  Virtualization is a very popular solution to many problems in datacenter
management. It offers increased utilization of existing system resources
through effective consolidation, negating the need for more servers and
additional rack space. Furthermore, it offers essential capabilities in terms
of disaster recovery and potential savings on energy and maintenance costs.
However, these benefits may be tempered by the increased complexities of
securing virtual infrastructure. Do the benefits of virtualization outweigh the
risks? In this study, the authors evaluated the functionalities of the basic
components of virtual datacenters, identified the major risks to the data
infrastructure, and present here several solutions for overcoming potential
threats to virtual infrastructure.
