Chapter 1 Getting Started with Virtualization

Virtualization technologies are becoming high priority for IT administrators and managers, software and systems engineers, plant managers, software developers, and system integrators.

Mission-critical operations in both small- and large-scale organizations demand availability—defined as the ability of the user community to access the system—along with dependable recovery from natural or man-made disasters. Virtualization technologies provide a platform for High Availability and Disaster Recovery solutions.

Using this Guide

The purpose of this guide is to help you to implement Wonderware System Platform in a virtualized environment, including:

Implementing some of the new features in Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2

Implementing High Availability, Disaster Recovery, or High Availability with Disaster Recovery using Windows Server 2008 R2 virtualization technologies such as Hyper-V

Implementing High Availability and Disaster Recovery using VMware technology

 

This chapter introduces and defines virtualization concepts in general, as well as in a System Platform context. This chapter also defines a basic workflow and planning framework for your virtualization implementation.

Subsequent chapters describe in detail the features of Windows Server

2008 R2 and how to use them, configuring High Availability, Disaster Recovery, High Availability with Disaster Recover, creating virtual images, and implementing a virtualized backup strategy.

Subsequent chapters also provide test and performance metrics for a wide variety of system configurations, including Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO).

Understanding Virtualization

Virtualization is the creation of an abstracted or simulated—virtual, rather than actual—version of something, such as an operating system, server, network resource, or storage device. Virtualization technology abstracts the hardware from the software, extending the life cycle of a software platform.

In virtualization, a single piece of hardware, such as a server, hosts and coordinates multiple guest operating systems. No guest operating system is aware that it is sharing resources and running on a layer of virtualization software rather than directly on the host hardware. Each guest operating system appears as a complete, hardware-based OS to the applications running on it.

Definitions

This implementation guide assumes that you and your organization have done the necessary research and analysis and have made the decision to implement Wonderware System Platform in a virtualized environment that will replace the need for physical computers and instead run them in a virtualized environment. Such an environment can take advantage of advanced virtualization features including High Availability and Disaster Recovery. In that context, we’ll define the terms as follows:

Virtualization can be defined as creating a virtual, rather than real, version of Wonderware System Platform or one of its components, including servers, nodes, databases, storage devices, and network resources.

High Availability (HA) can be defined as a primarily automated Wonderware System Platform design and associated services implementation which ensures that a pre-defined level of operational performance will be met during a specified, limited time frame.

Understanding Virtualization

Disaster Recovery (DR) can be defined as the organizational, hardware and software preparations for Wonderware System Platform recovery or continuation of critical System Platform infrastructure after a natural or human-induced disaster.

While these definitions are general and allow for a variety of HA and DR designs, this implementation guide focuses on virtualization, an indispensable element in creating the redundancy necessary for HA and DR solutions.

The virtualized environment described in this guide is based on Microsoft Hyper-V technology incorporated in the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system, and on VMware technology.