What Is VM Sprawl?

Virtual machines are like sharks. They're not just going to die if you don't feed them; they'll eat everyone else in the sea. Do you know what we mean? When you run into a technical problem, the first thing to do is step back and try to understand what is going on. It is primarily true regarding virtual machine (VM) sprawl or virtualization sprawl, which will occur when the number and virtual machines connected to the network exceeds the network's capabilities. It's easy to see how this can happen: as more and more companies move towards a cloud-based infrastructure, they're looking for ways to reduce costs and increase efficiency. One way they do that is by consolidating multiple physical servers onto one physical server and then using virtualization software like VMware ESXi or Microsoft Hyper-V to create multiple instances of an operating system within that physical server. Few physical computers are being used, but many more examples of an operating system running on those computers at any given time. But what happens when all those instances start competing for resources? The answer is that each one gets less than if running alone, so your network performance and your application performance suffers. Virtualization sprawl occurs when there are too many virtual machines on a network. The term was coined in 2012 by Forrester Research analyst David Linthicum in his report titled "How to Manage Virtual Machine Sprawl." VMLM is a system that allows you to monitor and manage virtual machines. It's a common concept in tech, but what does it mean to you? If you're an admin, you can oversee the implementation, delivery and maintenance of all virtual machines during their existence. That way, all VM creation is monitored, and each created VM can be decommissioned once its purpose has been served!