i3 Research Group, LLC

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ExploringCurrent ServerVirtualizationPracticesandPerceptions
April2012

Preparedby i3ResearchGroup,LLC 144MiraStreet FosterCity,California94404

i3 Research Group, LLC

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i3ResearchGroup,inconjunctionwithTrendMicro,recentlysurveyed362ITprofessionalsfrom theUS,UnitedKingdom,JapanandGermanytodeterminecurrentperceptionsandutilizationof virtualizationpractices.Basedontheresultsofthatresearch,thiswhitepaperprovidesspecific informationonservervirtualizationintodaysbusinessmarket. Summary Server virtualization is a growing trend in enterprise IT. Within the next year, IT professionals anticipate that virtualized machines will outnumber physical, nonvirtualized machines. And while virtualization technology offers many benefits, there are also a number of challenges. Trend Micro, a leading antimalware security software vendor for server virtualization, working closelywithITprofessionals,issucceedingatminimizingthoseconcernsandchallenges. UnderstandingITVirtualization VirtualizationispartofanoveralltrendinenterpriseIT.Togaugetrendsintheevolutionofthis dynamic movement i3 Research Group recently conducted an international study among companies of 750+ employees on current server virtualization practices, perceptions and concerns. Qualified survey participants were IT professionals whose primary job responsibility included server virtualization in companies where virtualized servers are protected by anti malware security software and have been in production/deployed for at least 3 months. In total,362ITprofessionalsfromtheUS,UnitedKingdom,JapanandGermanyparticipatedinthe study. As expected, server virtualization is widely embraced in todays marketplace. In addition to virtualized servers, some 70% of the survey respondents also indicated their organization has alreadydeployedoriscurrentlypilotingVirtualDesktopInfrastructure(VDI)technology. HighLevelofVirtualizationAcrossServerWorkloads When asked to identify the specific server workloads that are virtualized within their organization, it is apparent that organizations are working hard to virtualize many different server workloads. Currently database, apps, and virtual desktops are the most commonly virtualizedserverworkloads.
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Number of Server Workloads Currently Virtualized in Organization Total Sample

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Specific Server Workloads Virtualized Total Sample

Number of Server Workloads Currently Virtualized in Organization By Country

Specific Server Workloads Virtualized By Country

In general, US enterprises tended to be further along in their adoption of virtualization technologies, than their counterparts in Germany, UK, or Japan. In fact, more than 50% of the US respondents indicated their organizations had successfully virtualized one or more of the server workloads listed above; almost 40% had virtualized all eleven. But the other countries werent far behind. More than 50% of the international respondents indicated their company had 5 or more server workloads virtualized. And of the respondents who indicated their organization currently has more physical unvirtualized host servers than virtualized machines, some60%saidtheyexpectthattoflipflopwithinthenextyear,withvirtualizedmachinessoon outnumberingunvirtualizedservers.

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i3 Research Group, LLC

CPUistheMostCommonCriticalResource

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Server virtualization managers were in agreement that the most common critical resource withintheirvirtualenvironmentwastheCPU.MemoryandI/Owerealsohighlightedascritical resources for specific types of workloads. As seen in the chart below, there were some differencesincriteriabetweencountries.
Server Workload Most Common Critical Resource within Virtual Environment GERMANY App Collaboration Database DNS Email File FTP Print Proxy Virtual Desktops Web

JAPAN CPU CPU CPU CPU CPU CPU CPU CPU CPU CPU CPU

CPU CPU CPU CPU, Memory, I/O PS CPU I/O PS CPU CPU I/O PS CPU I/O PS

UNITED KINGDOM CPU CPU CPU CPU CPU Memory I/O PS Memory CPU, Memory, I/O PS CPU CPU

UNITED STATES CPU Memory Memory I/O PS CPU Memory I/O PS I/O PS CPU Memory Memory

The average peak utilization level of their virtualized server was fairly consistent when working withalloftheserverworkloads:anywherefrom6080%.
Average Peak Utilization: 60-80%

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ComplexityofManagingAntiMalwareinVirtualEnvironments Maybe most importantly, Trend Micro users, using Trend Micro Deep Security software reported significantly lower levels of concern regarding potential challenges in managing the TrendMicrotoolwithintheirvirtualizedenvironment. ThisindicatesahighlevelofconfidenceintheTrendMicroproductandisagoodindicatorthat TrendMicroDeepSecurityprovidestheneededsecurityfunctionalitywitheaseofuse.
Concerns/Challenges to Managing Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware Security Software in Virtual Environments
Scale: 1-Not Concerned/Challenging, 7-Very Concerned/Challenging

This lower level of concern among Trend Micro users is mirrored in their perception of the complexity of managing their antimalware security software. When we asked survey participantsto indicate the change in the complexity of managing theirantimalware security softwareastheirorganizationaddedmorevirtualmachinesforproduction,TrendMicro usersweresignificantlylesslikelythannonTrendMicrocustomerstosayithadincreased.
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i3 Research Group, LLC

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Change in Complexity of Managing Anti-Malware Security Software as More Virtual Machines are Added for Production

Moving forward, as enterprises around the world continue to migrate toward a virtualized environment,TrendMicrowillcontinuetoevolveprotectiontomeetthechangingneedsofan everincreasingvirtualizedworld. Trend Micro Deep Security software is designed to simplify security operations while accelerating the ROI of virtualization projects. As the industrys first solution to provide agentless security for VMware environments, Deep Security has earned a reputation for providing comprehensive, adaptive, and efficient server security. Thousands of organizations areusingDeepSecurityagentlessprotectiontodaywithintheirvirtualenvironments.

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