For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

TechRadar™ For Infrastructure And Operations Professionals: Infrastructure Virtualization, Q4 2009

I/O Virtualization Enters Its Growth Phase

by Galen Schreck, November 16, 2009

Every major category of IT infrastructure has been endowed with some virtualization capability. Although virtualization can make your IT environment more cost-effective and agile, the underlying technologies have matured at different rates. Furthermore, . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Aligning Your VMware Licensing Strategy With Your Broader Virtualization Plans

by Christopher Voce, Galen Schreck, November 12, 2009

It's not easy for enterprises evaluating their licensing options with VMware. In addition to worrying about the mechanics of how an enterprise licensing agreement (ELA) fits with your internal deployment plans, you need to consider a shifting competitive . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Virtual Machine Consolidation Ratio Benchmark, 2009

How Many Virtual Machines Can Enterprises Fit On A Single Physical Server?

by Rachel A. Dines, Galen Schreck, October 23, 2009

According to a recent Forrester survey, the physical to virtual consolidation ratio of server virtualization users varies significantly by company and industry. If your organization has implemented server virtualization but not realized the expected cost . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Colocation Market Close-Up: New York City

by Galen Schreck, Rachel A. Dines, July 15, 2009

New York City is one of the most popular cities in the United States for colocation and other data center services, with more than 40 wholesale and retail colocation providers in the metropolitan area. Forrester estimates that there are more than 2 million . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Forrester's Infrastructure Virtualization Maturity Assessment  (146 KB XLS)

by James Staten, Galen Schreck, Rachel A. Dines, July 10, 2009

Through over 200 client interviews and inquiries, Forrester has determined that the use of virtualization follows a pattern of experience that breaks down into four stages of maturity. Most organizations most pass through each stage of maturity in order . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Assess Your Infrastructure Virtualization Maturity

Here's How To Move To The Next Stage

by James Staten, Galen Schreck, July 10, 2009

Why are most organizations not achieving more with infrastructure virtualization? They just aren't ready to. Through more than 200 enterprise interviews, correlated with survey data, Forrester has identified four clear stages of infrastructure virtualization . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Role Overview: Virtual Infrastructure Architect

by Galen Schreck, Rachel A. Dines, June 25, 2009

As the adoption of virtualization across servers, storage, and networks continues to climb and organizations push to larger implementations of virtual infrastructure, a new question arises: Who is going to manage your virtual infrastructure? Sure, you . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Virtual Infrastructure Architect - Job Profile And Description  (32 KB XLS)

by Galen Schreck, Rachel A. Dines, June 23, 2009

Position overview: The virtual infrastructure (VI) architect is responsible for managing all of the virtualized infrastructure across technology domains (this usually does not include the virtual desktop).

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Case Study: Graybar Electric Builds Virtualization Into The DNA Of Its Infrastructure

by Galen Schreck, Rachel A. Dines, May 14, 2009

Five years ago, the supply chain management services giant Graybar Electric began to dabble in virtualization technologies. Today, it has a large and successful virtual server and storage environment and has not added a watt to its data center in two . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Data Center Facilities, Q2 2009

by Galen Schreck, Rachel A. Dines, May 8, 2009

In 2008, Forrester fielded 231 inquiries on data centers from IT end user professionals, with 137 on data center facilities specifically. Since when does IT care about data center facilities? Since more and more organizations are running out of capacity . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Service Manager — Job Profile And Description  (28 KB XLS)

by Galen Schreck, April 1, 2009

Position overview: The service manager provides IT's face to the business, ensuring that customers receive value from IT.

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

CMDB Manager — Job Profile And Description  (28 KB XLS)

by Galen Schreck, April 1, 2009

Position overview: The CMDB manager implements, configures, and runs the CMDB system throughout its life cycle.

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Best Practices: Aligning Your Infrastructure And Operations Department Around Virtualization

by Galen Schreck, Rachel A. Dines, March 20, 2009

Getting the most out of virtualization requires firms to overcome cultural divides that exist within even the most functional of IT departments. Persuading the business to make the upfront investment in virtualization is no small task, but even companies . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Case Study: The State Of Indiana Tunes Its I&O Department For Virtualization Success

by Galen Schreck, Rachel A. Dines, March 20, 2009

Prior to 2005, the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) was distributed over 100 agencies and four data centers. By mid-2006, on Governor Mitch Daniels' orders, IOT was completely centralized with only one data center and had dropped from 100 system administrators . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Cisco's Big Blade Server Bet

Cisco Moves To Become A Complete IT Infrastructure Supplier

by Galen Schreck, James Staten, March 16, 2009

After months of rumors, Cisco officially entered the server business with a modular system it calls the "Unified Computing System." This blade server system goes one step beyond its predecessors by starting from a unified network foundation on 10 gigabit . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Why Isn't Server Virtualization Saving Us More?

A Few Small Changes May Dramatically Increase Your Efficiency

by Galen Schreck, January 28, 2009

Companies have rapidly adopted server virtualization over the past few years, but there are big differences in their use of the technology. Most companies are able to reduce server hardware spending, but many don't realize an ongoing reduction in management . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Colocation Market Close-Up: Los Angeles

by Galen Schreck, Rachel A. Dines, January 13, 2009

Demand for colocation in large metropolitan areas is very high, driven by local businesses that want nearby data center space for disaster recovery, overflow, or new space. There is significant demand in the Los Angeles metropolitan area for data center . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Retrofitting Your Data Center For Better Capacity

by Galen Schreck, James Staten, October 29, 2008

Data centers are expected to last 25 to 30 years, but you need to periodically refresh your environmental gear for better capacity. Many companies can't deploy modern server equipment like blades that consolidate more wattage within single racks. But . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Don't Build Your Next Data Center, Colocate It

Colocation Will Give You More Power, Space, And Resiliency For Less Money

by Galen Schreck, October 21, 2008

If you've consolidated as much IT infrastructure as you can and your data center is still running out of space and power, you may be thinking about building a new data center. Before you begin, ask yourself this question: If you needed more office space, . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Server Virtualization, Q3 2008

by Galen Schreck, September 30, 2008

As organizations continue to deploy server virtualization, questions have shifted from "if" to "how." Out of all 220 inquiries Forrester's IT infrastructure and operations team answered on data centers, servers, and virtual appliances in 2008 to date, . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Server Virtualization Security: 90% Process, 10% Technology

by Galen Schreck, July 30, 2008

Perhaps the biggest concern with securing x86-based virtual server environments is updating existing management and security processes to cope with relatively new technology. There are no known exploits that can critically compromise a virtual server . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Q&A: Top Questions About VMware Backup

by Stephanie Balaouras, Galen Schreck, July 14, 2008

Enterprise adoption of x86 server virtualization is mainstream. Deployment is no longer limited to application development and testing environments, and chances are your organization is virtualizing mission- and business-critical production environments. . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Checklist For Data Center Site Selection

by Stephanie Balaouras, Galen Schreck, April 17, 2008

We receive numerous client inquiries from infrastructure and operations professionals who are considering building new data centers or leasing space from collocation providers. There are many architectural considerations when designing a new data center, . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Q&A: Top Questions About Data Center Colocation

by Galen Schreck, April 4, 2008

Colocation has become an attractive option for companies that are low on data center capacity or need additional sites for disaster recovery purposes. Rising server density has made engineering a challenge for many companies, and most colocation facilities . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Forrester TechRadar™: Infrastructure Virtualization, Q2 2008

Client And Server Virtualization Progress, But Storage Virtualization Reboots

by Galen Schreck, April 4, 2008

Every major category of IT infrastructure has been endowed with some virtualization capability. Although virtualization can make your IT environment more cost-effective and agile, the underlying technologies have matured at different rates. Furthermore, . . .