Data Center Virtualization Solutions – [Updated]

Data Center Needs

In today’s conditions, companies or institutions need a storage system to store their data in a secure environment, servers to provide access to users by authorizing the stored archive through applications, and a network for servers to communicate with each other and users.

Data Centers are the places where these systems are gathered together. Although it is called Data Center in Turkish, System Room or Data Center is more commonly used.

To briefly list what can be inside a Data Center;

What Should a Data Center Have?

• Server
• Storage (Storage Unit)
• Network Switch (Main Switch, Farm Switch, Side Switch ve PoE Switchs)
• Router( for WAN )
• Firewall (for security and authorization)
• Environmental Control Systems (An early warning system including flood, fire, smoke, dry contact, temperature and humidity sensors)
• Fire Extinguishing System (FM-200 derivative system may be preferred)
• Entrance Gate Electronic Control System (Logging card, fingerprint or biometric access systems)
• Cooling System (Air Conditioning and cooling units for Data Center isolated from external environment)
• Cabins and Cabinets
• Patch Panels for F/O and UTP termination
• Manageable Energy Panel
• UPS Energy Support
• In-cabin Management Console.
• Cable Organizer and Carrier Trays
• VOIP Routers and Digital Telephone Switchboards and their recording devices.
• Security cameras positioned and logged so that there are no dead zones.
• Operating Systems and Third Party Software.

The structure where all these devices and systems are together and work interactively with each other is called a Data Center.

Until a few years ago, we were working with Physical Servers and Storage, but in recent years Server and Storage Virtualization has been used extensively. The essence of server virtualization is the ability to run multiple servers on a single physical server with third party software such as Vmware, Microsoft.

Depending on the license of the Virtualization software you purchase and the capacity of the server, you can create independent sub-servers within a physical server. In fact, Microsoft Windows Server 2012 operating system can perform this virtualization process without the need for any other software.

As you can virtualize the servers, it is also possible to virtualize the Storage Units so that they can be used in common. Moreover, we can say that Disk management in Windows Server operating system is completely based on virtualization. The server even runs its own disks with the principle of virtualization.

Data Center Big Data Management and Virtualization Solutions

The world’s leading Server manufacturers produce models suitable for virtualization. For example, HP designs products that can be developed and capacity can be increased thanks to the infrastructure called Blade Technology. If we briefly talk about this technology;

You can add modules on a Chasis (Chassis or Chassis) according to your needs. Thanks to this addition, you can increase the Memory, CPU and Disk capacities of your server. You can make any addition you want without stopping the chassis without shutting it down.

When the slots in the chassis are full, you can switch to another chassis. However, it is possible to use the chassis as a Cluster thanks to a structure similar to the Switch Stack structure in the Network. I don’t think you will need this much when the infrastructure is virtualization. HP has announced to its users that it will develop Blade Technology until 2018 and will switch to more advanced server technology after 2020.

Here’s what you can save thanks to virtualization;

Benefits of Data Center Virtualization

• Saving space and area,

• Saving energy for cooling,

• Avoids hardware waste,

• Energy savings due to reduced hardware count,

• To be able to use the existing equipment efficiently and in the most effective way,

• Optimization of possible spare parts costs in case of server failure,

• Increased manageability.

How to do Network Virtualization?

As you can do data center virtualization on the server and storage side, a similar virtualization can be done on the network side. Main switches and farm switches can be virtualized for redundancy purposes. Depending on the brand and model, the name of these virtualization protocols may change.

Thanks to protocols such as VRRP, Stack Switch, Bonding Mode, virtualization can be done for redundancy purposes. Although it is not similar to server virtualization in this respect, as the name suggests with the VLAN structure, multiple virtual networks can be created in a single physical network.

VLANs, which stands for Virtual Local Area Network, work in a logically similar way to server virtualization. Moreover, its emergence dates back even earlier than server virtualization technology. See our article on VLAN;