Look boss, no hardware!

With virtualization, the ghost is the machine. Solutions take up almost no physical space and costs are low

By Dwayne Bragonier
Illustration: Ryan Snook

It is April 26, final crunch time for the T1 processing season. Julian Emmanual, a partner at Kanish & Partners, a 22-member CA firm, is on the phone with Mike Turczyniak, owner of Mico Systems Inc., an IT outsourcing company that provides solutions for the firm. Emmanual is reporting a software glitch that is causing minor document filing problems in Kanish’s document management system. Turcyzniak tells Emmanual the problem is a minor hiccup and that shutting down and restarting the file server will correct it.

In another office or in another time, this suggestion could have created uncertainty about what to do: does Kanish just live with the inconvenience of the software hiccup for four more days, until April 30, or does it restart the server and risk the well-known fact that whenever you power down equipment, it may not power up seamlessly? To complicate matters further, it would take Turcyzniak about an hour to drive to Kanish’s offices to personally oversee such a critical operation.

Fortunately, in today’s IT world, this is an easy decision for Emmanual to make and within minutes Turcyzniak had personally shut down Kanish’s server and restarted it. He had complete control of the environment and would have been able to take care of any difficulties that arose. There was no powering down of any hardware devices at all, and the whole process caused less interruption to Kanish’s team’s processing than the time it takes to enjoy an afternoon cup of tea. How was this possible?

Kanish had gone virtual. In February, Kanish had wisely upgraded its Windows 2003 server to a Windows 2008 R2 virtual server and thus its problem was extremely easy to solve — virtually.

A huge step up technology’s evolutionary ladder
Virtualization is the second-most significant step in the evolution of desktop computing, yet most of us have no idea what it is all about. It is important to understand this technology so that some of its wealth generating power can be harnessed. (The single most significant evolutionary step is the Internet, although some would suggest that the Internet falls into the wide explanation of virtualization.)

What needs does virtualization address? Howard Brown, the chief technology officer and president of Doc.It Inc., a document management software suite for accounting firms, says, “About 10 years ago, a technology was required to meet the need of developers and quality assurance departments to develop and test in multiple environments. Maintaining multiple hardware desktops was cost prohibitive, space restrictive and labour intensive. Virtualization allowed them to use one hardware machine to run many separate operating environments, different operating systems, different application versions, infrequently used driver combinations and so on.”

What this means is that one desktop machine could maintain several virtual machines running at one time and all using one hardware investment: one keyboard, one monitor, one disk drive, one processor and one RAM configuration. These virtual machines could be started and stopped as needed. They could easily be cloned (copied and pasted) so a specific configuration could be tested, then, in a matter of moments, the virtual desktop could be restored and the next variation tested. At a time when configuration of a complete desktop would take hours, maybe even days, this had a huge impact on the development and testing departments.

This advancement at the desktop level soon gave rise to data-central virtualized servers and finally to what is commonly called cloud computing. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. First let’s get to know what this significant leap forward is about and take a look at some significant changes it is presenting to-day, and will present in the near future.

Hardware optional
Virtualization is the separation of the physical hardware layer from the operating system layer. It involves running a machine that doesn’t physically exist. That’s why the virtual machine is on the top of the list of breakthrough evolutionary ideas concerning software. Of course, there is some hardware necessary, but it is not dedicated to any one virtual machine.

Virtualization involves a general computing stack. A stack is a hierarchical layering of elements that rely upon one another. Each layer is built on top of the previous layer. Strictly speaking the stack is usually communicated as a push-down list of requests. In “The general computing IT stack” (below left), you can see the simplified layers of a server or desktop prior to virtualization technology. In “The hypervisor virtual IT stack” (p. 31), you can see the layers of a server or desktop incorporating the virtual layer.

For example, Excel will make a request to Server 2008 R2 for disk space to save a file. Server 2008 R2 will then pass the request to the physical disk drive. In the virtual model the request from Server 2008 R2 is routed or queued through Virtual Machine Monitor. So Server 2008 R2 routes the disk space request via Hyper-V to the physical disk drive. That is, application to operating system, operating system via hypervisor to physical hardware.

The huge evolutionary leap of decoupling the one-to-one relation of the hardware to operating layer is what virtualization is about. Computing in the past required compartmentalized computing, i.e., for applications and the operating system to run on one physically distinct hardware machine. This one physical hardware platform to one operating system layer is now forever behind us. Prior to virtualization, technologists generally accepted that the overall utilization of hardware resources averaged less than 10% to 15%. Yet hardware resources were there 24/7 whether they were immediately required or not. They were configured to meet either peak demand or future expansion demand. The business value model of virtualization revolves around the decoupling of the layers, which is explained below.

Server consolidation
Server consolidation allows you to run several servers on a single physical machine. When you bundle virtualized operating servers onto one physical server you receive immediate tangible business value. Server consolidation has two distinct values: it saves money on hardware purchases and saves money on ongoing maintenance and support.

When Kanish upgraded its servers in February, it purchased one machine with multiple processors, a large volume of RAM and a large disk array. It then installed virtual servers: Server 2008 R2, Exchange Server 2007 and Remote Desktop Services (RDS) server. Contained in one physical box, this virtualized server configuration saved Kanish thousands of dollars in hardware purchases. It also saves into the future with consistent configuration and patching of the operating systems. It now becomes easy for the external remote technology expert to remotely maintain the hardware drivers and operating system update patches.

This savings extends to other shared resources such as on-site and off-site backup and redundant power conditioning. They also extend to reduced capital costs by increasing energy efficiency. There is a large aggregate effect that underutilized computers have on the energy grid. VMware, a California-based company that provides virtualization and cloud computing products, has stated that “most servers and desktops today are in use only 5% to 15% of the time they are powered on, yet most x86 hardware consumes 60% to 90% of the normal workload power when idle.”

For larger installations, the reduction in power consumption is an easy return on investment measurable savings. Gartner Inc., a Connecticut-based IT and advisory firm, estimates that every virtualized server saves 7000 kW-h of electricity annually. This translates to about $700 a year direct savings. It also reduces four tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere, the equivalent of taking 1.5 cars off the highway. Kanish virtualized three servers into one, a possible direct yearly savings of $1,400, and the equivalent of taking three cars off the highway. Now that’s impressive.

Desktop consolidation
Desktop consolidation allows you to deploy multiple virtual desktops on one physical hardware platform. Kanish also took advantage of this huge consolidation savings by deploying Microsoft’s RDS server (previously known as Terminal Server). Within its office LAN environment, the firm needed to upgrade much of its workstation hardware to handle the emerging resources required by the newest operating system, Windows 7, along with the aggressive, efficient and productive way its team members were proactively utilizing the interoperation of multiple applications opened at the same time. The team members, like most of us today, work with multiple monitors and therefore open and work with multiple documents at any given moment. Kanish’s existing XP- and Vista-based workstations needed to be upgraded. It just couldn’t handle the resource requests made in this environment and was experiencing a slowing down of its technology tools. However, to upgrade three servers and all the workstations would have been an onerous endeavour.

Virtual Conversations

DaaS — desktop as a service
This is sometimes referred to as hosted desktop services. It is the delivery of a virtual desktop infrastructure over the Internet. This can be delivered via a third-party vendor. Windows Remote Desktop Services (previously known as Terminal Services) and Citrix XenDesktop are examples of this technology. The main advantages to this desktop service is the provider services all your backend operations for data storage, backup, security, application and hardware upgrades and disaster planning. You can run a desktop in one location (your provider) and have it controlled in another.

IaaS — infrastructure as a service
This is sometimes referred to as enterprise-level hosting. It is the delivery of all computer infrastructure requirements, from a third-party vendor, over the Internet. Its most popular application is in the data center where complete server resources are delivered as a service. This service addresses the actual hardware resource component requirements such as disk space usage, processing power, RAM requirements and network bandwidth. This service is usually billed based upon usage. It is the base layer of the three layers of cloud computing. Examples: Amazon web services, Microsoft’s Cloud Infrastructure Services, Rackspace Cloud

PaaS — platform as a service
This is sometimes referred to as cloudware. It is the delivery of operating systems and all associated services over the Internet. This moves the resources from privately owned computers to Internet cloud IaaS providers. It is the second layer of the three layers of cloud computing. Examples: Google App Engine, Microsoft Azure Platform

SaaS — software as a service
This is closely related to the application service provider (ASP) and to the application virtualization (App-V) models that some describe as a subset of SaaS. It is the delivery of software applications over the Internet to a computer and is the third of the three layers of cloud computing. In this capacity it delivers the application on demand as needed. Examples: Salesforce, GoogleApps, Banking

Once again virtualization came to its aid. Kanish simply ensured that one new hardware platform could host its virtual server and virtual desktop requirements. The firm now uses its previously owned workstations to access its RDS desktop session. It experienced tangible hardware and service savings in not requiring the configuration time needed to deal with each workstation one at a time. Kanish was also able to push huge processing improvements out to its team members within an acceptable budget and within a very short deployment time frame.

There are many advantages to virtual desktops, whether you use Microsoft’s RDS server, Citrix’s XENdesktop, VMware’s Workstation or a host of other solution providers. They allow for quick deployment of the complete desktop and of the applications utilized at the desktop level. They also enable work scenarios never available before: work from home; work from the client’s location; and hot-desking (the ability to work from any vacant workspace in the office). These providers also assist in keeping critical information secure by removing the application and the desktop from the workstation being used to access the virtual desktop. This securing of data has a substantial effect on minimizing the risk associated with the newly revised Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act.

Data security is an often undervalued benefit to virtualization. A public accounting firm employee who has to carry client data on a laptop or USB key because he or she cannot access a virtual desktop is exposing the firm to substantial fines and public embarrassment should the laptop or USB key be lost or stolen. Have you considered the impact on your firm’s reputation if you were required by law to notify all clients whose data may have been on the stolen device? With virtual desktops, this exposure does not exist, as all data stays on the data server.

In “Desktop configurations” (see p. 32), you can visualize the impact of virtualized hardware and virtualized desktops — one physical box with multiple processors, GBs of RAM, a huge disk array.

Current XP workstations are only used to provide login access to the virtual desktop server. The old workstations simply provide keyboard, display adapter, monitor and network interface card usage so the individual can remotely control these functions on their virtual desktop. All the actual processing power and resources are supplied by the virtual desktop’s hardware. Even processing from home or a remote location using a simple home network connection of possibly just a 3G USB modem can produce wonderfully fast processing speeds via virtualized hardware platforms.

Application consolidation
Application consolidation allows you to deploy an application once for the benefit of all clients. Most virtual desktops provide management tools that allow you to install and upgrade applications once for all desktop occurrences. It is now more efficient to load the next version of the application once and know your team is utilizing the most recently approved version.

Application consolidation also allows you to virtualize the application only and deliver it to any desktop. Applications can be provided as needed instead of installing just in case. This will substantially decrease application deployment costs and reduce the inherit risk associated with mismatched application usage.

Agility
Agility in an organization is the ability to respond quickly and easily and be flexible and adaptive to change. Most of the big management gurus categorically state there is a competitive advantage to more agility. Agility, in virtualized technology, is exemplified in many situations such as scalability or workload resource balancing and downtime reduction.

Scalability or workload resource balancing becomes extremely easy. Once operating systems and applications are virtualized, the firm can easily allocate, add or change the usage of the hardware components based on demand.

These services are no longer purchased with a maximum usage or future usage mentality. Servers and desktops can be migrated easily to new platforms or resources easily modified (RAM, processors, disk space), as the operating systems are no longer tightly aligned with the underlining hardware. If a virtual server needs more processors dedicated for its usage, it can be done with a click of the mouse.

The concepts of scalability are exemplified via a clone or replicate of a standardized workstation configuration. This virtual desktop can be easily sent to the client. Need a new workstation? Request the service and it is delivered to you. It’s almost magical.

Downtime reduction is just what the name implies: your server or your desktop is not available. This is usually because of hardware repairs or scheduled hardware upgrades as well as disaster recovery. Prior to virtualization, this was a time-consuming process due to the direct connection of the operating system layer to the hardware layer. You could not just remove a hard drive, place it in another machine and expect the operating system to start up.

Again, in a virtual environment the operating systems and applications exist in a file bubble. This self-contained individual file bubble can be easily and efficiently moved from one hardware platform to another for repairs or scheduled hardware upgrades. Your complete server can be copied onto a new hardware platform and your team can be up and running within minutes.

A hosted environment
So far, the discussed concepts of virtualization apply directly to a self-hosted environment. Your firm has purchased what is required and maintains the investment.

This can be illustrated in the simple analogy of a resident-owned house. If one person purchases a house and lives in it, he or she would have resources such as phone, heat, water, stove, etc., available for his or her use. Should the person marry and bring another into the environment, these shared resources would become more cost effective. If the couple were to have children, the resources of the house would be even better utilized. This way everyone benefits.

However, sometimes the capital outlay and maintenance costs make it prohibitive to own a house. The same holds true for many small and medium-sized enterprises. They are not in the technology business. They neither enjoy it nor understand it and are not interested in it. They also experience major restrictions on large capital outlays.

Which is the virtual way to go — Microsoft’s Hyper-V or VMware vSphere?

Given that Hyper-V comes lock, stock and barrel with Windows Server 2008, it’s simply more bang for the buck than VMware. For a single-office accounting firm, this operation system bundling provides a more cost-effective solution.

There is no question that VMware was the de facto standard for many years. However, over the past year or so, Microsoft has deployed the same strategy that it has used for other late start applications and staged big market share comebacks, such as web browsers or e-mail. The release of Windows Server 2008 R2 last year has placed Micro-soft on a level playing field with VMware.

Another advantage to the Microsoft Hyper-V solution is the holistic approach Microsoft has developed with both its client base and its partnership base. The software giant has a long-standing history of providing a software solution that runs from the desktop to the server, from the smallest business to the biggest business. This therefore provides Microsoft with a substantially larger partner-based marketing force that they have been proactively grooming for virtualization sales.

However, don’t count VMware out of the race. In VMware’sdefense, it does provide a substantially more robust management and support layer. For the mid-size business to the high-end business, the cost benefit of a bundled solution becomes clouded by the technology department’s overall cost of application configuration and deployment, monitoring of resource allocation, and policy and audit administration.

To address these needs, independent technology companies offer space on their hosted environments. Think of these as rooming houses. Continuing the house analogy, it is an alternative to raising the capital and other resources to purchase, maintain and upgrade a house. In a rooming house (hosted environment), you receive most of the benefits of ownership but you cannot truly enjoy isolation from others.

For many SMEs, the benefits of purchasing the services of an external hosted environment by far outweigh any disadvantages due to lack of isolation. You could release much of the IT skills to the host owner. You definitely leave all the hardware, backup, redundancy and disaster planning to the host. The problem is there is not enough individual segregation available for some high-end tasks. You cannot isolate your operations completely from the other occupants of the rooming house and every once in a while software applications cannot coexist in this environment.

Several SMEs avail themselves of this solution. They release themselves from the large initial capital investment and from much of the cost associated with IT maintenance and support. These and other advantages outweigh the disadvantages of the lack of true isolation within this hosted scenario.

Now let’s get out of the house and visit a hotel solution, or as most call it, the cloud.

The cloud concept
The five-star hotel analogy fits the cloud concepts well. The cloud takes the described concepts of virtualization to an on-demand model. In a hotel, if you need more rooms for a night or longer, you request it. Need maid service or a cot? Call the front desk. Water won’t turn off in the sink? Let hotel maintenance know. You need access to an event tonight? Talk to the concierge and it will be taken care of. New rugs in the hall required, new batteries in the smoke detector required, snow removal needs to be arranged — don’t give it a second thought, hotel management has that all bundled into your fee.

It is only in the past several years the isolation of a five-star hotel has been available to us, although the cost is not affordable for all yet.

Cloud computing has the ability to compartmentalize and isolate all your operations from everyone else in the cloud. So now you can have the best of all worlds: server consolidation, desktop consolidation, applications consolidation, and agility, all as a pay-on-demand model.

In “Layers in cloud IT stack” (see p. 34) you can see that this stack has the same basic layers we saw in the general computing IT stack — you see new words that provide greater breadth but the same concepts. The infrastructure layer comprises all hardware required for your virtual servers and virtual desktops. The platform layer comprises all operating systems and associated services required to meet your processing needs. The software layer comprises all the application software you require.

With cloud computing offerings, you have access to computing power instantly. You can expand or contract requirements so you are only paying for the services required. If you need infrastructure replicated and delivered to several locations in the world, it is done in a moment. Server farms, site replication, complete redundancy, incremental continuous backup forever — you name it, you can have it. It is a wonderful world.

There is no question that cloud computing is where we are heading. International companies and some large enterprises are already there.

For most SMEs in Canada, self-hosted or externally hosted virtualization is the next logical step. Cloud services are still five or more years away from being affordable.

The wealth proposition of virtualization is already here and the low-lying fruit is easy to grab. Consolidate your servers and save thousands on hardware costs. Consolidate your desktops and save thousands in hardware, thousands in deployment and upgrade costs, deliver faster, more efficient tools to your team members and minimize your privacy exposure. Consolidate your applications so you can save thousands on upgrade costs and realize all the efficiencies provided with standardized application usage.

Finally, become as agile as possible so when the clouds appear you are ready to take advantage.

Dwayne Bragonier, CA, CA•IT, is president of BAI Bragonier & Associates Inc., in Mississauga, Ont.