VMs boost SAN costs
- TAGS:ESX, Onaro, virtual machines, VMinsight, VMware
- IT TOPICS:Applications, Data Center, Enterprise Apps, Hardware, Management, Storage
The law of unintended consequences is rearing its head in the realm of server virtualization. That, according to Bryan Semple, vice president of marketing for Onaro Inc. in Boston. He says the vast majority of VMware's ESX server deployments are connected to a SAN. And because virtual machines are a snap to create, he thinks server admins will be tempted to install them willy nilly to satisfy end user demand for more server capacity. However, Semple warns, each time a VM is created "a physical part of the disk on the SAN is allocated." He speculates that SAN administrators will begin to over-provision the SAN arrays and disks in order to handle the added VM load on storage, thus undermining the cost-saving argument for virtual machines. Naturally, Onaro has VM Insight, a new module for its SANscreen product family that will ship by mid-January. He says the software gives storage and server administrators information on how server VMs are affecting storage capacity and assist with planning, provisioning and other storage services. Pricing for SANscreen starts at $85 per SAN switch port.
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