Microsoft Hyper-V Storage Servers

How Does Hyper-V Work?

There are necessary parts required by Hyper-V that work together to enable you to create and run virtual machines. The combination of these parts is referred to as the virtualisation platform. These parts are installed as a group when you install the Hyper-V role.

The parts in this set include Windows hypervisor, the virtual machine bus (VMbus), Hyper-V Virtual Management Service, virtualisation service provider (VSP), the virtualisation WMI provider and virtual infrastructure driver (VID).

Hyper-V also possesses tools for connectivity and management. These can be installed both on the same computer that Hyper-V role is installed on and on computers where the Hyper-V role is not installed. These tools include Hyper-V Manager, Windows PowerShell Direct, Hyper-V module for Windows PowerShell and Virtual Machine Connection (which is sometimes referred to as VMConnect).

When purchasing a Broadberry storage solution, installation of Microsoft Hyper-V can be taken care of by our trained engineers.

Virtualisation

More companies than ever before are switching to virtualisation. There are a huge number of ways that virtualisation can help your business. Here are a few –

• Speed of Recovery: Should a potentially catastrophic system failure or disaster occur, virtualisation enables quicker recovery of IT resources which allows for enhanced business continuity and revenue.
• Improved Scalability: Designed for scalability, virtualised environments allow for more flexibility with regards to organisation growth. Rather than buying more infrastructure components, new applications and upgrades can be very simply implemented with virtualisation.
• Savings in Cost and Space: When you switch to virtualisation you make significant savings on the cost of IT infrastructure. The savings in cost also extend to reduced technical personnel and energy consumption. Space is saved as there is less needed to house an IT environment.
• Increased Return on Investment: The savings in costs and the enhanced speed of recovery combine to increase the overall return on investment.

Key Features

Dynamic Memory

One of the key features of Hyper-V is Dynamic Memory. Dynamic Memory is a memory allocation feature which pools the hosts memory and distributes resources to virtual machines that require it. When this feature is enabled, the VM discloses the amount of memory it requires and the host provides that amount plus some extra that is used as a buffer. Dynamic Memory rebalances the hosts memory in one-second intervals and allows for VMs to be prioritised with regards to memory usage.

Nested Virtualisation

Another feature is Nested Virtualisation. Nested virtualisation refers to running a virtualised environment within a virtualised environment. Nested virtualisation is an important factor in test environments. Hyper-V can now be nested to simulate whole virtualised environments, without the sky-high cost of dedicated equipment.

Trusted Platform Module

The virtual Trusted Platform Module (TPM) allows you to encrypt your virtual machine with the BitLocker technology from Microsoft Corp. There are many advantages to utilising TPM technology. The main benefits include being able to generate, store and limit the usage of cryptographic keys and ensuring the integrity of the platform through taking and storing security measurements.

Host Resources Protection

With Host Resources Protection, the VM will be prevented from using any resources other than the ones that have been allotted to it. The virtual machines are constantly monitored for any additional activity and if any is detected, the VM is penalised through being assigned less resources, so that the performance of the other VMs is not affected. This is an important feature as virtual machines that have become infected often end up running at 100% CPU load, without any warning. This causes problems in the other virtual machines and even the Hyper-V host itself.

CyberStore Storage Appliances

The Broadberry CyberStore Storage Appliances feature zero vendor lock-in.

The majority of brands in this industry take advantage of vendor lock-in to keep you tied into their ecosystem. It benefits them; however, it restricts your business. Especially as you continue to continue to evolve as a business.

Broadberry storage servers are never vendor locked, you will always retain the freedom to use whatever third-party hardware you wish with your CyberStore storage appliance, granting you full control of your data centre.

In addition to being free of vendor lock-in, Broadberry CyberStore storage appliances feature full compatibility with all major storage server software, meaning you have all the control and will always be able to switch to another OS if the need arises. This becomes really important as your business continues to grow and your needs evolve.