What do you mean by virtualization? Explain the pitfalls of virtualization.
Definition - What does Virtualization mean?
Virtualization refers to the creation of a virtual resource such as a server, desktop, operating system, file, storage or network.
The main goal of virtualization is to manage workloads by radically transforming traditional computing to make it more scalable. Virtualization has been a part of the IT landscape for decades now, and today it can be applied to a wide range of system layers, including operating system-level virtualization, hardware-level virtualization and server virtualization.
Pitfalls
Mismatching Servers
This aspect is commonly overlooked especially by smaller companies that don't invest sufficient funds in their IT infrastructure and prefer to build it from several bits and pieces. This usually leads to the simultaneous virtualization of servers that come with different chip technology (AMD and Intel). Frequently, migration of virtual machines between them won't be possible and server restarts will be the only solution. This is a major hindrance and actually means losing the benefits of live migration and virtualization.
Creating Too many Virtual Machines per Server
One of the great things about virtual machines is that they can be easily created and migrated from server to server according to needs. However, this can also create problems sometimes because IT staff members may get carried away and deploy more Virtual Machines than a server can handle.
This will actually lead to a loss of performance that can be quite difficult to spot. A practical way to work around this is to have some policies in place regarding VM limitations and to make sure that the employees adhere to them.
Misplacing Applications
A virtualized infrastructure is more complex than a traditional one and with a number of applications deployed, losing track of applications is a distinct possibility. Within a physical server infrastructure keeping track of all the apps and the machines running them isn’t a difficult task. However, once you add a significant number of virtual machines to the equation, things can get messy and App patching, software licensing and updating can turn into painfully long processes.
