Managing the layers of a virtualized environment
Date
:
10/1/2010
Although virtualization promises significant benefits, it often requires IT administrators to reexamine their approach to systems management. How does the virtualization model affect typical best practices? How should administrators approach patching, inventorying, and deploying systems in a virtual world? Although it may seem that virtualizing an entire infrastructure would eliminate many management concerns, experience has shown that the same problems still exist—they simply shift from one category to another.
The Symantec™ Management Platform is designed with these issues in mind: instead of building a new set of virtualization-specific tools, Symantec has elected to extend existing tools such as Altiris™ Server Management Suite to adapt and specialize their behavior when they encounter virtual resources, allowing continued standardization on existing tools and processes.
The key to gaining and keeping control over a virtualized environment is understanding the three layers: properly running hardware, the hypervisor, and the virtual machines (VMs) themselves. Altiris Server Management Suite can help administrators manage automated deployments that include BIOS, Dell™ Remote Access Controller (DRAC), and RAID configuration; hypervisor deployment; VM creation; OS deployment; and the installation of applications and needed agents. Integrated workflow tools allow the implementation of a server deployment process as well as a VM manager dashboard for virtualization-specific views.
IT staff spend much of their time on routine operations, and implementing a streamlined, comprehensive approach to systems management can enable them to focus on strategic initiatives to help their organizations succeed. Altiris Server Management Suite from Symantec incorporates robust options for managing both physical and virtual systems in a single tool, helping administrators to seamlessly manage the layers of their virtualized environments, increase overall operational efficiency, and free time to focus on other initiatives.
The Symantec™ Management Platform is designed with these issues in mind: instead of building a new set of virtualization-specific tools, Symantec has elected to extend existing tools such as Altiris™ Server Management Suite to adapt and specialize their behavior when they encounter virtual resources, allowing continued standardization on existing tools and processes.
The key to gaining and keeping control over a virtualized environment is understanding the three layers: properly running hardware, the hypervisor, and the virtual machines (VMs) themselves. Altiris Server Management Suite can help administrators manage automated deployments that include BIOS, Dell™ Remote Access Controller (DRAC), and RAID configuration; hypervisor deployment; VM creation; OS deployment; and the installation of applications and needed agents. Integrated workflow tools allow the implementation of a server deployment process as well as a VM manager dashboard for virtualization-specific views.
IT staff spend much of their time on routine operations, and implementing a streamlined, comprehensive approach to systems management can enable them to focus on strategic initiatives to help their organizations succeed. Altiris Server Management Suite from Symantec incorporates robust options for managing both physical and virtual systems in a single tool, helping administrators to seamlessly manage the layers of their virtualized environments, increase overall operational efficiency, and free time to focus on other initiatives.