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For security directors at large organizations, securing virtualized data centers is a major concern. Server virtualization offers several benefits including better total cost of ownership, increased operational efficiencies and more flexible management capabilities. But server virtualization may also increase security risks. Virtual machines (VMs) themselves are no less secure than their physical counterparts, but organizations often apply different procedures to their deployment and management. In addition, server virtualization while offering some major architectural benefits, may at the same time, introduce new vulnerabilities if not properly addressed.

Traditional methods of isolating and securing servers such as firewalls and virtual local area networks (VLANs) do not translate well to virtualized environments. The static nature of these devices makes them too labor intensive and complex to support VM migration or large deployments. While some vendors have introduced virtual appliances, they only apply to virtualized environments and force organizations to take a silo approach to securing virtual machines. Yet another management paradigm adds more complexity and special training to already overburdened IT organizations.