Description
Task
Overview
This assessment item requires you to produce a short report by investigating and advising a company on some key topics and aspects of the use of virtualisation technologies.
You are required to produce a clear, concise report according to the given format. Please note that this is not a traditional report so the general report format will not apply. The report format will be provided in the Resource section of the subject Interact site.
Note: answering these questions will help you build a solid base for your next assessment item. You must also provide references in your report using the APA 6th edition style of referencing. A guide to the use of APA referencing can be found in the Interact Resources section.
Task
ACL Realty is a large real estate firm. Their core competence is their understanding of the real estate market, and their understanding of their customers and the customer needs. ACL Realty current self-managed a small data centre that has some 10 x86 64 bit servers running mainly Windows Server 2008 R2 for remote desktop services, MS SQL databases and file services. It also has about 2 x web server services run on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.x 64 bits servers for public facing Web pages and for its clients and agents.
The board of ACL Realty knows that their core competency is their understanding of the real estate market in their area of operations, and their understanding of their customers and their needs. They have been advised to retire most of their old physical servers and start moving their operations onto a virtual platform. You have been employed to advise the board on various aspects of virtualisation.
The board wants a report from you that answers the following questions:
- You have to explain the role that Virtualisation plays in the current data centre environment. You must research and explain:
- What is the role of virtualisation in the data centre environment? Provide supporting references for your report. (10 marks)
- What are the needs and importance of virtualisation technologies in data centres? Provide supporting references for your report. (15 marks)
- Provide one relevant example of an organisation using these technologies. (5 marks)
- Your answer for this section should be between 400 – 500 words and address the points in the marking rubric.
- You have to explain what you consider to be the key attributes of a VM so that it can be considered efficient.
- What are some of the key attributes of a VM to be considered an efficient VM. Provide supporting references for your report. (15 marks)
- What important points will you consider when using a VM as a server? Why do you consider these important? Provide supporting references for your report. (15 marks)
- Your answer should be between 400 – 500 words and follow the report format.
- A virtual appliance is a key concept in virtualisation world. There are hundreds (probably thousands) of virtual appliances available these days.
- Define both a virtual appliance and vApp? Provide supporting references for your report. (10 marks)
- When would you use a virtual appliance? Provide supporting references for your report. (15 marks)
- Name any three main virtual appliance providers and briefly describe their products with some key features and provide the site URL. (15 marks)
- Your answer should be between 400 – 500 words and follow the report format.
Rationale
This assessment consists of three questions assessing the basic understanding of virtualisation and related concepts. This assessment covers the following learning objectives:
- be able to list and explain the importance of different virtualisation technologies for x86 and UNIX based platforms;
- be able to evaluate which virtualisation technology should be used in a given set of requirements; and
- be able to discuss and evaluate the requirements for effective VM management.
Marking criteria
Marking Guide
Assessment Rubric
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Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Virtualization Research
A. Role of Virtualization plays in the current data center
I.
II.
III.
What is the role of virtualization in the data center environment
What are the needs and importance of virtualization technologies in data centers?
Provide one relevant example of an organization using these technologies
B. Attributes of VM
I.
II.
What are some of the key attributes of a VM to be considered an efficient VM
What important points will you consider when using a VM as a server?
C. A virtual appliance
I.
Define both a virtual appliance and vApp
II.
When would you use a virtual appliance?
III.
Name any three main virtual appliance providers and briefly describe their products with
some key features
Running head: VIRTUALIZATION RESEARCH
Virtualization Research
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
1
VIRTUALIZATION RESEARCH
2
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Virtualization Research ................................................................................................................................. 3
1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Role of Virtualization in Data Center ................................................................................................. 4
1.2 The Need and Importance of Virtualization Technologies ................................................................. 5
1.3 Example of an Organization that Uses Virtualization Technologies .................................................. 6
2.0 Attributes of Virtual Machine ................................................................................................................. 6
2.1 Important Points to Consider when using a VM as a Server .............................................................. 7
3.0 Virtual Appliance .................................................................................................................................... 7
3.1 When to use a Virtual Appliance ........................................................................................................ 8
3.2 Three Main Virtual Appliance Providers ............................................................................................ 9
3.2.1 IBM .............................................................................................................................................. 9
3.2.2 Juniper Networks ......................................................................................................................... 9
3.2.3 Flexera Software .......................................................................................................................... 9
4.0 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 9
Reference List ............................................................................................................................................. 11
VIRTUALIZATION RESEARCH
3
Executive Summary
Information technology infrastructure has become the core to organizations daily
operations in virtually every sector leading to the simplicity, data center flexibility, and cost
reduction. Besides, to assist organizations to remain competitive in the 21st century of advanced
technology; most organizations have shifted from the old physical servers and have embraced
virtualization. Apparently, in the recent years, virtualization has been the preferred strategy of
consolidating data center as well as increasing organization-operating efficiency. Virtualized
infrastructures have been designed to minimize downtime and increase reliability ...