Virtual Infrastructure Leasing (VI3)
At a Glance
- Why Virtual Infrastructure Leasing?
- Who should Lease Virtual Infrastructure?
- Shared Leasing
- Dedicated Leasing
- Summary
What is Virtual Infrastructure Leasing?
Virtual Infrastructure (VI) Leasing is the renting of the VMware suite of software and hardware that together provide the management of Virtual Machines (VMs) from cradle to grave. As a VMware partner, VM Racks provides the software suite, VI3 including:
- ESX Servers (CPU & RAM)
- VI Client (management)
- Datastore (NAS)
- Host Agents (management)
The ESX Servers are grouped together to form a cluster, which contains the CPU and RAM for provisioning virtual machines (VMs). The total of all the servers' CPU and RAM is included within VI3. The VI Client provides access to the Virtual Center where the management of VMs takes place. The datastore is for storing the VMs, and the host agent, installed on each server, executes the commands received from the VI Client. Examples of typical host agent commands are "create a new virtual machine (vm)", "add more RAM to a vm", "clone a vm", and "delete a vm".
Who should Lease Virtual Infrastructure?
Consider leasing your own Virtual Infrastructure (VI3) if your organization requires hosting several virtual machines and has the internal resources to manage the VMs. In order to properly manage and operate VI3, a systems administrator with VI3 experience is recommended. The VCP (VMware Certified Professional) credential is not required to manage your own VI3 environment; however, familiarity with the product is important to maximize the return on investment (ROI).
Shared Leasing
VM Racks deploys VI3 on hardware that is shared with other customers. Each customer is given their own log in credentials to the Virtual Center for managing their VMs. Because the environment is shared, there are certain restrictions that are placed on the environment. The restrictions encompass the total amount of CPU, RAM, disk storage, and network bandwidth that the cluster can consume. Contact us if you need assistance in calculating the appropriate level of resources your VMs require to run smoothly.
Dedicated Leasing
For total control and unrestricted use of your VI3 environment, dedicated leasing is the solution. Dedicated leasing is more expensive than shared leasing because the hardware is committed to your needs and is not shared with others. CPU, RAM, and disk storage are unrestricted. Network bandwidth is prepaid, so estimating your bandwidth needs in advance is helpful in reducing costs since prepaid bandwidth is less expensive than on-demand bandwidth.
Summary
VM racks provides Virtual Infrastructure 3 - VI3 from VMware, the market leader in virtualization technology. VI3 is a suite of products that includes the components necessary to create and manage virtual machines, including CPU, RAM, disk storage, and network bandwidth. If you are considering hosting several virtual machines and desire to manage them directly, VI3 leasing is a good fit. Leasing VI3 comes in two flavors -- shared and dedicated. Shared is less expensive with resource restrictions, while dedicated leasing is more costly but comes with no restrictions in terms of resource consumption.