server virtualization

More than three quarters of U.S. companies virtualize at least some of their x86-based servers, but few get their full money's worth out of virtualization efforts--due to management blunders, analysts say.

The industry reached a "virtual" tipping point in 2009 when, according to IDC, the number of newly installed virtual machines surpassed the number of newly installed physical servers. This inflection point is having a profound impact on how we manage, secure and provision IT resources. No doubt the network will look completely different in just a few years too, but here are five predictions for how virtualization will change networking in 2011.

You wouldn't race down the motorway the day after you've passed your driving exam. You need to mature: learn the basics, build up your experience, and plan ahead. Virtualization is no different. Almost every organization is rushing headlong to deploy the technology, create the building blocks for cloud computing, and capitalize on the advantages of agility, cost, quality, and risk.

When it comes to sampling innovative technology, Schwan Foods, a multibillion-dollar frozen food producer, digs right in.

Through 2012, 60 percent of virtualized servers will be less secure than the physical servers they replace, according to Gartner. Although Gartner expects this figure to fall to 30 percent by the end of 2015, analysts warned that many virtualization deployment projects are being undertaken without involving the information security team in the initial architecture and planning stages.

As virtualization stretches deeper into the enterprise to include mission-critical and resource-intensive applications, IT executives are learning that double-digit physical-to-virtual server ratios are things of the past.

A survey offers a mixed assessment of green IT efforts.

X86 virtualization is often a risky proposition for highly regulated, mission-critical applications, because people and processes are not ready for virtualization and the security risks it introduces, IBM security expert Joshua Corman argued at Interop Las Vegas this week.