Once the virtualized environment is established, you use management tools to control and monitor virtual servers. Using HP SIM (Systems Insight Manager) and the HP ProLiant Essentials Virtual Machine Management Pack, for example, you can monitor both virtual and physical servers simultaneously from a single, centralized interface. You may also easily transition existing VMs to other server platforms. In addition, HP Storage Virtualization System helps you pool and share your storage assets, simplifying resource management and increasing utilization.
Other management tools and their uses are described as follows:
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HP Integrity ECA (Essentials Capacity Advisor): Uses trending capabilities to simulate future usage patterns, which is helpful when planning upcoming consolidations.
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HP Performance Agent: Enables you to track workloads as they move through a server pool and plan consolidations from legacy servers.
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HP Global Workload Manager: Specifies workloads that may automatically access spare capacity while maintaining service levels for key business applications.
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HP Global Instant Capacity: Transfers usage rights from offline servers during planned and unplanned downtimes.
Securing virtual environments
VMs are subject to some of the same vulnerabilities as physical machines, as well as some security issues peculiar to the virtualized environment. You enforce VM access using user and group permissions just as you do with physical servers. Depending on your environment, you might be able to integrate your VM access scheme into your existing directory or authentication services.
Be sure to address the following security issues in your virtualized infrastructure:
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Ensure all remote users authenticate when attempting to connect to a server.
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Check your server's security settings, which dictate security for network traffic to and from a host server.
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Because three or more TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) ports may be used for access, configure the firewall to allow access to one or more of these ports.
By design, a VMM memory management scheme and virtual device firewalls a VM from accessing or acting on data belonging to other virtual machines. All processes, memory, storage, and networking are treated as individual and separate entities, even on the same physical set of resources.
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