2009-12-01 by Lisa Gecko

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Virtualization helps server hosting companies save money by allowing server functions to live on fewer physical machines, saving space, power, maintenance, and up front acquisition costs. VMware takes virtualization further; its bare metal hypervisor runs more efficiently than OS-based virtualization, allows more processes to run with less operating system overhead, and offers many operating system choices for virtual machine users.

Now, with the introduction of vSphere 4, VMware’s newest datacenter virtualization platform, VMware offers big savings for both virtual server hosting companies—and their customers—though higher server consolidation, reduced power consumption, denser storage, and lower maintenance requirements, all while supporting more virtual machines.

Doing More of What Virtualization Does

vSphere offers more of VMware’s money-saving features to lower the costs per virtual server and reduce environmental impact through more efficient server consolidation, dynamic power scaling, and higher bandwidth networking.

vSphere supports hardware equipped with up to 64 logical processing cores, 256 virtual CPUs and one terabyte of RAM per host, so more virtual machines can be operated in less physical server space. In addition, support for AMD Rapid Virtualization and Intel Extended Page Tables allows consolidation rates to be increased. With the ability to increase substantially the number of VMs on each physical server, hosting companies achieve economies of scale more quickly, leading to lower costs, and in many cases, lower prices.

Direct savings also result from lower power consumption and reduced infrastructure. Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling reduce power costs, and by implementing 10 gbps Ethernet and vNetwork Distributed vSwitch, hosting companies can drastically reduce network complexity. This reduction in complexity leads both to lower equipment acquisistion costs and a reduction in staff the required to install and maintain the network. This allows the VMware based hosting company to operate more cost-effectively, which in turn can be used to offer better service for less money. Finally, vStorage Thin Provisioning allows your hosting company to increase storage density, resulting in lower cost per GB of storage.

With competitve pressures, a VMware-based server hosting company can pass the savings achieved with vSphere on to its customers. If you’re looking for dedicated server hosting, a hosting company using vSphere can achieve higher consolidation ratios through support of higher density hardware per host, enabling it to pass the savings on to its customers in the form of lower rates for each virtual machine.

Get Cost-Conscious with Infinitely Virtual

If your Enterprise business is looking for dedicated server hosting that offers both low price and unique features like a choice of operating systems, evaluate a VMware vSphere host. Learn more about how VMware and the vSphere platform can lower your costs with sacrificing performance, call (866) 257-8455 or go to http://www.infinitelyvirtual.com. Talk to us about how Infinitely Virtual can create the network environment you want, with a financial investment that’s just the size your company needs to make.

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Lisa Gecko

Infinitely Virtual

Lisa Gecko is a staff writer for InfinitelyVirtual.com .