Unix Virtual Server Service

The NIH Data Center offers a dedicated virtual server in the Unix environment running the Solaris operating system on the DCSS VMWare cluster environement.

Server virtualization allows multiple operating system instances to pull resources from a pool of physical servers, providing access to the memory and processors of that pool of servers. Each operating system runs in isolation, side-by-side, on the same physical machine. VMWare software acts as the bridge between the virtual server’s operating system and the hardware, so that customers receive a service similar to a dedicated server, even though multiple “virtual systems” are running on the same server.

Virtualization maximizes the efficient use of pooled resources, resulting in a lower cost solution over standard dedicated servers. Along with the cost savings, opting for virtualization brings you additional operational benefits, such as:

• Complies with the NIH Greening Initiative: Virtualization decreases the number of administered physical servers and so reduces the need for floor space as well as overall power and cooling requirements.
• Faster and More Flexible Provisioning: Virtualization expedites most steps of the server provisioning process. The flexibility makes implementing additional servers in the server pool easier. Ease and speed of implementation of additional “virtual” servers provides customers the flexibility to request additional test or development servers to validate system changes.
• Decreased Downtime: Virtualization allows servers to remain accessible during maintenance or server failure.
• Higher Capacity Utilization: Virtualization provides customers the ability to easily increase capacity. Shared CPU and memory resources can be increased or decreased among virtual machines to allow for peak or sudden workloads.

Just as we do for your physical servers, we provide a high quality production environment for you under our Virtual Server service:

• Secure and Robust Systems: Virtualization maximizes uptime of business critical systems and offers effective business continuity.
• CIT’s standard hosting service: Customers using virtualization receive the same premium service that CIT offers its customers with physical servers.

Unix Virtual Server standard server offering

Our Unix Virtual Server offering provides a Solaris x86 environment running on a VMware virtual server. The standard virtual server includes 2 GB of memory and 50 GB of storage. In addition to this basic offering, CIT can customize the virtual server to meet your requirements. Because virtual servers run on a pool of servers, you may request more memory (in 1 GB increments) and more storage (in 25 GB increments).

The CIT hosting staff provides the same operating system support, patching, security, backup and monitoring as it does for the dedicated hardware solution. The initial offering does not include support for virtual servers that must reside behind application firewalls or load balancers, but we plan to include that support in the future.

The virtualized Solaris environment resides on a pool of servers running under VMWare ESX software. The server pool consists of 4 to 5 servers, each with dual or quad core processors and up to 128 GB with room for expansion. The server pools are connected to a 10 TB SAN that can be expanded to accommodate storage growth. For pricing information regarding these services, please check the CIT Rates page (http://datacenter.cit.nih.gov/rates/).

More information

If you are interested in the Virtual Server service, please contact the NIH Help Desk by phone at 301-496-HELP (301-496-4357), 866-319-4357 (toll free), or 301-496-8294 (TTY).