Blade server technology is leading the way in creating virtualized I/O capabilities for the data center. Agile data centers require the ability to maintain connectivity and security as applications migrate for availability, performance, or maintenance requirements.
By implementing I/O virtualization, network connections and security can move with an application or remain associated with specific processor slots. The ability to manage I/O virtualization varies but generally requires:
- Manual Media Access Control (MAC)/World Wide Name (WWN) assignment and migration.
- Automated I/O migration and policy creation.
- Integration with network and enterprise management tools.
I/O virtualization technology has begun to arrive so IT staff must understand the impact on virtual and agile data centers.