Often, new technology tends to bring with it some new problems that need to be addressed. Granted, the problems are “better” ones to have, but they’re important concerns nonetheless. Server virtualization is no exception.
It’s somewhat ironic that one of the main problems that server virtualization is designed to address, server sprawl, is often replaced with a similar problem – VM sprawl. It’s a topic that I’ve written a lot about in the past and on this blog. I recently revisited the topic and expanded on it in a White Paper that I wrote for Sun. Here’s the introduction from Best Practices to Prevent and Manage Virtual Machine Sprawl:
While server consolidation using virtualization can significantly decrease costs and improve efficiency, organizations often find that they need to deal with an associated issue: the rapid proliferation of VMs with inadequate management. This article will provide best practices for addressing the issue of "VM Sprawl", including the following:
- Creating and enforcing deployment policies
- Detecting and addressing unauthorized VMs
- Managing security and compliance in virtual environments
- Managing the entire VM lifecycle and Planning for VM retirement
- Sidebar: Steps to gaining (or regaining) control of a virtual environment.
The White Paper is available for free, but registration on the Sun Web site is required.
