University reclaims storage capacity, optimizes virtual environment

Rolling out virtual servers and desktops is easier than provisioning physical machines, but the more flexible and dynamic resources still require IT managers to make the most out of all the resources in the environment.

Watch a slideshow with this product.

Ken Fanta, the IT manager for the University of Wisconsin Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation in Madison, realized after deploying about 30 virtual servers and 140 virtual desktops that it was easier to grow virtual machines but close to impossible to shrink them. The premise of growing capacity upon demand works if you can then reclaim that capacity and put the resources to work where needed.

"I was looking for a product to help me take the virtual machines I had created and get them back down to the original size I had wanted," Fanta says. "I prefer maintaining about 10% of free space in the virtual machine, but when I realized I didn't need as much free space, I wanted to reclaim it. If each image has 4 to 5 gigabytes of free space, multiplied by a certain number of machines, that adds up pretty quickly."

That's why last fall Fanta decided to try out the beta version of vOptimizer Pro from Vizioncore. According to the vendor, the product inspects the virtual machine's file system and resizes the partition, while also streamlining the guest operating system. The vendor also says vOptimizer Pro helps administrators quickly provision virtual machines, "right-size storage environments, accelerate disaster recovery and lower maintenance cost overhead.

For instance, administrators like Fanta can specify the amount of storage space needed for various types of virtual machines and reclaim resources when virtual machine specifications stray from the original plan.

"We can run the program on a scheduled basis to prevent images from getting larger than they were intended to be," Fanta says. "vOptimizer Pro helped me get more out of what I already have and it has paid off in storage savings alone already."

Do you Tweet? Follow me on Twitter here. 

Denise Dubie is senior editor with Network World.