Virtually weird...

We're using virtual machines, created and managed by Virtual Box, to create a test environment. Rather than have multiple machines that mirror the multiple deployed machines, we're creating three machines on one hardware platform. It's a common model and an excellent example of how Virtual Box and tools like it can be used.

There's a lot of parading about with regards to virtual machines. There's a common belief that virtual machines are a panacea--a way to consolidate multiple pieces of hardware onto a single hardware platform. The battle cry is raised because this is seen as a way to save money by reducing the amount of hardware. Organizations are jumping on the bandwagon and joining the parade in droves. But does it all make sense?

There are certainly situations in which having virtual machines not only makes sense but saves money. The situation we're involved, for example, is a classic case: rather than replicate a bunch of deployed hardware, we're using virtual machines to replicate a deployed environment for experimenting and testing. Before jumping into virtual machines with both feet, though, you need to ask yourself a few questions:

1) What problem am I trying to solve? If it's money, realize that virtual machines may only give you the appearance of saving money. We'll get to the reason in a moment.

2) What am I expecting? If you're expecting multiple virtual machines to have bare metal performance, you're going to be disappointed. Set your expectations up front.

3) Do I have a battle plan? It's nice to think that installing Virtual Box or VMWare is the answer to all your problems, but you'd best be prepared for the eventuality that things aren't going to work out the way you think.

Saving money shouldn't be anywhere near the top of your list for implementing virtual machines. You need to have a hardware base that's highly available and extremely reliable, otherwise, you've just created a huge, single point of failure. You also need hardware that's powerful--more powerful than if you used a single machine. A single platform that will handle, for example, a web server vm and an SQL server vm would probably cost you more than two pieces of hardware capable of running each function at the required level. Furthermore, if you're going for reliability, you may want separate machines anyway--multiple web servers, for example, add a level of robustness that you simply won't get from multiple virtual machines.

Don't just join the parade cause it looks good and is going by. Think first, then join in. It is really a lot of fun.