The benefits of OS virtualization are generally well-recognized: better utilization of server hardware, reduced floorspace requirements, and lower power and cooling costs. But there is one other benefit that is potentially greater than all the others, one that is not commonly recognized: virtualization also improves the productivity of data center personnel.
The statistics in this report were collected by our partner, Metrics Based Assessments LLC (MBA), which conducts data center benchmarking studies for large data centers. The sample for this study comprises 182 observations from 2007 benchmarking studies, including Windows (66 observations), Unix (61), and Linux (55). This Research Byte is a summary of our full report, Virtualization Improves Productivity of Data Center Staff.
Virtualization Rates Are Growing
In order to understand the extent of server OS virtualization, we first examine the average number of OS instances per physical server. As shown in Figure 1, this ratio increased significantly from 2006 to 2007. Among Linux server farms, server virtualization rates increased 25.5%. Unix machines saw a 10.3% increase in virtualization rates. Virtualization rates on Windows machines increased by 7.6%.
The full version of this report provides statistics showing that the productivity of data center personnel improved significantly from 2006 and 2007, concurrent with an increase in OS virtualization levels. These trends are consistent across Windows, Unix, and Linux platforms. We conclude by summarizing the reasons that data center staff productivity benefits from increasing the level of virtualization.
Virtualization has become a popular strategy among data centers large and small to make better use of IT resources. By applying the best practices outlined in our full report, the productivity benefits of this technology can be maximized.
The statistics in this report were provided by Mark Levin at Metrics Based Assessments LLC (MBA) based on MBA’s data center benchmarking practice.
A comprehensive set of data center metrics are available in Mark Levin’s book, Best Practices and Benchmarks in the Data Center.
This Research Byte is a brief overview of our report on this subject, Virtualization Improves Productivity of Data Center Staff. The full report is available at no charge for Computer Economics clients, or it may be purchased by non-clients directly from our website at https://avasant.com/report/virtualization-improves-productivity-of-data-center-staff-2008/ (click for pricing).