IDC points out that the recent increase in server virtualization to create a more dynamic and agile datacenter has led to an increase in complexity and costs associated with managing the network.

How does an organization keep total cost of ownership low? IDC Analyst, Matthew Eastwood, recommends automating network orchestration and freeing up human resources to focus on the right priorities in the data center which will lead to operating consistency and visibility across the server and network infrastructure. Data center networks built on these principles will manage capital and operational costs while providing flexibility, security and scalability necessary to tackle business challenges.

Server virtualization has blurred the lines between the traditional roles and responsibilities of server and network administration.  IDC Analyst, Matthew Eastwood, recently discussed this issue in his white paper on “Managing Server Virtualization on Datacenter Networks.”

When server virtualization is in its initial server-consolidation phase of adoption, simple switching between virtual machines running on a single physical host server is not a problem.  However, Eastwood says that as virtualization matures to become the foundation of virtualized IT
datacenters and expands to include an array of mission-critical applications, there is a need for the network to be an active participant in virtual switching.

There is an increasing need to manage “virtual networks” and specifically, to associate virtual machines operated by server administrators with the policies defined by the network administrators. The challenge is that tools network operators currently use to manage their physical infrastructure provide no access to, or visibility into, the virtual infrastructure, and server administrators are burdened with the task of managing the “virtual
network.”

A couple of weeks ago, Evolving Solutions announced that we now have the IBM Dynamic Infrastructure Certification.  What this means for Evolving Solutions customers is greater agility, speed and performance for your IT data center.

In today’s economic climate, cost efficiency is top of mind for the vast majority of C-level executives—and they are not just looking to drive down overall costs, but to put their available dollars to better use. Organizations are also focused on managing and mitigating risk—while still supporting business goals—and addressing various regulatory, organizational and industry-based compliance drivers.

In order to meet rising service-level expectations and cost saving objectives, IBM believes that it is time to start thinking differently about infrastructure. IBM’s strategy for dynamic infrastructure enables organizes to move beyond addressing simple daily operational challenges to becoming proactive about accelerating service delivery, reducing costs and managing risk.

Some ways in which Evolving Solutions is leverage the IBM Dynamic Infrastructure are:

• Integrated service management and data center automation to accelerate the delivery of IT services
• Energy efficiency initiatives
• IT infrastructure optimization via virtualization technology
• Information infrastructure initiatives for managing complex data growth
• Workload optimization to deliver better performance, scale and efficiency
• Flexible delivery choices (including cloud computing)
• Integrated risk management strategy

At the core of IBM’s strategy to transform IT and the data center is support for smarter business and IT service delivery. The Dynamic Infrastructure is all about achieving business goals.

There has been a lot of talk about private versus public clouds because of data security concerns. A private cloud is a proprietary network or data center that supplies hosted services to a limited number of people. Private clouds generally pose fewer security and privacy risks than public clouds.

What distinguishes private clouds from the average data center is the ability to pay-per-use and scale usage up or down as demand dictates. This scalability is made possible by the pooling of storage resources.

With cost and scalability being two important business issues, private clouds are extremely attractive to many businesses. According to a recent InformationWeek survey, more than half of the business technology professionals interviewed said that “they’re either using private clouds (28%) or planning to do so (30%).”   That said, there is still a lot of hesitation when it comes to implementing a private cloud environment.  With a heavy technology investment needed, businesses quite rightfully are trying to determine whether the long-term savings will be worth the upfront investment.

Forrester Analyst, James Staten, believes that most businesses are not ready for an internal cloud because they “lack the experience and maturity to manage such an environment.”  Staten says that “to be ready, they must first scale operational standardization, automation, and virtualization mountains.”

With automation and consolidation being best practices for running a better, more efficient data center, perhaps preparing for a private cloud will inadvertently help companies optimize their data center?