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Leveraging virtualization to optimize high-availability system configurations
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by S. Loveland,
E. M. Dow,
F. LeFevre,
D. Beyer,
and P. F. Chan
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Leveraging redundant resources is a common means of addressing availability requirements, but it often implies redundant costs as well. At the same time, virtualization technologies are bursting into data centers with the promise of reducing costs through resource consolidation. Can virtualization and high-availability (HA) technologies be combined to optimize availability while minimizing costs? Yes, but merging them properly introduces new challenges. This paper looks at how virtualization technologies and techniques can augment and amplify traditional HA approaches while avoiding potential pitfalls. Special attention is paid to applying HA configurations (such as active/active and active/passive) to virtualized environments, stretching virtual environments across physical machine boundaries, resource sharing approaches, field experiences, and avoiding hazards that await the unwary.
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