One of the core values of Server Virtualization - and especially Virtual Iron - is reducing cost on various levels. While this has always been important - it is more so now in hard economic times. The following are key considerations for implementing Virtual Iron for server virtualization:

1. Server virtualization reduces the amount of physical servers and therefore lowers capital costs.
2. Since you have fewer servers - you require less floor space.
3. Fewer servers means less power and cooling consumption.
4. Operational costs are significantly reduced when adding new applications, upgrading servers and for disaster recovery.
5. Virtual Iron is a feature-rich server virtualization solution but at 1/4 of the cost of VMware and while Microsoft Hyper-V is inexpensive it lacks key capabilities.

If there was ever a trigger for implementing server virtualization - it is this economy. And if you were ever on the fence about whether you should go with VMware because they are the leader - and you would pay the higher price regardless - it is now time to re-think that. Consider this - the cost difference between implementing a 20-socket Virtual Iron solution versus VMware - is equal to the cost of a person's annual salary. In these hard times - that is an important consideration.

According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker published in August of this year Linux servers posted year-over-year revenue growth of 10.0%, for a total of $1.9 billion in the quarter. Linux servers now represent 13.4% of all server revenue, up from 9.4% a year ago.

According to an IDC White Paper “The Role of Linux Servers and Commercial Workloads”, published April 2008, the workloads running on Linux include web servers, file servers, databases, decision support, application development and for collaboration applications. This pretty much mirrors the Virtual Iron customer base as well.

IDC also points out in the same report that - “Where once Linux was seen by customers primarily as a low-cost infrastructure solution, it is now increasingly viewed as a solution for wider and more critical business deployments”. Virtual Iron is seeing this same trend and in addition, its SME customers rapidly deploy server virtualization on both Linux and Windows platforms in production environments.

Virtual Iron did an analysis of its customers and found that approximately 40% of them are using Linux with Virtual Iron’s server virtualization software. This is a huge number that tells an even bigger story

- Linux is becoming pervasive in the IT market place.

- Since the majority of Virtual Iron customers are small/medium size enterprises – the adoption of Linux with Virtual Iron software is clear proof that Linux is being implemented by this customer segment.

- Today and in the future SME customers will want to virtualize multiple OS environments including Microsoft and Linux.

I have been in the IT industry for over 22 years and have worked for a number of companies and as a consultant I have worked with many more. It is rare to have the kind of positive feedback that Virtual Iron gets on a regular basis from its customers. I was reading the Virtual Iron Customer Spotlight and here are some feedback that popped out at me:

Mike St. Jean, the school department's Director of Technology said - "Virtual Iron is budget friendly to cash-starved school districts, easy to setup, use and maintain for time-limited IT staff, and is stable, high performing, and secure to meet the exponentially growing technology needs of students, faculty, and administration."

"The Emanuel County School System reduced its number of servers from 38 to 18 using Virtual Iron. With this consolidation, the school system has not only reduced its power and cooling costs, but also avoided the physical labor, capital expenses and server outages that would have resulted from retrofitting its existing data center with additional cooling and power outlets."

"Two Virtual Iron customers – both small professional services firms - recently shared their experience with server virtualization. One is on track to save over $100,000 in its first year as a result of reduced server purchases, power and cooling and data center infrastructure costs. The other is using virtualization for business continuity and fast recoverability – enabling it to have its systems back up and running in minutes instead of days in the event of a failure."

Another great customer reference comes from an interview that Dan Kusnetzky, an expert blogger on ZDnet had with Goodell DeVries, who runs the IT department for a lawfirm:

"Following the herd to VMware may work, but it will be costly and complex. Virtual Iron provides substantially similar capability (and getting better all the time) for a fraction of the cost, and it can be installed and maintained by mere mortals. Virtual Iron is as close to Plug & Play as it gets for Server virtualization."

"Virtual Iron offers the most compelling set of features for the price, (Virtual Storage Management, LiveMaintenance, LiveRecovery) and easiest to implement."

Dan Kuznetzky then wrote his assessment of Virtual Iron:

"I've spoken with a number of Virtual Iron customers and all of them seem impressed with the performance, the ease of use, the integration of the Virtual Iron solution and the professionalism and responsiveness of the company. If your organization is considering different approaches to server virtualization, automation and orchestration, it would be wise to learn more about Virtual Iron."

Virtual Iron gets a ton of fervent and enthusiastic feedback from its customers and that really means something when it is so important to their businesses. Virtual Iron has thousands of customers and in many ways quantity is quality when it comes to software and infrastructure solutions. Virtual Iron has a large number of customers and growing and many of them speak out publicly on the value of the solution. If you are evaluating server virtualization the experiences of your peers matter - perhaps more than anything else.

There is a great deal of discussion at VMworld around cloud computing and a key ingredient is virtualization - which is a little like saying that cheese is important to Lasagna (sorry but my Italian comes out every now and then when I use food analogies).

First it is important to define what cloud computing is and who is going to use it. In my mind the broad definition of cloud computing is any data center that is highly virtualized and offers services to users near and far. And that my friends makes nearly every company in the world a candidate. This is an important point - since the requirements and characteristics of cloud computing must be considered for a broad audience. Since the cloud is not 100% physically tangible it better be uber-manageable. That is where the VIrtual Iron VI-Center comes in.

The more accepted definition of cloud computing is service providers that host data center infrastructure offering compute, network and storage services to external customers. People often jump to the conclusion that these service providers are big monster companies that have billions in assets. Tom Bittman, a senior analyst for Gartner pointed out in a conversation with me that he believes that there will be mid-tier cloud computing service providers that will play a vital role and have a major impact on the market.

I agree with Tom's analysis as evidenced by Virtual Iron's own customer base that includes a number of service providers offering cloud computing solutions - some for well over a year now. And like the rest of Virtual Iron's customers they get a bigger bang for their buck because they get true server virtualization that fits within the boundaries of their budget. This is critically important to service providers and their business models. It is all about scale and keeping infrastructure costs down - which is true of every operating environment - however since their revenue is based on this premise - it is their business do or die.

Cloud computing isn't a new concept by any means. However, virtualization takes it to another level. Virtual Iron is already there supporting the mid-tier cloud guys with a solution that makes much more sense at an economical level than any other competitive product- no ifs, ands or buts. For the larger guys - the same fundamentals apply - as well as greater flexibility with the willingness and ability to build true partnerships.

Virtual Iron has focused on ease of use - however - by its very nature virtual infrastructure is complex because it integrates with a sophisticated ecosystem that includes physical servers, LANs, storage networks and backup solutions.

It is important for product vendors to extend their knowledge and experience and share it with the outside world. This provides value that complements their products with practical and immediate impact to the customers.

Virtual Iron has a suite of online training vignettes and courses that addresses the core considerations implementing our solution from pre-installation planning, integrating with storage networks, VLAN configurations, high availability, etc. Additionally, the bulk of the training is free.

The results have been significant - Virtual Iron customers are avoiding issues and accelerating implementation. And we get far fewer support calls. Again, we have an easy to use product - however - since it touches so many other things in the data center having the insight and knowledge at your fingertips is invaluable to the entire process.

Allow us to pound our chest a little bit on this - we have great training - and it has proven to be extremely valuable. Yes - the product is important - but we have enhanced the Virtual Iron "experience" by complementing our solution with accessible and useful online training.

Blogger Kieth Ward's recent blog - "Feedback: Dead Wrong on VMware Pricing" (http://virtualizationreview.com/blogs/weblog.aspx?blog=2712) debates whether VMware pricing is too high. The interesting thing about the blog is that Jason Boche, a VMware customer disagrees.

Keith said the following:

"Ask 100 VMware customers what their greatest complaints about the company are, and 99 of them are likely to list price at the top. VMware recently took a step in the right direction when it made ESXi free, but there's more to do. It's still the most expensive solution out there -- by a mile."

One important point that I don't think that Keith emphasized enough: ESXi is just a free hypervisor with limited use cases. If you want to do anything of substance with VMware you still need Virtual Center and VI3 - which is still the same high price as it ever was. See my blog - Free ESXi is Pie in the Sky for more detail.

But Jason Boche - an end user customer happily using VMware disagrees with Kieth. He thinks that asking VMware to lower its price will impact their ability to innovate and I quote:

"I challenge those to propose a model on how a company like VMware can continue producing their market leading innovation without collecting revenue on products."

I think the major point that is overlooked in Jason's position is that not everyone can afford VMware's pricing. Not everyone can afford a BMW or a Mercedes. That is why Honda and Toyota are so successful. However, the problem is that VMware is selling at BMW prices to customers who really can only afford a Honda. And that negatively impacts everything else that they do.

I contend that if VMware isn't challenged on every level including pricing - that dynamic will kill innovation and not foster it.

That is why it is important to have competition. That is why Virtual Iron (and others) play a vital role in the market.

Now that the dust has settled on VMware providing a free hypervisor - I feel its a good time for me to kick it up again. It isn't necessarily VMware's fault that when they announce something that everyone makes a big deal about it. But there really is no big deal with free ESXi and it doesn't change the economics of server virtualization.

First point - VMware is late in providing a free hypervisor - as my colleague Chris Barclay pointed out in his recent blog - "ESXi Free at Last?" Chris also reminds people that Virtual Iron has been providing a free hypervisor since 2006.

Second point - if you want to implement VMware with multiple physical servers and utilize Virtual Center - you still pay what you always paid. The list price for managing a 4-socket VMware environment is still nearly $20,000. I think Scott Lowe, an industry expert and blogger, hit the nail right on the head in his blog:

"... you have to remember that VMware is only releasing ESXi for free. They’re not releasing VirtualCenter for free. You’ll still need VirtualCenter and VI3 Enterprise licenses in order to do stuff like VMotion, Storage VMotion, VMware DRS, VMware HA, VMware DPM, etc. Just like Microsoft, whose System Center Virtual Machine Manager and the rest of the System Center suite will be “paid-for” products, VMware will continue to charge for VirtualCenter."

The news here is that there really is no news. Its not a bad thing that there is a free ESXi out there but it doesn't fundamentally change the economics of server virtualization. It is important for Virtual Iron to make this clear to any customers or channel partners that might get confused by all of the hype. Free ESXi is no big thang. Just keep doing what you are doing.

We see the availability of Microsoft Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) as an important milestone in virtualization. But it really isn't going to shift the market any time soon.

Everyone has been waiting for Microsoft to come into the market in order to bring true competition to VMware. However, this is not going to happen for some time to come. How long? It may never happen. Don't get me wrong - Microsoft will challenge VMware on some level - but not in any real way for years - especially in large Enterprises. In that time VMware will continue to innovate, acquire new companies/products and increase their installed base.

There is speculation that Microsoft will dominate the SME virtualization market - the same that Virtual Iron is already selling successfully into. We know that Microsoft will do well in the SME but again it will be over time. There is a big market for Virtual Iron and that will be true for years to come. We've been shipping product since 2006 and have a proven track record and mature solution. Microsoft has a long way to go with their product. It isn't just an issue of features (which they lack) but of implementing a virtual center platform that can manage the virtual infrastructure reliably. That is an extremely important point. This is the challenge for them and Microsoft is just at the threshold of this journey.

Therefore the reality is that everything and nothing changes with the coming of Microsoft Hyper-V and SCVMM.

Nothing changes because Microsoft doesn't have a relevant product yet. Multiple industry analysts believe that Microsoft is 18 months with having a true server virtualization solution. In that time a lot will happen.

Everything changes because the Microsoft machine is rolling forward. And when a giant moves everyone pays attention.

As Microsoft educates the market with a rumored $300 Million in marketing funds dedicated to Hyper-V and SCVMM - and fail to deliver true server virtualization - Virtual Iron will leverage this opportunity to provide our proven solution. And while Microsoft stumbles through a 1.0 product and 2.0 and, and... Virtual Iron will continue to innovate and grow.

Simon Crosby - the Citrix CTO said in a Search Storage article - http://searchstorage.techtarget.com.au/contents/25176-Open-source-hypervisors-pose-challenge-to-VMware

"Another difference, according to Crosby, is that Virtual Iron's raw disk access method is block-based; XenServer can offer either 'file-backed' or 'block-backed' access. 'Because we own the hypervisor, we can do much more integration and development around it—Virtual Iron is just a consumer of it,' he said."

Wow. First - that is a false and ridiculous statement. We have been a substantial contributor to the Xen project and not just a consumer. Virtual Iron was the first Xen provider to ship 32 & 64-bit OS support, first Xen provider to ship LiveMigration, etc.

The market is in for a rude awakening with Citrix in regards to server virtualization. They don't have a viable server virtualization product. Instead they have cobbled together solutions from the ecosystem to make up for their deficiencies but it is impractical, expensive and adds complexity. They should stick to desktop - which is where they are strong.

Any discussions around file systems is just posturing on his part- of course we could integrate with a file system if it made sense to our market. I have spent years in the storage and file system arena and know that space extremely well and he is speaking out of school.

But that isn't even the biggest issue with Simon's statement. The Xen open source project is exactly that - an open source project. Citrix doesn't own the Xen hypervisor - the entire community does.

It is appalling that Simon would say what he did - it is irresponsible, false and antithetical to the whole open source philosophy.

Our VDI strategy is very simple. Today a number of our customers are using terminal services and RDP for application specific and for the full desktop experience. Remember, Virtual Iron is focused on the SME and in many cases this is more than sufficient for their needs. See Chris Barclay's blog on more details on this.

Virtual Iron also works with different VDI brokers including 2X and Provision Networks. And we will work with others as well. A virtualization expert blogger, Virtualization.Info, wondered why we decided to work with 2X and the answer is simple - server virtualization is part of a bigger ecosystem and it's important to work with partners.

What we've seen is the last four months is a visible growth in the interest and implementation of desktop virtualization with Virtual Iron server virtualization software. It is quickly becoming a common and frequent part of our universe.

We've been asked on more than one occassion if we are a VDI company. I'm not sure what that really means. So I am going to say the answer is no - we are a server virtualization company and our customers use our server virtualization solution to host virtual desktops. We enable customers to implement VDI and it is a use case for our server virtualization solution. Our customers use our server virtualization for file, web, email, database, etc - and desktop virtuallization.

We have a number of customers that are using Virtual Iron server virtualization as a part of their VDI implementation. As I stated above, through terminal services and RDP or by leveraging a connection broker ala 2X and Provision Networks. It is important to look through the SME lens and what you should see is that they need solutions that are easy and cost effective. And that is exactly what we do.