Let's go Virtual

The latest trend in IT is to purchase a larger server and split it into multiple virtual servers. Not only is this more cost effective, but it also adds greater flexibility. Below are some pros and cons I have discovered while setting up Solidworks Enterprise PDM with virtual servers:

Pros:

– Can divide applications across multiple servers (DB server, Web server, Application server, File server)

– Can give access to users that normally wouldn’t get server access. ex. PDM administrator (quite a few companies have an Engineer in this role)

– Easy to make a test server (can clone the production server and if it’s on same physical computer the hardware will be the same as well)

– Can reboot a virtual computer and not affect all of the applications. ex Web application not working just reboot the web server.

Cons

– Hardware failure will affect multiple virtual servers

– Increased Operating system cost. Each virtual server needs it’s own operating system

– More back-up procedures. Each server will need to be backed up.

So while there are cons to running a virtual server, most companies feel the pros outweigh the cons.

If you have question or want to explore setting up your Solidworks Enterprise PDM system on virtual servers please contact us at www.inflow-tech.com.