Hardware Virtualization
Virtual Servers
Today's powerful computer hardware is typically configured to run only a single operating system and a single application. Virtualization breaks that bond, making it possible to run multiple operating systems and multiple applications on the same computer at the same time, increasing the utilization and flexibility of hardware. The effect of virtualization in the marketplace has sent a message to hardware manufactures, and they have built systems with virtualization optimizations built right in. An example is the new CMT systems or the X64 line of systems from Sun Microsystems or the proven lineup of systems from HP.
The powerful software offerings from VMware, which include their entire virtual infrastructure line, are Solaris containers, zones and Xen. All are fully supported on both the Sun Microsystems x64 and CMT line of systems. Also included are the Novell / SUSE extensive offering, which are built around proven open source Xen virtualization technologies.
Virtual Storage
The NetApp V-Series product line is the first and only storage virtualization solution on the market that unifies block and file (NAS, FC SAN, and IP SAN) storage networking paradigms under a common architecture. NetApp is the only company with a solution that can virtualize your entire storage infrastructure under one interface. Storage arrays from HDS, HP, EMC, IBM, Fujitsu and 3PAR are supported behind the V-Series controller.
The unique NetApp solution offers customers new levels of performance and scalability and a robust portfolio of proven data management software for sharing, consolidating, protecting and recovering mission-critical data. V-Series systems seamlessly integrate into mission-critical SAN environments and provide a simple, elegant data management solution for decreasing management complexity, improving asset utilization and streamlining operations to increase business agility and reduce total cost of ownership.
- Increase asset and storage utilization.
- Simplify storage management.
- Enable flexibility and business agility.
- Consolidate storage.
Virtual Tape
The concept of a Virtual Tape Library (VTL) is a disk-to-disk backup system that appears like a tape library to a backup software application but provides the superior speed and reliability of disk technologies. VTL provides disk-to-disk backup for any heterogeneous primary storage environment. VTL reduces management costs and dramatically improves backup and recovery performance while leveraging existing investments in infrastructure, backup software and processes.
Centralization and simplification save money because you reduce manual oversight and intervention. With improved asset utilization, you can defer or avoid purchase of additional tape drives. In addition, disk-based recovery reduces downtime related to backups and accelerates performance so you can maintain better application availability, spend less time in scheduling and troubleshooting and reduce backup administration.
The combination of disk and tape delivers virtual tape benefits at a lower cost than other backup solutions.
The benefits of virtual tape are:
- Higher availability assures completed backups and protected data.
- Higher operational uptime reduces the occurrence of costly repairs.
- Higher performance assures faster backups, smaller backup windows and more successful backups.
- Multiple disaster recovery options, such as remote replication via IP and Fibre Channel and integrated physical tape management, eliminate sole dependence on WAN connectivity.
- Security of backup tapes is achieved through encryption for physical tapes and the Sun Solaris' platform for online virtual protection. Solaris is considered secure by U.S. government agencies.
- Data deduplication technologies in combination with on disk compression create maximum utilization of tapes.
The Virtualization space is constantly growing with new technologies such as application virtualization and network virtualization emerging every day. Contact GCA Technology Services today for a detailed examination of any or all of these technologies to see how they can improve your bottom line.
