Explain the benefits and limitations of virtualisation
Assessment
Report
Benefits and limitations, in relation to:
1 benefit and 1 limitation for each minimum, max 2
Select 2
location
cost
scalability
resilience
maintenance and management
Location:
Remote Accessibility: Virtualization allows for the easy remote management of virtual machines, making geographical location less of an issue.
Cost:
Reduced Hardware Needs: Since multiple virtual machines can run on a single physical server, hardware costs are significantly reduced.
Energy Savings: Fewer servers also mean lower electricity and cooling expenses.
Scalability:
Easy to Expand: Adding new virtual machines or reallocating resources is generally a straightforward task, allowing for easy scalability.
Resilience:
High Availability: Virtualization platforms often include failover capabilities, so if one server goes down, the workload can quickly move to another.
Disaster Recovery: Easier to backup and restore virtual machines compared to physical ones.
Maintenance and Management:
Simplified Management: Centralized control makes it easier to manage virtual resources, even across multiple locations.
Rapid Deployment: New servers or applications can be rolled out quickly and efficiently.
Location:
Network Dependency: Because remote accessibility is a key feature, a stable, high-speed network connection is often required.
Cost:
Initial Setup Costs: The upfront costs of virtualization software and potentially specialized hardware can be significant.
Licensing Fees: Ongoing costs for software licenses or cloud-based virtualization services.
Scalability:
Resource Limits: There's a ceiling to how much you can scale on a single server before you'll need to add more hardware.
Resilience:
Shared Resources: If a critical component of the physical hardware fails, it could potentially bring down multiple virtual machines.
Maintenance and Management:
Complexity: Virtual environments can become complex and require specialized skills and tools to manage effectively.
Performance Overhead: Running multiple virtual machines on one server can lead to reduced performance for each, compared to running on dedicated hardware.
In summary, virtualization offers numerous benefits such as cost reduction, scalability, and resilience, but it's not without its limitations like initial setup costs, complexity, and potential performance overheads. Understanding these pros and cons is essential for anyone looking to integrate virtualization into their digital infrastructure.