As technology continues to rapidly grow, it has become more important than ever to invest in virtualised UPS systems. According to leading IT analysts Gartner, up to 80% of serve workloads supported by x86 hardware will be virtualised by 2016. Failing to think ahead and future-proof your business is essential, which is why it is virtual to consider virtualising your UPS systems in order to stay ahead of the changes that lie ahead. Virtualised systems also offer numerous benefits, from reduced IT costs all the way to a more secure way to manage data.
The Rise of Virtualised UPS Systems
Adopting virtualised UPS systems within your IT strategy is the best way to ensure that your systems are ready for the future. Keep reading to find out more about virtualisation and how to choose the best solution for your needs.
In theory, virtualised systems make it easier to ensure continually available power when physical servers are at risk of power failure. Virtual machines running on physical servers are migrated to host servers that are not affected. In reality, this is not always as simple as it sounds.
Several virtualisation vendors offer live migration solutions that allow machines to move quickly from one host servers to the next. Most lack the ability to deal with outages, however. Most also include a command console, resulting in two separate tools for power management and virtualisation management respectively.
Managing two consoles can make it much harder to secure data during power outages. Physical servers and virtual machines running on host servers need to be shut down in the right order, usually in a very short space of time. Trying to operate more than one tool makes this far more challenging.
This is where virtualisation-ready UPS solutions become invaluable. These systems work hand in hand with modern power management tools that integrate with virtualisation management tools. Technicians are able to use a single console to manage and monitor physical and virtual servers as well as UPS tools and various other power devices.
The right power management tools make it easier to create custom continuity plans to reduce downtime, automatically responding to alarm conditions and ensuring that operations can be implemented in the right sequences with reduced risk of errors. The right tools can also be set to trigger automatic migration of virtual machines from servers that are affected by power issues, moving them to unaffected servers in the cloud or situated remotely. This further reduces downtime and potential data loss.
The future is certainly going to embrace virtualisation on a global scale. Make sure that your UPS systems are ready by choosing virtualised systems that are designed to help your business grow.
Find out more about how Eaton is powering businesses everywhere and help you virtualise your UPS systems.