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The discipline of systems management is composed largely of managing the computing endpoint. The “endpoint” is traditionally a computer that takes the form of an application/process server or an end-user desktop/laptop. This definition doesn’t cover all endpoint types or devices but does represent a large enough population size for purposes of this discussion. Historically, such a physical endpoint is composed of hardware (CPU, memory, motherboard, disk, etc.), operating system and application layers to form a fully functional and operational endpoint. In today’s world, endpoints are taking on an additional form and include a new layer – a virtual one.

Without trying to define all areas of “virtualization,” let’s focus specifically on “virtual endpoints,” also referred to as “virtual machines” or “virtual containers.” Virtual endpoints or machines are containers that include operating systems and application layers identical to traditional physical endpoints. These virtual containers are instantiated on top of a virtualization infrastructure supported by the physical layers of the computing hardware and storage facilities. In fact, more times than not, multiple virtual machines are aggregated on top of a shared physical computing and storage layer. The hardware physical layers are essentially abstracted from the virtual machines by the virtualization infrastructure. This results in a new generation of endpoints that functionally and operationally look and feel like traditional endpoints; however, they inherently possess a newfound level of independence from the physical layers that support them. This new form of “virtualization” offers both opportunities and challenges for systems management solutions.

Traditionally, the systems management life cycle, also known as endpoint management, begins at the OS-provisioning stage and continues on through the “maintenance management” stages. Classic systems management lifecycle diagrams depict a continuous flow of activity revolving around OS deployment, endpoint discovery, inventory, patching, application distribution, configuration/policy management, backup, recovery, service desk, and reporting. From a system’s point-of-view, the cycle naturally begins at the provisioning of an operating system whether it’s Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, or another OS onto the physical hardware that eventually becomes the operational endpoint computer.

Virtualization technology now extends the role of systems management, or extends the systems management cycle, to include the actual creation or instantiation of the virtual endpoint. This is what I call “endpoint instantiation” or “complete endpoint provisioning.” In the past, hardware was needed to begin the process of creating a functional endpoint: first hardware, then OS, then applications, etc. With virtual endpoints, hardware and storage concerns must still be addressed albeit not with every virtual endpoint instance. To provision one virtual endpoint or the first virtual endpoint, a virtual infrastructure on top of some physical hardware must be configured and deployed, but one payoff comes with the provisioning of a second, third, or fourth virtual endpoint on that common virtual layer. The provisioning of those subsequent virtual endpoints yields immediate return on the virtual infrastructure investment and, just as dramatically, provides systems management solutions with an opportunity to fully automate endpoint creation – the genesis of the endpoint, indeed biblical.

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