Virtualization is the creation of a virtual form of a computing resource like a computer, server, or other hardware component, or a software-based resource such as an operating system. The most common example of virtualization is partitioning a hard disk during OS installation, where the physical hard drive is split into multiple logical disks to provide better data storage and retrieval (a category known as 'data virtualization').
Virtualization is classified based on the resource that is being created. There are various categories such as:
Of these, server virtualization is the most commonly used. Server virtualization involves pooling resources from one or more physical servers and partitioning them into multiple virtual servers. A special virtualization tool called hypervisor is used for this purpose.
There are various types of hypervisors, such as type 1 hypervisors (”bare-metal hypervisors” that run directly on raw hardware, also called virtual machine virtualization) and type 2 hypervisors (hosted hypervisors that run on a guest OS). The key players in the type 1 market are VMware, Microsoft, and Citrix, while Red Hat's Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) is the most widely used type 2 product.
The common challenges in implementing and managing a virtual environment are:
OpManager's extensive multi-vendor virtual monitoring environment helps you monitor and manage all your virtual devices with ease across three major vendors—VMware, Microsoft, and Citrix. With real-time monitoring, you'll know the status of your VM at all times, and also receive alerts when something isn't right. OpManager supports monitoring and management of Active Directory, SQL, and Exchange servers.
The visualization summary tab lists all the info about your VMs on a single screen. You can see important stats related to VMs in your network, such as top hosts and top VMs in your network with respect to CPU utilization, memory utilization, disk usage, and network usage, across all vendors and devices.
View the historical trend of a particular statistic using OpManager’s graphs. OpManager also displays the status of crucial device stats, such as CPU utilization and memory usage, over a period of time.
OpManager also lets you set performance monitors for your VMs, and alerts you if there are any anomalies in the network. Set remedial measures as workflows for minor but frequent issues in your network.
Automate basic functions of your VMs with workflows. With OpManager, you can execute functions such as Power on/off VM and Shut down/Standby Guest OS based on specific event triggers. Even better, you can easily create or modify your workflows using the drag-and-drop workflow builder.
With OpManager's reports feature, you can watch trends in your network stats, and get meaningful insights on your network. Keep tabs on important stats like system health, availability, and performance, and better understand the relationship between your VM and your datastore/storage disk using dedicated datastore and disk mapping reports for VMs.
With OpManager, you can:
Get your free trial of OpManager to learn more about managing all your virtual network devices. Try it now!