The real advantage of virtualization infrastructure is to achieve the best performance ratios, and that is only possible by optimizing your VMs to work efficiently without compromising other hosted resources.
Image: EvgeniyShkolenkoGetty Images / iStockphoto
The impact that virtualization has had on IT is huge and continues to grow year after year. Partially fueled by the substantial growth of cloud-based services, many industries have migrated their existing server infrastructure to high-density, small-footprint hardware to consolidate their physical server footprint, while reducing costs specific to managing and maintaining a larger server farms.
SEE: WI-FI 6 (802.11AX): a cheat sheet (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
All hypervisor vendors provide tools to easily convert physical servers into virtualized images that can then be imported to the host and executed with a few mouse clicks. The process to run these virtual instances does not end there: although performing these basic steps produces a working virtual machine (VM), it takes more practical effort to configure optimized VM settings.
By monitoring performance and adjusting the settings needed to take advantage of the host server resources, VMs can be configured to perform capably and efficiently. In addition, by changing the use of resources per instance, the virtual host will also work better, perhaps freeing up enough resources to host multiple instances than were previously in use due to lack of optimization. Read the following tips on how you can improve VM performance and maximize efficiency.
1. Perform a zero measurement
One of the biggest benefits for IT to save time and money is assessing the use of resources, also known as a baseline. This assessment must be carried out over a period of time, for example over two weeks, and to provide insight into which sources the server actually uses compared to what the physical server is configured for.
The baseline should also be taken several times a day during this time frame, particularly during peak and off-peak hours, so that IT can best configure the resources on the VM, so that it is not under-improvised (the VM performs poorly) or over-improvised (too much) sources are inactive).
There are apps that monitor servers for resource use and provide detailed reporting, although operating systems have built-in performance analyzers that also provide this information.
2. Remove unnecessary software
Servers that run on bare-metal hardware require specialized software or drivers such as all computers. However, their virtual counterparts do not require that such software work normally. Storing drivers or vendor-specific or proprietary software on these VMs can lead to abnormal behavior and instability.
To prevent this from affecting your VMs, it is good practice to remove all device drivers that are no longer being used, along with software that is not required by the hypervisor supplier or to run the services on the VM . Depending on your department’s preventive maintenance policy, you may be surprised how many resources are released on the VM and then on the host server.
3. Configuration settings for rights
The two steps above help IT to make the best informed decisions when it comes to this third step. Straightening a VM involves configuring the settings of each instance so that what is needed is used with a little padding to account for peak performance. This helps to control both VMs and host server resources, so that neither is affected in the event of a peak in resources.
By helping to identify exactly which sources are being used, IT can determine how many VMs are running correctly and efficiently on the host. These processes vary from case to case and depend on what the VMs will be used for. But the first configuration, set up effectively, ensures that the instances can function with few problems.
Consider this process cyclically because over time, the purpose of a VM can change and change based on the needs of the organization. Continuing to monitor baselines, adjusting software requirements changes and reconfiguring host settings per VM ensures that your virtual environment continues to work smoothly.
Datacenter Trends Newsletter
DevOps, virtualization, the hybrid cloud, storage and operational efficiency are just a few of the topics of the data center that we will emphasize.
Delivered on Monday and Wednesday
Register today
