|
I/O obstacles could throw a monkey wrench into virtual server environments, but there are alternatives to traditional methods.
To take full advantage of server virtualization benefits like app mobility and high-availability/disaster recovery (HA/DR) capabilities, virtualized servers need networked storage. According to a recent ESG research report, "Server Virtualization: The Impact on Storage," 86% of respondents using server virtualization support their virtualized environments with networked storage, and the majority of those are Fibre Channel (FC) SANs. The result is a highly dynamic infrastructure in which every server device requires connectivity to every storage device to ensure flexibility and mobility. However, the I/O path is still being provisioned as it would be in a fixed, nonvirtualized environment. |
Requires Free Membership to View
When you register for SearchStorage.com, you’ll also receive targeted emails from my team of award-winning editorial writers. Our goal is to keep you informed on the hottest topics, the latest news and the biggest challenges you face as a storage professional today.
Rich Castagna, Editorial Director
| To keep pace with changes in the server and storage domains, organizations need to ensure that the I/O path is not a bottleneck.
One of the most obvious issues with this type of arrangement is the cost associated with deploying and maintaining an environment that, in a high-availability configuration, will sport two NIC cards and two HBAs per server, in addition to all of the cabling that goes with it. Troubleshooting an environment with multiple connections becomes difficult because each path may be a point of failure. Some of the most difficult problems to track are related to cables. It's not uncommon for IT staff to spend days trying to troubleshoot a problem only to find that it can be traced to a cable with an extreme bend in it. There's also the complexity inherent in provisioning new physical servers in enterprises with separate networking and storage groups, both of which need to coordinate to provision NIC and HBA cards. In some cases, this could take weeks. Traditional HBAs can't see virtual machines, which creates potential security and management issues. From a security standpoint, all applications running on a physical server must be in the same zone. From a management standpoint, it's difficult to tie applications to the storage if you can't identify the virtual machines. Ultimately, you need a better solution for greater scale and flexibility, and improved functionality.
|
This was first published in March 2008