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How Virtualization Makes Hardware Support More Important Than Ever

How Virtualization Makes Hardware Support More Important Than Ever

Hardware virtualization has become very popular in many IT organizations. Not only is virtualization of all — or at least some — of your infrastructure more cost-effective for your business, it's also much more efficient.

The beauty of virtualization is that it allows you to run multiple systems at the same time using the same physical hardware. This saves money on maintenance and software fees, while also taking up less physical space.

Multiple servers in a virtualized environment can rely on one set of backup servers, decreasing the need for redundancy and reducing service downtime during scheduled (and unscheduled) maintenance. Because virtual servers are segregated from one another in a virtual environment, maintenance can be done without disrupting normal business operations.

Consolidating multiple servers into one larger physical server has many benefits, but making the move to virtualization also increases the need for a robust and dependable support program.

How Does Hardware Virtualization Work?

In a traditional office setting, as many as four or five physical servers would all be running the required network applications (DC, Exchange, SQL, remote desktop servers and third-party applications). Each server would require its own operating system and hardware.

Not only does this type of environment make software difficult to install and reinstall on different machines, it also makes configuration cumbersome.

Using hardware virtualization, virtual versions of computers and operating systems replace physical ones. A hypervisor is installed that converts the operating system running on the physical servers into an operating system within a virtual machine. Instead of seeing the physical computing platform, users see an “abstract” computing platform.

When the hypervisor moves the operating system to the virtual realm — controlling the processor, memory and other critical components — the operating system is no longer tied to the hardware that is running it. Network applications and hardware resources such as RAM and CPU are split among the virtual machines.

This allows multiple operating systems to run on the same virtual machine, condensing the necessary hardware to a bare minimum. Each virtual machine is isolated, so when one goes down, the others are not affected.

Benefits of Virtualization

With your existing infrastructure, odds are good that some of the servers you're running are barely using CPU or RAM, and what they're not utilizing simply goes to waste. On the other hand, some of your servers may be “maxing out” and running very slowly as a result.

Virtualization allows you to condense your hardware down to one physical unit that has the same collective power as multiple physical servers. This enables the hardware to be fully utilized by all your servers.

Server utilization increases, eliminating the need for extra physical servers, which can be expensive to maintain. The result is a more efficient and cost-effective processor that requires less overall rack and floor space and less power consumption from your server room.

Fewer physical servers also means less money is spent on software licensing and maintenance fees.

Around-the-Clock Hardware Support

Once multiple servers have been condensed into one or two physical servers through virtualization, it becomes more important than ever to have the right support in place to ensure that the remaining servers are always running smoothly.

Our fully comprehensive maintenance support program is customized to fit all of your business needs. Aventis Systems Maintenance Support packages are available in one-, two-, three- or six-year Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and are also available for renewal.

Through Aventis Systems spare kits we provide backup server parts, so you, so you always have backup server parts on hand. If you use spare parts from the kit, Aventis Systems will replenish them with free shipping within the United States. Paired with onsite support, it ensures the highest level of system uptime.

Our robust onsite hardware support package, Aventis Systems Onsite Hardware Support, includes 24-hour hardware phone support, including on holidays. We also offer next-day parts replacement and onsite support Monday through Saturday. This support package is available on all hardware offered by Aventis Systems — including servers, storage and networking equipment.

OnSite Services and Advanced IT Services are also available to our small business customers in one-, two- and three-year SLAs. Advanced IT Services for small businesses include Server & Storage Solutions, Network & Security Solutions, Enterprise Solutions, Virtualization Solutions and Software Implementation.

Deploying a virtualization platform is easy with Aventis Systems. We can help you convert your physical servers to virtual ones, deploy new operating systems and much more.

Our Virtualization Solutions are designed to help you navigate the virtualization process and include hypervisor and virtual machine deployment services, as well as public and private cloud migration services, hosting and hybrid cloud services.

Our support and maintenance packages are designed to keep your hardware running at full speed, giving you the confidence you need in your technology.

Aventis Systems can help you build a customized hardware virtualization strategy to increase your organization's productivity and performance. Call us today at 1-855-AVENTIS.