Get Familiar With Virtual Linux Server

The Linux Server is a highly scalable and highly available server built on a cluster of real servers, with the load balancer running on the Linux operating system. The architecture of the server is fully transparent to end users, and the users interact as if it were a single high-performance virtual server.

Technology Overview

Virtual Linux Servers implement highly available server solutions via clustering. It is important to note that cluster computing consists of three distinct branches:

Compute clustering: (such as Beowulf) uses multiple machines to provide greater computing power for computationally intensive tasks. This type of clustering is not addressed by Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

High-availability: (HA) clustering uses multiple machines to add an extra level of reliability for a service or group of services.

Load-balance clustering: uses specialized routing techniques to dispatch traffic to a pool of servers.

Customer Benefits

Virtualization generally results in a lower-cost solution over standard dedicated physical servers. Along with the cost savings, opting for virtualization provides other operational benefits, such as:

Compliance with the NIH Greening Initiative: Virtualization decreases the number of administered physical servers and so reduces the need for floor space as well as overall power and cooling requirements.

Faster and More Flexible Provisioning: Virtualization expedites most steps of the server provisioning process. The flexibility makes implementing additional servers easier. Ease and speed of implementation of additional VMs provides customers with the flexibility to request additional test or development servers to validate system changes.

Decreased Downtime: Virtualization allows servers to remain accessible during host server maintenance or failure.

Higher Capacity Utilization: With virtualization, customers can easily increase capacity. Shared CPU and memory resources can be increased or decreased among virtual machines to allow for peak or sudden workloads.

Secure and Robust Systems: Virtualization maximizes uptime of business critical systems and offers effective business continuity.