NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: DENI CONNOR ON SERVERS 12/21/04 Today's focus: Server virtualization: A user perspective
Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED], In this issue: * User sees benefits in Intel's and AMD's server virtualization ��plans * Links related to Servers * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by NSI Software Messaging Protection Comes of Age Companies can't afford to be without email for more than a few hours. However, backup is critical for both business and regulation reasons. This Special Report reviews your options: tape back up, synchronous protection, asynchronous protection and snapshots. Learn how one business approached the challenge and what may work best for you by reading the Network World Special Report: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=91682 _______________________________________________________________ NW'S RESEARCH CENTER ON NETWORK/SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT Go to NW Fusion's Research Center for detailed information on network/systems management. Find the latest breaking news, case studies, white papers, commentary, reviews and more. Topics on ITIL adoption, stress-testing, managing blades and more are all found in the Research Center. Click here: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=91562 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: Server virtualization: A user perspective By Deni Connor Intel's and AMD's recently previewed server virtualization plans drew the applause of at least one IT administrator. Intel has said it would enable server virtualization in its Pentium, Xeon and Itanium processors, and AMD has said it would do so in its Opteron. Their virtualization technologies will make unnecessary much of the "heavy lifting" VMware has to do now to create virtual machines. "Based on the limited information available, it sounds like software will need to be specifically written to accommodate the hardware modifications," says Scott Herold, senior network engineer at RapidApp, an IT consulting firm in Chicago. "Where we will find the most benefit is definitely within the expansion of virtual infrastructures within the environment by limiting virtualization overhead and migrating applications that may currently be out of scope for a virtual environment." Herold says that now there are a number of kernel-mode processes that do not run well in virtual machine environments, and Vanderpool and Pacifica (Intel's and AMD's virtualization technologies, respectively) should help those run. "Applications with high amounts of TCP connections, for example, are difficult to virtualize," Herold says. "Processor cycles that would typically handle VMkernel requests must be reallocated to handle the kernel processing required by these connections. By using multiple-core or [virtualized] processors, you can potentially allow parallel processes to be handled using a different core of the processor, without adding virtualization overhead." Presently VMware has overhead in its software that would be handled in the hardware. Intel's and AMD's virtualization technologies would allow VMware to better utilize the hardware it is running on and see performance gains, Herold says. "Imagine a virtualization application that can run on several multiple-core processors and can off-load kernel-mode calls to these alternative cores," Herold says. "Within VMware, the VMkernel would no longer have contention at the lowest level of the processor. This could potentially make virtualization overhead as we know it disappear." Herold also agrees that Intel's and AMD's plans are a step closer to giving x86-based servers the same or better functionality than Unix machines. "Based on current testing it has been proven that a virtual machine can provide comparable performance at a fraction of the cost over a Unix-based LPAR [logical partition]," Herold says. "By eliminating virtualization overhead and increasing the performance of guest operating systems, we may see the performance of a virtual machine meet or exceed that of a high-end Unix system." RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS Hardware virtualization called boon Network World, 12/13/04 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/121304virtualization.html AMD readies security, virtualization features for 2006 Network World,11/15/04 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/1115amdreadi.html PCI-Express on the server fast track Network World, 12/20/04 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/122004pciexpress.html _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Deni Connor Deni Connor is a Senior Editor at Network World covering storage, Unix, Novell, Macintosh and IT in Healthcare. You can reach her at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by NSI Software Messaging Protection Comes of Age Companies can't afford to be without email for more than a few hours. However, backup is critical for both business and regulation reasons. This Special Report reviews your options: tape back up, synchronous protection, asynchronous protection and snapshots. Learn how one business approached the challenge and what may work best for you by reading the Network World Special Report: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=91681 _______________________________________________________________ ARCHIVE LINKS Archive of the Servers newsletter: http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/servers/index.html _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE THE EXTENDED ENTERPRISE: NW'S ANNUAL GUIDE Here we analyze the latest tools, techniques and strategies for extending your business reach. Find out how connecting to your business partners is influencing those relationships, how you can make your business partners take security issues as seriously as you do and more. Click here: <http://www.nwfusion.com/ee/2004/?ts> _______________________________________________________________ May We Send You a Free Print Subscription? You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered at your fingertips each day. 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