Benefits of Data Center Virtualization Quiz & Flashcards

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Questions and Answers

What is a primary benefit of virtual data centers in terms of capacity?

Ability to purchase more physical appliances

Scalability and flexibility (correct)

Reduced overhead costs

Simplified management of physical infrastructure

What do cloud providers typically guarantee to their customers?

Reduced need for specialist staff

Lower costs for physical infrastructure

Simplified management of physical infrastructure

High availability and accessibility (correct)

What is a key advantage of transferring data center responsibility to a cloud vendor?

Reduced need for scalability and flexibility

Improved resiliency in physical data centers

Ability to focus on core business objectives (correct)

Increased control over physical infrastructure

What is a key characteristic of virtual data centers?

Hardware is fully virtualized Signup and view all the answers

What is a benefit of virtual data centers in terms of IT staff workload?

Decreased IT staff workload Signup and view all the answers

What is a key difference between virtual and physical data centers?

Virtual data centers provide additional capacity at need Signup and view all the answers

What is the benefit of introducing additional links in a data center network?

To eliminate single points of failure Signup and view all the answers

What is a key advantage of using virtual data centers over physical ones?

Reduced overhead costs and increased flexibility Signup and view all the answers

What problem can arise in a network topology when additional links are introduced?

Packet loops Signup and view all the answers

What is a key benefit of deploying data storage and applications in a virtual data center?

Improved resiliency Signup and view all the answers

What is one of the primary benefits of using a hypervisor in a Virtual Data Center?

Efficient utilization of hardware resources Signup and view all the answers

What is one way to deal with packet loops in a network topology?

Implementing a spanning tree protocol Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of Management and Orchestration tools in a VDC?

Managing and automating the provisioning, configuration, and monitoring of VDC components Signup and view all the answers

What is the advantage of using IP layer routing in a data center network?

It avoids packet loops Signup and view all the answers

What is the main advantage of using Virtual Storage in a VDC?

Flexible allocation of storage resources Signup and view all the answers

What is a Virtual Data Center (VDC)?

A pool of cloud-based infrastructure resources Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary purpose of virtual switches, routers, and load balancers in a VDC?

Enabling communication between VMs and external networks Signup and view all the answers

What is the advantage of a Virtual Data Center (VDC)?

It eliminates the need for an on-premise data center Signup and view all the answers

What is the main benefit of using Virtual Machines in a VDC?

Efficient utilization of hardware resources Signup and view all the answers

What is the benefit of using a hybrid L3/L2 switching network in a data center?

It ensures that Ethernet subnets have no loops Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of Security components in a VDC?

Implementing security measures such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems Signup and view all the answers

What is the advantage of using redundant connectivity via IP layer routing?

It provides redundant connectivity Signup and view all the answers

What is the main advantage of using a Virtual Data Center?

Increased scalability and flexibility Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary purpose of a hypervisor in a VDC?

Allowing multiple VMs to run on a single physical server Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Virtualized Data Center

A virtualized data center is a data center with some or all of its hardware virtualized, including servers, storage, network devices, power distribution systems, and cooling systems.

Benefits of a Virtual Data Center

Virtual data centers provide flexibility and scalability, similar to cloud resources.
They reduce overhead by allowing additional capacity to be leased as needed, rather than maintaining a physical data center.
Virtual data centers simplify management, as the cloud provider is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure stack, freeing up IT staff to focus on core business objectives.
They improve resiliency, as cloud providers guarantee high availability and accessibility.
Virtual data centers allow businesses to focus on their core objectives, without the distraction of managing physical infrastructure.

Virtual Data Center Components

Virtual machines (VMs) are software-based emulations of physical computers that run on a hypervisor, with their own operating system, applications, and virtual hardware resources.
Virtual networking enables communication between VMs within the VDC and with external networks, including virtual switches, routers, and load balancers.
Virtual storage provides a centralized, software-defined storage pool for VMs, allowing for flexible allocation of storage resources and features like snapshotting, replication, and data deduplication.
The hypervisor is the foundation of a VDC, allowing multiple VMs to run on a single physical server, enabling efficient utilization of hardware resources.
Management and orchestration tools control and automate the provisioning, configuration, and monitoring of VDC components.
Security components in a VDC include virtual firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and access control mechanisms to protect the VDC and its workloads from unauthorized access and cyber threats.

Data Center Network Architecture

To eliminate single points of failure, multiple links are used from access switches to the intra-DC network and from ToR switches to aggregation switches.
Introducing additional links can create loops in the network topology, which can be dealt with using spanning tree protocol, IP layer routing, or hybrid L3/L2 switching networks.