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The Use of Virtual Machines in Manufacturing: An Overview
by Bob Rose, EnteGreat

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Paper Overview
Virtualization technology is a way to leverage hardware resources and to reduce the amount of money needed for hardware, but there are additional benefits and additional ways to reduce costs.  Virtual machines (VMs) can play an important role in facilitating systems development and testing; they can be valuable tools for security and disaster recovery; and they can allow manufacturers to increase systems resources without the cost and disruption that comes from the construction work required to remodel or expand the computer rooms within plants that house hardware.  In this paper, we explain how virtualization works, review the pros and cons of using VMs in manufacturing companies, and provide guidelines for evaluating when to use virtualization.

Paper Outline

• Introduction
• Why Virtualized Machines Were Created
• How Virtualization Works
• How Virtual Machines Can Be Used in Manufacturing
  • Space limitations for computer hardware
  • Development and testing of new systems
  • Disaster recovery and business continuance
  • IT resource flexibility
• How to Evaluate When to Use Virtualization
  • Infrastructure
  • Costs
  • Maintenance
  • Training
  • Peripheral contention
  • Application separation
  • Application availability
• Conclusion

About the Author
Bob Rose, Infrastructure Manager and Senior Consultant for EnteGreat, has over 26 years of experience in engineering and computer technology, including 11 years of experience in manufacturing. Bob has done consulting work within the Research Engineering, Telecommunications, Food and Beverage, Consumer Products, Pulp and Paper, and Steel industries. Bob's papers, technical sessions, and training classes have helped people throughout these industries gain a better understanding of how to apply specific technologies both effectively and profitably to real-world business issues that affect their manufacturing systems within the Enterprise IT environment.

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