0845 053 0399

Virtualisation refers to the running of one or more “virtual” operating systems on one piece of hardware. This is done by installing a very small operating system onto a bare-metal server and then creating as many virtual computers and servers as you require.¹

This means that you could run an Active Directory server, a separate mail server and a separate file server all on one piece of hardware. You would still need to buy the software and licenses as in an unvirtualised scenario but the cost and administrative benefits speak for themselves.

¹ Subject to the quantity of processors, memory and hard drive capacity

What are the Benefits?

• Cost Efficiency
  Downloading and installing VMWare's ESXi requires only that it be registered

• Cheaper Upgrades
  Add an extra processor and some more RAM instead of buying a second server

• Faster/Safer Server Deployment
  Virtualising your operating system from it's existing hardware foundation on to your new server before you perform the upgrade ensures that, should the upgrade process encounter an error, you still have the old server to fall back on instead of spending hours repairing a damaged system or restoring from backups

• Faster/Safer Server Modification
  Snapshotting your virtualised, healthy system before performing any changes means, should modifications have unforeseen consequences, you can roll back to the snapshot as if the changes had never been made

• Near-Instant Recoverability
  Using tried-and-tested backup methods, your fully operational server could be recovered in minutes, thereby  saving hours - if not days - of server rebuilding effort should a fatal operating system error occur

• Reduced Infrastructure Cost
  Added costs such as cooling, electricity, network ports, floor space and rack space can be mitigated by virtualising your servers

• Fail-Over
  Should you already have a second server, both servers could be virtualised on to one platform leaving the second platform available as a 'hot-swap' fail-over system

Is it reliable?

VMWare (NYSE:VMW) has been in business since 1998 and has 250,000 customers and 25,000 partners using their products on a daily basis. VMWare compliant hardware is capable of running all Windows, Linux and Solaris Operating Systems

Is it safe?

At the time of writing no known malware (outside of Proof of Concept experiments) has the ability to infect the VMWare ESXi hypervisor

Ongoing Support

Our years of experience, backed up by VMWare's support technicians, ensure that you receive continuous support for your virtualised environment