Virtualization and storage
The Virtualization Landscape
A full 70% have ESX from VMware installed, but, by next year, 35% said they also will have Microsoft Hyper-V.
Usage of Other Platforms
Other platforms used by respondents include Xen and KVM with more growth expected in the use of KVM, rather than Xen, in the next year.
Virtualization Usage
Databases, file servers and custom apps, respectively, are the top three use cases, with engineering and ERP/CRM ranked lowest.
Performance Issues Requiring Physical Servers
Databases, email and custom apps, respectively, top the list of use cases for physical servers. A 100% virtualized data center is the exception rather than rule.
Virtualization Priorities
Database performance and virtual machine response time top the list. Additional storage capacity came in third.
Priorities of Lesser Importance
Consolidating database licenses and avoiding future purchases of storage hardware were listed as priorities by only 27% and 23% of respondents, respectively.
Storage Upgrade Plans
48% have recently upgraded or are planning to upgrade their storage devices in the next 12 months, and 30% said they need better performance but not additional capacity.
Flash Array Investments39% have either implemented a combination of flash and disk or anticipate doing so in the next 12 months. Less than 20% have similar plans for all flash-based storage arrays.
Flash Storage Moves to the Server
44% of respondents either have or are planning to implement server-side flash hardware in upcoming years while 43% are looking to use storage acceleration software, as well.
Server and Storage Separation
Virtual server administers crave infrastructure independence: 70% said they would buy server virtualization software that allows them to increase storage performance without purchasing more storage hardware.