(Todd R. Weiss, SearchServerVirtualization.com) Despite the many benefits of server virtualization, the technology still poses challenges for corporate data centers. TechTarget's recent "Virtualization Decisions 2009 Purchasing Intentions Survey" asked users to identify their server virtualization challenges, and the list was substantial. Backing up virtual machine data and managing storage are two of the biggest challenges for both VMware and Microsoft shops, according to the results.

VMware server virtualization challenges
Out of 386 VMware users who responded to the question, 36% said I/O bottlenecks are a challenge, 30% named backing up virtual machine (VM) data and 28% listed storage management. Christian J. Metz, the director of IT at the Orange County United Way in Irvine, Calif., which uses VMware widely in its data center, said data backup and server availability monitoring are his biggest server virtualization challenges. "VMware has a virtualization backup console, but it's a costly add-on - one that his nonprofit can't afford," he said. "The backup console also requires a plug-in tool at an additional cost. The functionality that should really be there isn't really there: the ability to back up an entire server," he added.

To work around the problem without buying expensive add-ons, the United Way's IT team had to write custom scripts to perform its system backups. "When it comes server availability monitoring and metrics, the issue is that VMware doesn't include a built-in real-time monitoring tool," Metz said. "The built-in tool gives only point-in-time data on performance, and third-party tools that would provide greater insight are too expensive for his group to purchase," he said. His team has done some workarounds to improve monitoring, but the process still falls short.