Server And Storage Virtualization Shrink Data Centers
Saving expenses associated with construction and power while improving disaster recovery time makes virtualization a popular decision among the Most Wired. Virtualization, in which software allows multiple copies of the same operating system or several different operating systems to run in the same machine, reduces physical space in the data center, cuts power consumption and enables quicker deployment of applications. Among Most Wired hospitals, 94 percent use server virtualization and 82 percent use storage virtualization. Least wired hospitals are just beginning to explore the technology, with 25 percent using server virtualization and 7 percent using storage virtualization.
While virtualization has all the earmarks of a green initiative, hospitals’ adoption is driven by business requirements. “The business case for virtualization is [avoiding] the cost to expand the data center,” says Frank Fear, chief information officer, Memorial Healthcare, Owosso, Mich. “Eighty percent of our servers run virtually.”
Effective disaster recovery is also a top priority. “Due to the critical nature of any electronic medical record system, it is imperative that the system be available with near-zero unplanned downtime and minimal planned downtime,” says Darrin J. Foell, server support manager, Sanford Health, Sioux Falls, S.D. Sanford uses IBM’s Metro Mirror to replicate critical data between the main computer room and the disaster recovery location. Virtual storage capabilities support the majority of the business and office automation systems and complement the virtualization of the desktop environments. “Extensive use of virtual storage has dramatically improved our flexibility, efficiency and effectiveness,” Foell says.
With space at a premium, virtualization is a cost-effective way to optimize and upgrade the data center. “The primary reason that Mission moved to virtualization and storage virtualization was based on limited space in the data center,” says Arlo Jennings, vice president and chief information officer, Mission Hospitals, Asheville, N.C. “By moving to IBM Blade and EMC SAN technology, a great deal of space was regained on the data center floor.” Equally important are performance and throughput for clinical computer systems critical to patient care. This change also moved Mission from older servers to a more advanced technical platform.
Reducing cooling and power costs is important as energy costs increase. “Three years ago, we were seeing a major power spike in consumption from year to year while we added more servers,” says Steve Connell, Sanford Health’s server support manager. “We have now been able to flatline that consumption the past two years with virtualization even while doubling the number of servers we support.”
Virtualization can also simplify daily IT management tasks. Staff can quickly deploy servers and conduct regular maintenance without downtime. However, virtualization is not the answer for every processor, and memory-intensive applications such as PACS and SQL database applications may not work well. A deterrent to some organizations is that someone on staff must be knowledgeable about virtualization software. Sanford Health has two staff members and Memorial Healthcare has one staff member trained in virtualization software.