Increasing Hosting Bandwidth With Data Center Virtualization

While cloud computing is the current topic of focus for IT blogs and articles, data center virtualization offers businesses an inexpensive way to increase bandwidth, reduce costs, and take advantage of a number of increased management services. At its core, data center virtualization is a system for using a single, physical server to run a number of remote, virtual machines. Each of these machines run through the physical server’s operating system and eliminates hardware and staffing requirements. Companies looking to increase bandwidth capabilities are starting to turn to data center virtualization services. This article will explore what virtualization is, how it differs from traditional shared servers, and how to increase bandwidth through the usage of a virtualized data center.

What Is Data Center Virtualization?

Data center virtualization refers to the ability to take a single server and divide it up into multiple virtual hardware subsets. This is done as a method of separating physical hardware to create a number of fully operational virtual systems. Once these virtual hardware subsets are created, the goal is that each operates in a similar fashion to a traditional, physical server. Each subset is referred to as a Virtual Machine (VM) and is outfitted with virtual hardware that allows a client to install an operating system and applications as though it were a physical server. The last decade has seen a significant increase in the number of businesses turning to data center virtualization services. The reason for this increase lies in the three primary advantages of virtualized data centers. These include reduced costs in infrastructure, increased availability and management services, and better-optimized hardware utilization.

How Does Data Center Virtualization Differ From Traditional Shared Servers?

The difference between virtualized data centers and traditional shared servers is an often-misunderstood concept. The confusion revolves around the fact that virtualization is a key component of shared servers. All shared server systems offer virtualization services to clients, and these services are what allow the server to operate effectively. The key difference lies in the difference between hardware and services. Virtualization refers to software that has the capability to manipulate a server’s hardware. Cloud, or shared, servers refer to the services that result from this manipulation.

How Does Hosting Bandwidth Increase With Virtualization of the Data Center?

The primary reason for the increase in bandwidth availability with virtualized data centers lies in the shared nature of the servers. Since each of the virtual machines is connected to a single physical server and share this server’s capabilities, you eliminate the need for multiple servers with multiple traffic flows and application installation. The result is increased bandwidth availability. Furthermore, virtualization of servers works to automatically reduce bottlenecks in input and output traffic to ease flow and increase speed. The elimination of bottlenecks gives servers the capability to better utilize their bandwidth and get more for their current levels. Lastly, ongoing and automatic traffic analysis tools prevent network overloads and switch failures by providing long term usage projections. These projections give business owners the ability to predict future traffic flow before it creates a bottleneck.

Locating A Virtual Data Center In Your Region

Businesses looking to increase their hosting bandwidth are increasingly opting for virtualized data centers. If your business is struggling with the need for increased bandwidth capabilities or is looking to lower the costs of IT hardware, contact a local virtualized data center to speak with a customer service representative today. These professionals can walk you through the service offerings and help assess whether virtualized data center services are right for your business.