Virtualization Systems

More Capability. Fewer Physical Machines.

A single modern computer can have enough processing power, memory, and storage performance to operate several independent computing environments at the same time.

Virtualization turns that capability into something useful.

Instead of dedicating a separate physical computer to every application, server, test environment, or specialized workload, virtualization allows multiple independent virtual machines to operate securely on one properly designed physical system.

At Patriot Computer Solutions, we design virtualization systems around the workloads they must support—not simply around how many virtual machines can be created.

What Is a Virtual Machine?

A virtual machine behaves much like an independent physical computer.

It can have its own:

• Operating system

• Processor resources

• Memory

• Storage

• Network connections

• Applications

• Users

• Security configuration

One physical virtualization host can therefore operate several Windows or Linux systems simultaneously while keeping their environments logically separated.

To the applications and users, each virtual machine can function much like a conventional computer.

Behind the scenes, however, they are efficiently sharing the resources of a much more powerful physical platform.

Consolidate Without Compromising the Workload

Virtualization can replace several lightly utilized physical computers with one carefully designed system.

But consolidation only works well when sufficient resources are available.

Processor cores, memory, storage performance, network bandwidth, and sometimes GPU resources must be divided among the virtual machines.

PCS begins by examining the workloads that will actually run on the system.

We then size the host so those workloads can coexist without constantly competing for resources.

The goal isn’t simply fewer computers.

It is better utilization of the computers you have.

Memory Is Critical

Memory is often one of the most important resources in a virtualization system.

Each active virtual machine requires memory for its operating system and applications. As additional virtual machines are started, those requirements accumulate quickly.

PCS designs virtualization hosts with realistic memory requirements and future expansion in mind.

That can mean substantially more RAM than would normally be installed in a conventional workstation or server.

Proper planning prevents the host from becoming constrained just as virtualization begins providing the greatest benefit.

Storage Architecture Matters

Several virtual computers accessing the same physical storage system can create workloads very different from those of an ordinary PC.

One virtual machine may be starting Windows while another accesses a database and a third performs an update or backup.

Fast NVMe storage can provide tremendous performance, but capacity, endurance, redundancy, and data protection also matter.

Depending on the application, PCS can design storage around:

• Virtual machine operating disks

• Application data

• High-performance NVMe storage

• Larger-capacity storage

• Redundancy

• Backup repositories

• Network storage

• Replication

The storage architecture should support both performance and recovery.

GPU Resources Where They Are Needed

Virtualization is no longer limited to simple office and server workloads.

Properly designed systems can support specialized virtual machines requiring dedicated graphics resources for applications such as CAD, engineering, visualization, AI, and other GPU-accelerated workloads.

In appropriate configurations, physical GPUs can be assigned directly to specific virtual machines.

This can allow one powerful virtualization platform to support several very different computing environments while preserving the hardware resources required by each workload.

PCS evaluates these requirements during the original system design because GPU virtualization and passthrough can affect motherboard selection, expansion capacity, power requirements, cooling, and the overall platform architecture.

Isolation Provides Flexibility

One of virtualization’s greatest advantages is separation.

A specialized application can operate inside its own virtual machine without forcing the entire organization to adopt the same software environment.

Older applications can sometimes remain isolated from newer systems. Development and testing environments can be separated from production. Different operating systems can coexist on the same hardware.

If one virtual environment needs to be modified, restored, or replaced, the other virtual machines can remain independent.

That isolation can dramatically simplify complex computing environments.

Backup and Recovery Become More Powerful

A physical computer consists of hardware, an operating system, applications, configuration, and data.

A virtual machine packages much of that environment into software-defined resources.

That creates powerful possibilities for backup and recovery.

Depending upon the platform and configuration, complete virtual machines can be backed up, replicated, restored, cloned, or migrated far more efficiently than rebuilding a physical computer from the beginning.

Virtualization does not eliminate the need for a sound backup strategy.

It can, however, provide much more flexible recovery options when that strategy is designed correctly.

Built for Business Continuity

Hardware eventually fails.

Updates occasionally go wrong.

Applications sometimes become corrupted.

People make mistakes.

A properly designed virtualization environment acknowledges those realities from the beginning.

PCS can incorporate backup, redundant storage, replication, recovery planning, and other continuity strategies according to the importance of the workloads being hosted.

For critical environments, the question isn’t simply:

“How fast is the server?”

It is also:

“How quickly can the business recover when something goes wrong?”

Easier Testing and Deployment

Virtualization can also provide an excellent environment for testing.

A new application, operating-system update, configuration change, or specialized environment can be evaluated in a virtual machine without immediately changing a production workstation.

Known-good virtual machines can also provide repeatable starting points for deployment.

For businesses supporting specialized applications or multiple computing environments, that capability can substantially reduce configuration time and risk.

A Foundation for Private Cloud

Virtualization is also one of the fundamental technologies behind private cloud computing.

Once workloads have been separated from individual physical computers, they can be managed as resources within a larger infrastructure.

Virtual machines, storage, networking, backups, remote access, and centralized management can then become parts of an integrated environment.

For organizations that need greater control over their computing resources and data, virtualization can provide the foundation upon which a PCS Private Cloud Solution is built.

Designed Around the Workloads

Virtualization can simplify an environment, but poorly planned virtualization can simply move the bottlenecks from several computers into one.

That is why system design matters.

PCS considers:

Processor resources. Memory capacity. Storage performance. Network bandwidth. GPU requirements. Expansion capability. Backup. Recovery. Power. Cooling.

All of those resources must work together.

Tell us what systems and applications you need to operate.

We’ll determine whether virtualization can consolidate them efficiently—and build the platform around the workloads.

Patriot Computer Solutions Virtualization Systems — consolidate resources, simplify management, and build a stronger computing foundation.