With the new impetus to be seen “Green” the IT industry has realized this imperative and has also embraced the “Green” direction. This new thrust is economically beneficial and socially responsible as it helps to reduce carbon emissions globally that negatively impact the environment.

Manufactures of CPUs and computer hardware actively advertise their products not only as faster speed and superior technology utilized, but also energy efficient.

Virtualization of the server environment is on the rise as more companies realize the benefit of the physical reduction in space required within server rooms and dedicated data centers. Additional benefits such as hardware, operational, maintenance and management cost reduction can be reaped with the use of this technology. It is predicted that spending on virtualization products will be more than $15 billion by 2011.

Although virtualization of the server environment can reap substantial ROI there exist some security considerations within this environment. Virtualization brings a new set of security problems related to the operating systems and hardware and software deployment. This configuration should be thoroughly analyzed and tested before migration. Hardware and software patching have to be considered when building a server with disparate OS’ for each virtual machine. If unauthorized access was gained to a virtual server, would all other virtual systems on the same hardware platform be at risk? It is questions such as this that has to be addressed before forging ahead with virtualization and reaping the benefits this technology can offer.

• WCS Technology Consulting services can help you research, develop and implement the appropriate policies and procedures for virtualization of server environments.
• WCS Security Consulting Services can help you design and implement the appropriate protection mechanisms for virtualization environments.