Definition

Virtualization is an application of technology that is fundamentally changing the way people

compute by allowing one computer do the job of multiple computers. (4) Creation
of virtual (rather than actual) version of device or resource, such as virtual computer
hardware platform, operating system, server, storage device or network resources further
explains virtualization. It is possible for one computer to run multiple operating systems and
various applications at the same time increasing the usability and flexibility of that single
computer in a virtual environment. This frees people and their hardware from physical and
geographical limitations and provides opportunity for greater efficiency and financial savings.
(7)
Types of Virtualization

There are many forms of virtualization that commonly used in enterprise environments:

a) Hardware Virtualization uses software that is called a hypervisor to abstract the physical
characteristics of a server. This permits multiple guest operating systems to run virtually
on a single physical server.

b) Software or Application Virtualization streams a remotely installed application from a

server to a client or packages up an application to run in a standalone sandbox without
requiring local installation.

c) Storage Virtualization abstracts logical storage from physical storage. Large pools of disks
are divided into smaller logical units that are presented as a single volume but may
actually span across many physical disks. This improves performance, increases drive
space utilization, and provides redundancy.

d) Server virtualization is the masking of server resources (including the number and identity
of individual physical servers, processors, and operating systems) from server users. (4)

The Virtual Machine

The heart of virtualization is the "virtual machine" (VM), a firmly secluded programming
holder with a working framework and application inside. Since every virtual machine is
totally separate and free, large portions of them can run at the same time on a solitary PC. A
slight layer of programming called a hypervisor decouples the virtual machines from the host
and progressively designates processing assets to every virtual machine as required.
Efficiency in Virtualization

Many businesses are exploring a virtual model in an overall effort to go green nowadays.
Virtualization is the single most effective way to reduce information technology (IT)
expenses while boosting efficiency and agility, not just for large enterprises, but for small and
midsize businesses too. (5)

1) Higher utilization and improve service levels

Virtualization taps into underutilized resources which in turn have higher utilization on
servers. Enterprise servers today are dedicated to a single application which may use 10%
to 20% of its capacity whereas virtualization layer can increase utilization to 70% to 80%.
Furthermore, IT can be more responsive to business needs by providing new services
faster with a greater number of service options which improve service levels. (7)

2) Faster server provisioning

One of the many challenges in IT application deployment is rolling out new servers. With
virtualization, companies can provision a server faster than before in matter of hours or
days, not weeks. This gives companies greater managerial flexibility and options. Server
virtualization enables elastic capacity to provide system provisioning and deployment at a
moment's notice. One can quickly clone a gold image, master template, or existing virtual
machine to get a server up and running within minutes. (10)
Hardware, software and support costs reduction

1) Reduces hardware and operating costs

Virtualization reduces hardware and operating costs by as much as 50 percent and energy
costs by as much as 80 percent. Moreover by leveraging the unused capacity, virtualization
efforts can dramatically reduce capital purchases of new server hardware by as much as
50% and hence lowers the capital expenses. In addition, having fewer servers to operate,
companies can achieve far lower costs for power consumption, cooling, real estate and
maintenance which reduce in operating costs. (7)

2) Decrease electricity consumption

Virtualization enables companies to use fewer servers, thus decreasing electricity

consumption and waste heat. One watt-hour of energy savings at the server level results in
roughly 1.9 watt-hours of facility-level energy savings by reducing energy waste in the
power infrastructure (power distribution unit, UPS, building transformers) and reducing
energy needed to cool the waste heat produced by the server. Virtualization also enables
the repurposing and decommissioning of some existing servers.

In a study conducted in 2010 study, Southwestern Illinois College performed a detailed 3-

year total cost of ownership analysis for a 35 server upgrade with and without virtualization
(see table below). A system with 35 virtual servers on 4 physical host servers saved over
$280,000 in total savings, from savings of nearly $150,000 in direct costs. Over $130,000 in
indirect costs which includes substantial savings in the "data centre". (9)
Benefits of virtualization to AirAsia

1) Full server utilization and save cost

Virtualization gives up to 80% greater utilization of every server with reductions in

hardware requirements by a ratio of 10:1 or better. Hence, capital and operations expenses
can be halved, with annual savings of more than $1,500 for each server virtualized. This
helps AirAsia to save operational cost which can be used to further improve customer
services and able to have full server utilization of their existing servers. (5)

2) Reduce Carbon Footprint and go Green

With AirAsia implementing virtualization environment into its IT department, migrating

physical servers over to virtual machines and consolidating them onto far fewer physical
servers means lowering monthly power and cooling costs in the data centre. This thus
reducing the carbon footprint which not only helps to clean up the air but also helps to
clean up the companys image. Consumers want to see companies reducing their output of
pollution and taking responsibility. Virtualizing AirAsias data centre will go a long way
towards improving the companys relationship with the consumer and have a better
company image.

3) Improve disaster recovery

Virtualization offers an organization three important components when it comes to

building out a disaster recovery solution. The first is its hardware abstraction capability
which by removing the dependency on a particular hardware vendor or server model.
Companies no longer need to keep identical hardware on hand to match the production
environment. Second, by consolidating servers down to fewer physical machines in
production, an organization can more easily create an affordable replication site. And third,
most enterprise server virtualization platforms have software that can help automate the
failover when a disaster does strike. Thus this is crucial for AirAsia to be able to backup
and restore vital data for the management of the company to run smoothly. (10)
1. http://www.quora.com/How-does-virtualization-work

2. http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/V/virtualization.html

3. http://www.vmware.com/virtualization#sthash.m80jY5g4.dpuf

4. http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/definition/virtualization

5. http://www.vmware.com/virtualization/virtualization-basics/what-is-virtualization#sthash.b
AT4J97s.dpuf

6. http://www.vmware.com/virtualization/virtualization-basics/how-virtualization-works#stha
sh.jBW3NelO.dpuf

7. http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2008/09/01/virtualization-to-increase-busin
ess-efficiency-and-decrease-costs/

8. http://www.vmware.com/consolidation/overview#sthash.gojrKyfN.dpuf

9. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.datacenter_efficiency_virtualization

10. http://www.infoworld.com/article/2621446/server-virtualization/server-virtualization-top-
10-benefits-of-server-virtualization.html