Enhancing virtualisation using an Internal Cloud Computing Software Solution.

One of the large changes in IT departments over the past 3-5 years is the use of virtualisation for the building of test servers. In this post we shall describe how this can be enhanced through the use of internal cloud computing technology.

Most businesses test new software, they trial solutions promoted by vendors and test internally developed applications. They also test patches and updates to the operating systems. Increasingly virtual machines running on hyper-visors like VMware or Xen are being used to do this. An Internal Cloud Computing solution can manage this process and minimise the waste in terms of  time and virtual machine sprawl.

A real world example:
A staff member needs a server to play with to test a new web application they have discovered.

Normally this will require that a existing virtual server is cloned or a new VM created from a template. This is a manual task generally still, it takes time and energy and the person who knows about the web application may not know anything about VMware.

An Internal Cloud solution can simplify and speed up this process. The user fills in a simple web based form which says what they need (Operating System, memory, cpus,  etc.), and when they need it for, tomorrow lunchtime through to next Thursday for example.

The Internal Cloud software can then await approval from a manager, or simply automatically provision the requested physical or virtual server at the requested time and automatically email the user the details they need to login to the box.

The virtual server is decommissioned without human intervention, ready for the next person, it does not sit there eating up resources on the ESX server.

The benefits for an Internal Cloud Computing solution for a smaller organisation can be substantial as the automatic provisioning and decommissioning of servers minimises the amount of servers required and also the time and expertise it takes to manage the servers. It also increases the speed at which servers can be built, tested and business decisions made.

The benefits of using virtual servers for this sort of testing are becoming well known, by managing your virtual infrastructure with an Internal Cloud Computing software solution you can further increase the value of the investment you make in virtualisation.

The ability deploy a physical server is also available, so that provisioning a server to test something that needs a hardware peripheral connected can be managed via your internal cloud computing portal also.

As virtualisation continues to spread, managing and automating server provisioning will continue to increase in importance. With technology available today, you can make deploying a new server for a user a completely automated process managed via a simple form on a web page. The benefits of this are various and include increasing the use of virtualisation, speeding testing and development cycles, removing human labour and error, managing VM sprawl and saving costs of course.

Please contact us on 020 7193 8987 if this sounds interesting to you and your business.