particular — as cheaper, more efficient alternatives to Fibre Channel.
table of Contents
Virtual Server Environments Have Matured
Significantly
Dominant Vendors And Protocols Lead, But
Alternatives Grow
recommendations
Virtualization Is A Critical And Growing App
Environment: Optimize Around It
NOTES & RESOURCES
Forrester surveyed 104 vendor and user
companies. Respondents were selected based
on their current use of x86 server virtualization
technology.
Related Research Documents
“Storage Choices For Virtual Server Environments”
January 15, 2009
March 15, 2011 | Updated: May 31, 2011
Storage Choices For Virtual Server Environments,
Q1 2011
Single-Source Your Storage Vendor And Explore NFS As The Storage Protocol To
Support Growing Virtual Server Environments
by Andrew Reichman
with Vanessa Alvarez, Robert Whiteley, and Eric Chi
2
6
8

© 2011, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction ProhibitedMarch 15, 2011 | Updated: May 31, 2011
Storage Choices For Virtual Server Environments, Q1 2011
2
Virtual Server environments have matured significantly
Several years ago, server virtualization was in an emerging phase, with user environments cutting
their teeth on less critical applications and test-and-development environments. Their goal was
to prove that the technology worked and demonstrate early savings with server consolation. The
hopes of broad benefits had to wait for higher maturity and confidence. Today, however, server
virtualization is much more mature, and infrastructure and operations (I&O) teams have a solid
understanding of the best practices. I&O executives point to resource consolidation, configuration
consistency, and data protection as the key benefits of server virtualization. Now I&O teams are
looking to expand x86 server virtualization to increase the overall consistency of their application
environments. As a result, we see that:
· Server virtualization adoption continues to accelerate. Ninety-one percent of respondents
report that they are using virtual server technology for production workloads, compared with
just 78% last year (see Figure 1-1).1
This shows a continuing trend of virtual server technology
adoption for more production applications and an increase in maturity from previous years
when virtualization was confined to predominantly test-and-development uses. I&O managers
confirm this and point to increasing use of server virtualization for more business-critical and
performance-sensitive application environments.
· Server virtualization is being used for more critical applications. While web and infrastructure
applications top the list of applications running in virtual server environments, database and
other more demanding apps show higher prevalence with decision-makers this year. Microsoft
SQL went from 53% virtual deployments to 68%, and email went from 29% to 51% (see Figure
1-2). Even Oracle databases and applications appear to be on the rise in virtual deployments. These
gains point to more willingness to put key OLTP applications in virtual server architectures.
· VMware remains dominant, but alternatives have gained some traction. VMware has the
highest adoption numbers among hypervisor technologies, with 93% of survey respondents
saying they use it, but this is down from 98% two years ago (see Figure 1-3). With 17% of
respondents currently using it, Citrix XenServer has moved up in the rankings to slightly outpace
Microsoft as the second most used hypervisor. While these numbers continue to tell a story
of VMware leading the industry, there are some cracks in its dominance. Microsoft and Citrix
Systems are both improving their products rapidly, and Microsoft especially may be able to offer
favorable pricing and bundling to gain further traction against VMware over the next year.
· Managing storage for server virtualization is hard, especially relative to efficiency. Along
with the increased use of server virtualization for more critical production applications, the
management of the virtual server environments appears to have matured as well. However,
conversations with Forrester customers indicate that storage maturity lags core server
virtualization management tools and processes. When asked to rank their top three storage

© 2011, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited March 15, 2011 | Updated: May 31, 2011
3
challenges in managing a virtual server environment, 53% of respondents pointed to effective
capacity management, 39% named controlling cost, and only 30% named maintaining high
performance, down from 49% in the previous survey (see Figure 2). This indicates a move from
making the environment “good enough” for key applications to fine-tuning a mature and well-
understood virtual server environment. Server virtualization requires orchestration of server,
storage, and network components; and gains in virtualization require all of these to be well-
oiled. Storage appears to be lagging, so more attention on increasing storage capabilities and
efficiency makes sense for most server virtualization environments.

4
Figure 1 VMware Still Leads The Hypervisor Market, But Alternatives Are Making Inroads
Source: Forrester Research, Inc.57695
“At what phase of implementation is your deployment of virtual server technology?”1-1
“What applications do you run in your virtual server environment?”1-2
Base: 104 vendor and user companies that currently use virtualization technology in the
x86 server environments
In qualification
testing process
3%
In use for dev/
test workloads
6%
In use for production/
application workloads
91%
(multiple responses accepted)
Source: September 2010 Global Virtual Server Environments Online Survey
Other databases 9%
Other applications 13%
Data warehouse/
business intelligence 25%
Oracle applications 32%
Oracle database 33%
Email 51%
Content management
applications 55%
Other commercial off-
the-shelf applications 56%
In-house developed/
custom applications 63%
Microsoft SQL Server 68%
Infrastructure servers 80%
Web servers or web
application servers
Other databases
Other applications
Data warehouse/
business intelligence
Oracle applications
Oracle database
Email
Content management
applications
Other commercial off-
the-shelf applications
In-house developed/
custom applications
Microsoft SQL Server
Infrastructure servers
Web servers or web
application servers87%
0%
6%
21%
15%
28%
29%
41%
65%
60%
53%
65%
81%
2010 2009

5
Figure 1 VMware Still Leads The Hypervisor Market, But Alternatives Are Making Inroads (Cont.)
“Which virtual server technology do you have in your environment?”1-3
Base: 104 vendor and user companies that currently use virtualization technology
in the x86 server environments
Linux 5%
Open Source Xen 6%
Other 12%
Microsoft Virtual Server or Hyper V 16%
Citrix XenServer 17%
VMware ESX 93%
Figure 2 Capacity Management Tops Storage Challenges In Virtual Server Environments
“Please rank your top three challenges related to storage for your virtual server environment.”
Other 11 2
Deploying effective multipathing solutions 2 6 1
Performing effective application restores 4 7 3
Maintaining a high backup success rate 6 5 5
Provisioning storage 8 4 10
Deploying tiered storage solutions 5 8 9
Generating accurate and useful reports
on the environment 3 11 11
Completing backups on time 14 5 10
Maintaining high performance 17 7 6
Controlling cost 10 9 20
Efficiently managing storage capacity 19 25 9
Ranked first Ranked second Ranked third

6
dominant Vendors and protocols lead, but alternatives grow
As virtualization is used for increasingly critical workloads, I&O managers need to do two things:
1) increase the overall system reliability, and 2) make conservative decisions on the storage
infrastructure behind the server virtualization tools. Regarding the latter, the majority of storage
managers continue to play it safe from the perspective of protocol and vendor selection. But as they
continue to fine-tune the storage architecture for virtual server environments, storage managers are
willing to consider some alternatives. We see that:
· EMC continues to lead the vendor pack, but NetApp has made significant gains. With its
leadership position in the storage market, and the ownership stake in VMware, it’s no surprise
that EMC is the most commonly deployed storage vendor for virtual server environments (see
Figure 3).2
However, NetApp has made significant strides in challenging the dominance of EMC.
While NetApp was for years the dominant vendor for storage of files, its goal over the past several
years has been to increase market share in application and server virtualization storage. We see
that 38% of respondents use NetApp for their virtual server environments, up from 24% last year.
· Firms predominantly choose a single storage vendor. Sixty-seven percent of respondents
say that they use only one storage vendor for their virtual server environment (see Figure
4). Consistency and simplicity drive this decision, as does an application-centric approach to
storage choices. Building a consistent storage environment for all virtual servers can reduce
complexity and allow for data protection and services that are common and interchangeable
across anything that runs in a common hypervisor, increasing the potential benefits of server
virtualization in general.
· FC continues to lead protocol selection, but NFS has gained ground. Fibre Channel (FC) is
still the leader of the storage protocol pack, with 76% of respondents saying that they use FC
to connect virtualization hosts to networked storage (see Figure 5). However, 37% of survey
respondents say that they use NFS, up from 18% two years ago. iSCSI has stayed steady, allowing
NFS to pull ahead as the clear No. 2 storage selection. Storage decision-makers often cite ease
of use and cost savings as main drivers for interest in NFS, so this fits with the cost-efficiency
goals I&O teams are targeting. Forrester expects NFS adoption for application networking, and
especially virtual servers, to continue to increase over the next several years.

7
Figure 3 EMC Is The Leading Storage Vendor In The Survey, But NetApp Is Gaining
*Bars represent a company acquired by a larger storage vendor.
Compellent 0%
Pillar 2%
Xiotech 2%
3par 2%
Other 3%
Dell/EqualLogic* 3%4%*
Hitachi 14%
HP/Lefthand* 18% 6%*
IBM/XIV* 15% 7%*
NetApp 38%
EMC 44%
“Which vendors supplied the networked storage used for your virtual server environment?”
Figure 4 Most Firms Choose A Single Storage Vendor For Their Server Virtualization Environments
“How many vendors supplied the networked storage for your virtual environment?”
One
67%
Two
23%
Three or
more
10%

8
Figure 5 Fibre Channel Still Reigns, But NFS Has Surpassed iSCSI For The No. 2 Storage Choice
“Which protocols do you use for networking virtual server hosts to the SAN?”
DAS
4%4%
FCoEiSCSI
23%
NFS
36%
FC
76%
R ecomme n d a t io n s
Virtualization is a critical and growing app environment: Optimize
around it
Server virtualization consolidates and makes consistent multiple disparate applications. What was
once run on separate physical servers with different tools and processes can now be tied together
in a common environment, with application monitoring, provisioning, and data protection
deployed commonly for all the apps that fall under the jurisdiction of the hypervisor. Recognizing
that this force for consistency is a good thing, I&O professionals should build infrastructure
around the virtualization environment, making server, storage, and data protection key priorities
for the long-term benefits of virtualization. There are three storage elements you should consider:
· Choose a single vendor for the storage that supports virtual servers. It’s clear that most
environments are treating virtual servers as a common class of applications, with consistent
infrastructure treatment across the technology environment. Embrace this consistency and
eliminate unnecessary complexity. Define requirements for the gear that will store data for
your virtual servers, and consolidate on a single solution whenever possible. It may take a
refresh cycle to move toward the desired single-solution environment, but it’s worth it to do
the planning to get there.
· Prioritize data protection as you increase production workloads. One of the benefits of
server virtualization is the ability to deploy consistent data protection schemes across a wide
variety of applications and operating systems, and the value of this only increases as more
critical apps are virtualized. Take the time to think about back-up, restoration, and business
continuity issues for the applications within the virtual environment. Build out two or three
levels of protection that accommodate the majority of use cases, and keep each virtual
machine protected within one of the standard deployment models.

9
· Consider NFS or iSCSI as an alternative to Fibre Channel for virtual workloads. The
adoption numbers for NFS are steadily increasing as more vendors support the file protocol
and more storage managers want the simplicity, self-service capabilities for app admins, and
the cost advantages of standard Ethernet. Don’t pick FC just because it’s what you’ve used for
other applications. Most virtualization workloads are well suited to NFS or iSCSI, and you’re
likely to get more than adequate performance from one of these simpler, cheaper options.
Endnotes
1
Source: September 2010 Global Virtual Server Environments Online Survey. Forrester surveyed 104 vendor
and user companies; all respondents indicated that they currently used virtualization technology in their
x86 server environments.
2
Source: September 2010 Global Virtual Server Environments Online Survey. Forrester surveyed 104 vendor
and user companies; all respondents indicated that they currently used virtualization technology in their
x86 server environments.

Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR)
is an independent research company
that provides pragmatic and forward-
thinking advice to global leaders in
business and technology. Forrester
works with professionals in 19 key roles
at major companies providing
proprietary research, customer insight,
consulting, events, and peer-to-peer
executive programs. For more than 27
years, Forrester has been making IT,
marketing, and technology industry
leaders successful every day. For more
information, visit www.forrester.com.
Headquarters
Forrester Research, Inc.
400 Technology Square
Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
Tel: +1 617.613.6000
Fax: +1 617.613.5000
Email: forrester@forrester.com
Nasdaq symbol: FORR
www.forrester.com
M a k i n g L e a d e r s S u c c e s s f u l E v e r y D a y
57695
For information on hard-copy or electronic reprints, please contact Client Support
at +1 866.367.7378, +1 617.613.5730, or clientsupport@forrester.com.
We offer quantity discounts and special pricing for academic and nonprofit institutions.
For a complete list of worldwide locations
visit www.forrester.com/about.
Research and Sales Offices
Forrester has research centers and sales offices in more than 27 cities
internationally, including Amsterdam; Cambridge, Mass.; Dallas; Dubai;
Foster City, Calif.; Frankfurt; London; Madrid; Sydney; Tel Aviv; and Toronto.

May 2011 Storage Choices For Virtual Server Forrester Survey

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Ähnlich wie May 2011 Storage Choices For Virtual Server Forrester Survey

Ähnlich wie May 2011 Storage Choices For Virtual Server Forrester Survey (20)

Mehr von Michael Hudak

Mehr von Michael Hudak (20)

May 2011 Storage Choices For Virtual Server Forrester Survey