Virtual servers help Robins 'go green' Published Oct. 17, 2008 By Wayne Crenshaw 78 ABW/PA ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Robins is changing the way computers interact in order to significantly reduce the number of servers through "virtualization," which conserves energy and improves operating efficiency. Virtualization involves making computers work together through a virtual server rather than a physical one, said Terry Stewart, flight director of the 78th Communications Group. A "software shell" is created to mimic an actual server, so that computers can operate on a common hardware platform, much like Microsoft's Word, Excel and PowerPoint programs operate under the same operating system, Mr. Stewart explained. To the user, Mr. Stewart said, the virtual server would operate the same as an actual server. In the servers that have been switched over so far, the users don't even notice the difference, he said. "We try to do it transparently," he said. "We usually do it on the weekend. They come in Monday morning and access applications and they never know. For most people it's impossible to tell whether you are accessing a physical stand-alone server or a virtual." The computer would have better processing, memory and data-storage ability, running any application and almost any operating system. Also, when a physical server crashes, computers tied to it would be disrupted. But with the virtual server, one computer could crash and the others would operate uninterrupted. The driving motive behind the switch is the effort to meet federal mandates and local management directives to reduce energy consumption, but Mr. Stewart said that's not necessarily the biggest benefit. The virtualization, he said, is also important for the improved operating efficiency and reduced maintenance costs because there are fewer servers. The 69 servers already virtualized at the Robins Data Center over the past year and half achieves the same pollution reduction as removing 207 cars from the road. The reduction means 1.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions have been eliminated annually. The environmental impact is also the equivalent of planting 2,750 trees. From the efficiency standpoint, Mr. Stewart explained that a physical server typically uses its processor 8-15 percent of the time. The remaining time the server is idle, although it is still consuming power. Stewart compared it to having a Corvette and only driving it 30 miles per hour. Effectively, he said, virtualization results in a 70-percent or more efficiency increase. In the event of a spike in usage, resources such as processors, memory and hard drive space can be added to that virtual until the spike is over. The user would never know it happened, Mr. Stewart said. The Robins Data Center is currently achieving a 10 to 1 reduction in the number of servers through the virtual environment, Mr. Stewart said. The center is also reducing the number of servers through consolidation, combining applications and databases into fewer machines. Servers might previously have held a single database or application, but through consolidation servers hold multiple databases or applications. In the first eight months of fiscal 2008, 74 servers were eliminated, saving $1.2 million in hardware costs. The effort to reduce the number of servers through virtualization has been going on for over a year and will continue, Mr. Stewart said. For the servers that are still needed, the Robins Data Center is moving to more compact "blade servers." The blade servers have power management firmware that automatically switches power saving modes when demand is low, Mr. Stewart said. The blades can be incorporated into the virtual systems, Mr. Stewart said, which also helps meet special performance needs of unique applications. The Data Center is the central point for most of the data processing on the base.