* Moving the management of IT into the virtual space
In the last newsletter, we discussed the move from “real” to “virtual” networks, concentrating more at the lower levels of the OSI stack. In particular, we noted that several years ago we moved from managing point-to-point circuits to managing virtual circuits for frame relay, ATM, and IP-based services.
The change that has crept up on us, though, is that many, many more network functions have become virtual. In fact, the term “virtualization” is starting to rival “convergence” both in terms of popularity and ambiguity. However, for the purposes of this discussion, we’ll assume that “virtualization” means taking a function and moving it into the network. In fact, we’ve already moved from “virtual circuits” to implementing “VPNs.” From the computing side, services are available for “virtual private servers,” which appear to the user to be a server with a full set of functions – including network connectivity. However, virtual server is, in reality, a software partition on a large server at a location somewhere – and it really doesn’t matter where – in “the network.”
This then moves the management of the entire IT process into the virtual space. Even if an application is running on a local server, many of the performance issues affecting that application are virtualized.
A paper recently published at Webtorials, “Performance Management in the Virtualization Age,” outlines this phenomenon by defining an “application fabric,” as “the set of interconnected virtualized resources implemented over the physical infrastructure (servers, network, and storage) shared by both traditional and emerging applications.”
The virtualization of router functions is discussed in detail in another paper, “Secure Router Virtualization”, which defines “secure router virtualization,” as “the dynamic, secure distribution of router hardware and software resources to IP services and applications.”
Another resource for managing the application fabric can be found in the virtual conference on the topic, the “2006 Application Delivery Challenge” where three providers of products and services – Juniper, Netli, and Blue Coat – join analyst Robin Layland in both a Webcast and a paper to address survival of critical applications in this virtualized world.
The bottom line is that as time goes on, more and more networking functions will become a part of a virtual, network-based function, diminishing the on-site, hands-on functions of “real” circuits, appliances, and servers.
* For more about managing in a virtual world, check out Network World’s Network/Systems Management Newsletter.
