2. LEVERAGING
VIRTUALIZATION
DEPLOYMENT AND
OPTIMIZATION
STRATEGIES IN THE
21ST CENTURY
TODAY’S IT NEEDS TO ACCOMPLISH MORE WITH
LESS. VIRTUALIZING YOUR IT INFRASTRUCTURE
CAN SAVE YOU 25% OR MORE ON YOUR
OPERATING COSTS.
For forward-thinking business enterprises, virtualizing IT infrastructure
has become standard practice. In fact, to stay competitive in a tepid U.S.
economy, enterprises find it increasingly critical to innovate new ways to
leverage their existing virtualization products and services. International
Integrated Solutions, Inc. (IIS) prides itself on industry-leading innovation
and proactive service, which will pave the way in a virtualized IT industry.
Virtualization is far from the latest fad in the IT industry. The economic
potential of virtualization has been theorized for quite some time, but
leveraging virtualized infrastructures for maximum return on investment
requires an outsider’s perspective. IIS provides enterprises with new
strategies to optimize return on investment through innovation, careful
planning, proactive trouble-shooting and reliable maintenance. IIS
understands how to make the most of each company’s virtualization
strategy.
ENTERPRISES
NEED NEW
STRATEGIES
TO OPTIMIZE
RETURN ON
INVESTMENT

3. THE BENEFITS OF VIRTUALIZATION HINGE ON
BEST DEPLOYMENT PRACTICES
Choosing to migrate to a virtualized infrastructure will not soothe every
IT woe. Virtualization is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but following the
best deployment practices when implementing virtualization will maximize
the benefits of the technology for the unique needs of each company.
Companies will enjoy simpler and more efficient systems that increase
performance and productivity while lowering costs.
Enterprises differ greatly in the class and volume of load spikes that
users place on infrastructure components. Peaks and valleys in the
usage of an SQL server is one example. The best deployment practices
begin with conducting a full assessment of resource utilization. Many
enterprises choose to perform this resource auditing through in-house
methods, but third-party assessment is another option IT departments
should strongly consider.
THE BEST
The major benefit of opting for an IT consultancy during the assessment
phase is gaining an outsider’s perspective. Often, decision makers within
an IT department do not have access to every mission-critical component,
or they miss opportunities to maximize resource utilization altogether.
Getting a second opinion from an outside source helps to address this
problem. Third-party auditors can also keep operational expenditures
within reasonable parameters without stressing current human resources –
an issue which might otherwise cause problems further down the IT
supply chain.
A FULL
DEPLOYMENT
PRACTICES
BEGIN WITH
CONDUCTING
ASSESSMENT
OF RESOURCE
UTILIZATION.

4. VIRTUAL MACHINE
SPRAWL IS ONE
OF THE BIGGEST
CHALLENGES
OF SECURING
A VIRTUALIZED
INFRASTRUCTURE.
After auditing, IT managers must analyze the data to identify areas that are
good candidates for virtualization. A complete migration to a virtualized
infrastructure may not make sense for a small business, but large
enterprises may need a significant upgrade to keep pace with competitors.
IT departments can either build virtual architecture themselves or outsource
virtual components. Choosing the level of virtualization that is best for a
company’s individual needs is essential, and the help of an expert outside
opinion, as from one of the world-class consultants at IIS, can ensure that
IT solutions are truly a great fit for each company.
One method of building an in-house virtual architecture relates to the
way hypervisors interact with operating systems. Using the “bare metal
method”, the hypervisor oversees the resource allocation of operating
systems and applications within a virtual machine. This technique makes it
possible to avoid frequent patching of operating systems and applications.
Instead, technicians apply a single patch to the hypervisor. Another inhouse method is to allow the original hardware’s operating system to
control hardware while hosting the hypervisor.
Finally, the last general aspect to consider is security policy. Virtual
machine sprawl is one of the biggest challenges of securing a virtualized
infrastructure. Unpatched virtual machines can become rogue units in an
instant. Expert consultation with a leading service provider like IIS can
alleviate companies’ security concerns proactively.

5. THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR OPTIMIZATION
Contrary to the industry hype, simply migrating to virtual components
does not guarantee exceptional return on investment. Surely, the
economic potential of virtualization is vast, but gaining maximum
value out of a virtualization deployment hinges upon using the best
optimization techniques.
OPTIMIZING
A VIRTUAL
INFRASTRUCTURE
GIVES IT
DEPARTMENTS
SEVERAL
BENEFITS.
Optimizing a virtual infrastructure gives IT departments several
benefits. After tweaking virtual deployments, IT departments may be
able to lower labor costs by reallocating human resources to the right
areas. Transparency is another underrated benefit of optimization. Once
infrastructures have been optimized, future optimization efforts become
clearer, since infrastructures have already been modified to take advantage
of stable production capacity. When optimizing virtual infrastructure, it
is important to remember that optimization is a complex and ongoing
task, because the dynamics of enterprise systems can change in the
blink of an eye.
The best optimization practices basically encompass dynamic resource
allocation techniques. Ideally, IT departments should conduct thorough
performance profiles of virtual components. System administrators must
keep in mind that virtual systems have many of the same optimization
concerns as physical systems, mainly resource allocation between
virtual machines and within individual virtual machines.
THE BEST
OPTIMIZATION
PRACTICES
BASICALLY
ENCOMPASS
DYNAMIC
RESOURCE
ALLOCATION
TECHNIQUES.

6. RESOURCE
ALLOCATION IS A
NEVER-ENDING
BALANCING ACT,
WHICH TAKES
TIME TO MANAGE
EFFICIENTLY.
When allocating dedicated resources, system administrators should
locate known bottlenecks and optimize hardware resource consumption
accordingly. There are still physical limitations of virtual systems. Another
interesting optimization practice is to over-allocate CPU resources to
account for resource intensive virtual machines. However, when sharing
CPUs, it is good practice to make sure applications can in fact utilize this
configuration. Otherwise, this method can actually cause more harm
than good.
Yet another optimization practice is to tweak the resource allocation
between machines. System administrators must keep in mind that moving
resources to one virtual machine shorts the resources of another machine.
Resource allocation is a never-ending balancing act, which takes time
to manage efficiently. In some situations, moving a virtual machine to a
different host may be the best optimization strategy. It is also important
to tune individual virtual machines. System administrators may overlook
this technique because physical systems do not have the same resource
allocation properties of virtual infrastructures.
10
EFFI

7. IIS SPECIALIZES
IN IMPLEMENTING
VIRTUALIZATION
STRATEGIES
THAT COMBINE
INDUSTRYSTANDARD BEST
PRACTICES
WITH FORWARDTHINKING,
PROACTIVE IT
SOLUTIONS
A TRUSTED PARTNER FOR VIRTUALIZATION
STRATEGIES
Given the rigorous demands of today’s economy, U.S. enterprises can
no longer wait to migrate to a virtualized IT infrastructure in some way.
IIS has the skill, integrity and innovative mindset necessary to navigate
the challenges of deploying and optimizing a virtualized IT infrastructure
efficiently. They specialize in implementing virtualization strategies that
combine industry-standard best practices with forward-thinking, proactive
IT solutions – improving efficiency, saving on costs, and optimizing IT
infrastructures for today’s pressing needs.