- The Data Center LAN Evolution Series
- A Webtorials Thought Leadership Discussion
- Dr. Jim Metzler, Moderator
- Featuring Arista, Avaya, Brocade, Cisco Systems, Extreme Networks and HP
There is no doubt that over the last couple of
years that the topic of virtualization has received considerable
attention in the trade press. Virtualization, however, is more than a
media event. For example our research indicates that over 90% of IT
organizations have implemented at least some server virtualization and
that in the coming year most IT organizations will increase the
percentage of their servers that are virtualized. In addition to being
more than a media event, the topic of virtualization is bigger than just
server virtualization. Today, almost every component of IT can and is
being virtualized. This month's discussion will focus on virtualization. As in the previous discussions, we will start with a fairly high level question and then ask more granular questions over the month. In order to make this discussion somewhat interactive, kindly feel free to send us questions or comments.
Join the Discussion
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- Related discussion: What's the Best Alternative to Spanning Tree?
- Related Discussion: Does Converging the LAN and SAN Make Sense?
- Related Discussion: Does OpenFlow Make Sense in Enterprise Networks?
Our research indicates that not only have the vast majority of IT organizations implemented server virtualization, but that supporting server virtualization is the primary factor that is driving IT organizations to redesign their data center LANs. The good news is that all of the major data center LAN switch vendors have techniques that IT organizations can use to support server virtualization. The bad news is that not all of the switch vendors support the same techniques.
The current data center LAN discussion is intended to help IT organizations understand the approach to supporting server virtualization that is being recommended by the major data center LAN vendors. The current data center LAN discussion is also intended to help IT organizations understand the other data center related challenges that are created by implementing forms of virtualization other than server virtualization.