At the University of Rochester, multi-tasking seems to be a part of everyday life. Some people eat while they walk, read a book as they run on a treadmill, or even browse Facebook while doing work. Technology, which is never too far behind, has caught up to our multitasking abilities, with the help of server virtualization.
Virtualization allows one piece of hardware, such as a desktop computer, to run multiple operating systems at the same time. Essentially, virtualization multi-tasks like we do. This multi-tasking saves theUniversity of Rochester space, energy, and thousands of dollars a year. In this case, only two servers are needed to virtualize six servers. Since there are only two servers instead of six, this automatically saves money that would ordinarily have to be paid for the extra space.UR also saves a few thousand dollars per year on hardware, because they are maximizing the hardware they have through virtualization.
You might be surprised to learn that while the server is doing more work with virtualization, like us, it doesn’t need to exert more energy to multi-task. Servers use energy just by being on, but the two servers use just as much energy as they need, without overusing it. This means the servers don’t require more energy even though they’re operating multiple servers, which is a huge help in energy conservation.
The University started looking into server virtualization about four years ago, and the application officially launched about a year ago. Since then, additional progress has been made, by upgrading the servers so they can remotely monitor the temperature at theMedicalCenter.
So, the next time you’re on Facebook at work or in class, give your computer a nice pat on the back for keeping up with your multi-tasking.
