Virtualization is the process of emulating a computer hardware environment in software. This means that the Virtualization software presents all the necessary hardware components such as CPU, memory, storage, video, etc. to an operating system in order to make it appear that it is running on a real hardware device. This is revolutionary technology.

Through Virtualization, you can now have one physical server with the proper specifications, perform the same functions that many physical servers did. The cost savings in hardware and power alone that Virtualization can bring you is tremendous. The server that is performing the Virtualization to the guests can actually provide more capacity then the original hardware servers did by using technologies such as de-duping memory and thin provisioning.

A common fear in deploying Virtualizaiton is the issues regarding reliability and scalability. When properly architected, Virtualization can actually be more reliable and provide higher levels of scalability than individual servers. By combining technologies such as Storage Area Networks (SANs) with Virtualization you unleash the capabilities of both systems. SANs provide you with the extreme fault tolerant storage needed to deploy and run a Virtualization Cluster of two or more servers. If one Virtualization server fails, the guests can fail over to another node in the cluster. All of the guest servers will keep running on the new node. Just repair or replace the failed node and move the original guest servers back and you will be a hundred percent operational. Add in more nodes to the cluster and your reliability and scalability just keep growing

Virtualization allows you to quickly and painlessly add new servers for different roles in minutes instead of having to deploy a new server, load the operating system, and install it in your infrastructure. Should your website or email run slow, you can clone an existing virtual guest server in minutes. If your developers need a development staging environment, you can clone the necessary core pieces from your existing production system into a staging environment for their exclusive use.

Now for the desktop. With the use of a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environment using VMWare's View 5 or Microsoft's Hyper-V Server 2012, we can now enable you to have the same flexibility and reliability with desktop computers as your servers. Imagine having access to your desktop and applications from anywhere in the world, just by having access to the Internet, whether from a desktop, tablet, or other device. The possibilities are tremendous. With VDI also comes staggering cost savings. Imagine no longer having to support all those desktops or replace them every three years due to them being outdated. The end user device just needs to be powerful enough to run the viewing program. This could be from a desktop, thin-client, or tablet running Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, or iOS.

Open Innovations has the experience to create a new Clustered Virtualized Environment for you and migrate your existing legacy servers and/or desktops to it. Whether you want to use VMWare's vSphere, Microsoft's Hyper-V, or Xen's Hypervisor, we can design and deploy it. We have been captivated about everything that has been occurring in the virtualized space and we look forward to creating a virtualized environment for your business.