Dan Chu, Vice President of Cloud Infrastructure and Services, explains what virtualization is in an easy to understand demonstration and how it can help save your business money.

Many businesses and companies today are beginning to migrate their server applications from a physical server to a virtual one through the process of virtualization. Virtualization means that instead of having a server for each application your business uses; you can (with the right equipment and software) combine the different servers into one physical server with several virtual servers running on the physical server. This not only saves money by eliminating the need for many costly servers to support your network but also eliminates the costs needed to store and provide power to all of the servers.   

Gregor Petri is an author who has written and contributed to several books on the topic of virtualization and cloud computing.  He offers several thoughts when considering moving to a virtualized server setting:

1.        He first warns companies to be aware of what he calls VM sprawl. That is where the number of virtualized machines (VM) increases over time simply because of how easy it is to create them and not because they are actually needed.  He says the concern of having too many virtualized machines that aren’t really needed is in the cost of the additional licenses as well as the “overuse of the infrastructure.”  Petri says that to prevent VM sprawl you need to be able to justify a reason for each virtualized machine you intend on creating as well as the additional cost of each machine.

2.       Second, be flexible and able to adapt to the changes of your network. 

SDN offers its customers Virtualization solutions and is constantly updating its product line to offer the best possible solutions.  Interested in reading more about Virtualization? Click here to read more blog posts.  http://www.sdncommunications.com/blog/?cat=13

Click here to read the full article

Zach Edman
Marketing Intern
SDN Communications

Every company has heard of  cloud computing—the software-as-a-service (Saas), Internet-based next-generation computing). And every company has saving money in mind. The new team, Microsoft and Fujitsu could now deliver both to your business.

The alliance would allow Microsoft to take advantage of Fujitsu’s data centers and customer base, with Fujitsu offering Microsoft’s Windows Azure, which gives Internet-based access to Windows software stored at data-centers. Read more in the Wall Street Journal online.

Renee Halgerson
Marketing Specialist
SDN Communications

More and more companies are beginning to realize the correlation between IT spending and economic growth. However, that knowledge comes with a new level of confusion and a new set of questions:

·         How much of my budget should be spent on IT?

·         When should I invest in new technology?

·         How often should it be reviewed?

·         What do I really need to do?

“IT is an integral part of almost every business and essential to moving the business forward,” said Dean Putnam, sales engineer at SDN. “Business owners should try to understand the value of technology solutions as an investment, not just an expense.”

Technology can serve as an economic development tool for many businesses. “Businesses look at investing in new technology for obvious reasons like hardware failure, but they should also consider it if they are losing market share or are in a very competitive situation,” explains Putnam. “Technology helps gain market share by improving productivity and collaboration. It can also make you appear more competitive [to your customers], improve company e-tools and provide additional solutions.”

Additional insight from Putnam into IT spending and development can be found in this article from the Midlands Business Journal based in Omaha, NE.

Julie Hoyer

Marketing Specialist

In this article, Tech Republic lists 10 issues to consider during virtualization planning:

 1.)    Does my virtualization plan include a single point of failure?

2.)    Are all my applications supported in a virtual environment?

3.)    Do I have any servers that are not good virtualization candidates?

4.)    How will domain controller placement work?

5.)    What is the most suitable virtualization platform?

6.)    What is the contingency plan if a host server dies?

7.)    How many guest machines can each host accommodate?

8.)    What software licenses will be required?

9.)    How will the old server hardware be used?10.) What is the plan for existing server clusters?

SDN Communications offers Virtualization solutions and can help you answer all these questions as you walk through the process that’s best for you. Contact SDN Communications today for a no-pressure discussion about your Virtualization needs.

Renee Halgerson
Marketing Specialist
SDN Communications

What are some benefits that may come from implementing virtualization, disaster recovery and business continuity in your SMB? What are some downfalls if you don’t? Consider that as you read this blog and others. Let’s start with virtualization.Virtualization can: