I recently wrote a technical best practices White Paper for Embotics, Inc. It’s titled Controlling VM Sprawl: Best Practices for Maintaining Control of Virtualized Infrastructures, and is available for free download (registration is required). The content defines and addresses the issue of "VM Sprawl" – the rapid proliferation of virtual machines that many environments are experiencing. While virtualization technology can provide numerous benefits in just about all areas of an IT organization’s operations, many people have let issues like security, policies, and processes slide. Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:
Many IT solutions tend to solve important business and technical problems in ways that can create management-related concerns. Virtualization is no exception. While organizations and their IT staff have quickly realized the many benefits of implementing virtualization, the challenge of controlling virtual infrastructures is one that is often overlooked.
Often, the benefits of virtualization start to become overshadowed by issues of security, administration, and configuration management. The primary cause is often referred to as “VM Sprawl” – the proliferation of virtual machines without adequate IT control. Organizations must recognize that virtual machines are different from their physical ones and the systems and controls that are in place to manage their physical environment may not work well in the virtual one.
In this White Paper, I will discuss the sources of VM sprawl, the dangers inherent in it and present best practices to address these issues. Finally, I will discuss the importance of automated virtualization management solutions. The goal of this white paper is to allow organizations to realize the many benefits of virtualization technology while still maintaining control of their environment.
Download the White Paper and feel free to leave me some feedback!
