* [Topics](/en/topics "Topics") * [Automation and management](/en/topics/automation "Automation and management") * What is virtual infrastructure management? And how can automation help? What is virtual infrastructure management? And how can automation help? ======================================================================= Published November 26, 2024•*4*-minute read Copy URL Jump to section --------------- OverviewWhat is virtual infrastructure?What's involved in virtual infrastructure management?How can automation help? How can Red Hat help? Overview -------- Virtual infrastructure management is the coordination of software, IT resources, and other tools to manage virtual machines and related IT environments throughout their entire lifecycle. Many companies rely on [virtualization](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-virtualization) technology. It offers more scalability and flexibility than traditional IT infrastructure, while supporting many applications. But managing [virtual machines](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-a-virtual-machine) (VMs) and other virtualized infrastructure components can still be challenging. Regardless of how many VMs your organization runs and how complex your environments are, adopting a comprehensive management solution can make things easier. [Automation](/en/topics/automation) plays an important role in virtual infrastructure management. You can automate many of the tasks and processes required to manage VMs and related infrastructure components. This approach reduces the need for repeated, manual work that takes time and focus away from other business priorities. [Event-driven automation](/en/topics/automation/what-is-event-driven-automation) can also help you automatically respond to changing IT conditions, which helps to reduce Mean Time To Resolution (MTTR) and ensure smooth operations. [Automate your VM migration](/en/resources/automate-migration-and-operation-of-vm-brief) What is virtual infrastructure? And what are its benefits? ---------------------------------------------------------- To understand what virtual infrastructure is, it’s important to define its relationship to traditional [IT infrastructure](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-it-infrastructure)—the software and hardware components needed to operate and manage IT environments and services. Software includes packaged and home-grown applications, databases, web servers, operating systems (like [Red Hat® Enterprise Linux®](/en/technologies/linux-platforms/enterprise-linux)), and management tools. Hardware includes physical components like servers, storage systems, networking equipment, computers, and peripheral devices. And since hardware needs to be housed somewhere, IT infrastructure can also refer to onsite facilities like datacenters or server rooms. Virtual infrastructure includes many of the same capabilities as traditional infrastructure. But instead of being defined by its physical components, virtual infrastructure is made up of a software-defined environment—usually a VM. This environment is described as software-defined because it’s created by an application, called a [hypervisor](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-a-hypervisor), and abstracted from the physical hardware on which it runs. In a traditional environment, hardware is often dedicated to a single application or purpose—and, as a result, is rarely used at full capacity. But with [virtualization](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-virtualization), you can use a hypervisor to allocate your physical resources across multiple, isolated VMs. Each of these virtual machines can have a dedicated purpose, but since the hypervisor can distribute compute resources like CPU, memory, and storage to multiple VMs, you don’t need as many physical machines to support your IT operations. This means you can consolidate physical hardware so you only use what you need. Using fewer physical resources means you pay less for hardware, electricity, physical security, and facility costs. And since you don’t need to worry about purchasing more hardware when you need to deploy a new environment, virtual infrastructure is also easier to scale than traditional infrastructure. For example, you can quickly increase or decrease CPU usage in response to fluctuations in demand without having to set up additional hardware. What you need to know about VMware Automation with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Read the blog post](/en/blog/what-you-need-know-about-vmware-automation-red-hat-ansible "Read the blog post") What does virtual infrastructure management involve? ---------------------------------------------------- Virtual infrastructure management involves all of the tasks required to set up VMs and keep virtual environments running as intended. **VM migration** There are several reasons to [migrate a VM](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/migrate-vmware-to-openshift-virtualization). You might move a VM to a new host when you have to upgrade, add, or remove hardware devices on the existing host, or when you need to make a strategic decision to lower costs. This could involve migrating to an on-premises solution or to the cloud. Or, you might identify a host that is underutilized and move a VM onto it if the current host is overloaded. You might also migrate a VM to a different geographical location to achieve lower latency. **Day 2 management tasks** Once you’ve deployed or migrated a VM, you need to manage tasks on your [virtualization platform](/en/topics/virtualization/how-to-choose-a-virtualization-platform) of choice. Automation can help with full lifecycle operations to ensure that your virtual infrastructure continues to run as intended. These include: * Modifying operating system settings. * Installing software updates. * Applying security patches. * Creating, managing, and restoring VM snapshots and backups. * Re-allocating resources, like vCPU, memory, and storage. * Changing network adaptor settings. * Maintaining an inventory of all VMs. * De-emphasizing unused VMs through deprovisioning or moving them to lower-cost options. **Orchestration** In addition to VMs, you also need to coordinate and manage any related infrastructure—such as compute resources, networks, and cloud services. And if you’re operating multiple environments, you’ll need to be able to orchestrate management tasks across domains—this is often aided by a unified management tool or solution, like [Red Hat Ansible® Automation Platform](/en/technologies/management/ansible). [Watch: Automate VM migration at scale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdFrH8KgCiw) How can automation help with virtual infrastructure management? --------------------------------------------------------------- Automation plays an important role in virtual infrastructure management. Completing management tasks manually is time-consuming and inefficient. And when you repeat manual tasks often, you’re more likely to make mistakes that can take even more time to fix. By automating the tasks involved in virtual infrastructure management, you can keep VM sprawl under control, quickly scale VMs to meet current business demand, and minimize the amount of time you spend fixing errors. In particular, automation can help you: * Migrate VMs more efficiently and scale migrations up or down. * Enforce standard configurations and rulesets when provisioning VMs. * Orchestrate tasks across multi-vendor, multi-domain environments. * Replace manual management processes with fully automated workflows. * Update configurations and install applications with ease. * Manage related infrastructure—like network, storage, and more—in similar ways. This video can't play due to privacy settings To change your settings, select the "Cookie Preferences" link in the footer and opt in to "Advertising Cookies or try disabling adblockers." Learn how to migrate from VMware to Red Hat OpenShift with Ansible Automation Platform. Video duration: 2:25. Manage virtual infrastructure with confidence --------------------------------------------- [Get the resource](/en/engage/manage-virtual-infrastructure-with-confidence-ebook "Get the resource") How can Red Hat help? --------------------- [Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform](/en/technologies/management/ansible) includes everything you need to build, deploy, and manage end-to-end automation at scale for virtual infrastructure or any IT management need. It can help you migrate VMs to [Red Hat OpenShift® Virtualization](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/virtualization), a modern application platform–based on the open source projects KVM and Kubevirt–that can run virtual machines and containers side by side. And once you’ve migrated your virtual infrastructure, Ansible Automation Platform can help you manage Day 2 operations throughout the entire VM lifecycle on OpenShift Virtualization or your platform of choice. You can automate ongoing management tasks and orchestrate VMs with existing IT infrastructure, including essential components like networks, cloud services, databases, and [IT service management](/en/topics/automation/what-is-it-service-management-itsm) (ITSM) tools. If you’re just getting started with automation, you can use [Ansible Content Collections](/en/technologies/management/ansible/content-collections) to build automation jobs that help you manage and orchestrate VMs, regardless of where they’re running. You can access over 170 certified and validated content collections from Red Hat and our partners with an active Red Hat subscription. [Learn to automate migrations with Ansible Automation Platform](/en/technologies/management/ansible/automate-migrations-with-red-hat-ansible-automation-platform) Use case Virtual infrastructure management with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Automate virtual machine (VM) lifecycle management and prepare to modernize your virtual infrastructure with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. [Learn more about this use case](/en/technologies/management/ansible/virtual-infrastructure-management "Virtual infrastructure management with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform") Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform learning hub ------------------------------------------------ Explore learning materials and tools designed to help you use Red Hat® Ansible® Automation Platform, organized by the tasks you need to accomplish. [Keep reading](/en/technologies/management/ansible/learn "Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform learning hub") Keep reading ------------ ### What is a configuration management database (CMDB)? A configuration management database (CMDB) is used to manage information about IT components, including their attributes and relationships between them. [Read the article](/en/topics/automation/what-is-a-configuration-management-database-cmdb "article | what is a configuration management database (CMDB)?") ### What is cloud migration? And how can automation help? Cloud migration is the process of moving applications, workloads, and data to a public or private cloud. [Read the article](/en/topics/automation/what-is-cloud-migration "article | What is cloud migration? And how can automation help?") ### What is a software-defined data center (SDDC)? A software-defined data center (SDDC) is an IT management approach that abstracts traditional infrastructure components—such as compute, storage, and networking—and delivers them as software services. [Read the article](/en/topics/automation/what-is-a-sddc "article | What is a software-defined data center (SDDC)?") Automation and management resources ----------------------------------- ### Featured product * #### [Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform](/en/technologies/management/ansible) A platform for implementing enterprise-wide automation, no matter where you are in your automation journey. [See all products](/en/technologies/all-products "See all products") ### Related content * E-book [The state of virtualization](/en/engage/state-of-virtualization-ebook) * Blog post [Red Hat's virtualization journey: innovation in an evolving landscape](/en/blog/red-hats-virtualization-journey-innovation-evolving-landscape) * Blog post [Breaking the trilemma: discover how a TM Forum Catalyst Project unlocks network autonomy and efficiency](/en/blog/breaking-trilemma-discover-how-tm-forum-catalyst-project-unlocks-network-autonomy-and-efficiency) * Overview [Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization for defense IT operations](/en/resources/openshift-virtualization-for-defense-operations-overview) ### Related articles * [Ansible vs. Kubernetes: how they work together](/en/topics/automation/Ansible-vs-Kubernetes) * [What is cloud migration? And how can automation help?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-cloud-migration) * [What is a configuration management database (CMDB)?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-a-configuration-management-database-cmdb) * [What is a software-defined data center (SDDC)?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-a-sddc) * [What is IT automation?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-it-automation) * [Why choose Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform as your AI foundation?](/en/topics/automation/automation-and-ai) * [How to build an IT automation strategy](/en/topics/automation/build-an-automation-strategy) * [Virtualization vs Cloud: Understanding the Differences](/en/topics/cloud-computing/cloud-vs-virtualization) * [What is virtualization?](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-virtualization) * [Red Hat OpenShift on VMware](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/vmware) * [What is virtualization management?](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-virtualization-management) * [How to migrate VMs from VMware to Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/migrate-vmware-to-openshift-virtualization) * [KVM vs. VMware](/en/topics/virtualization/kvm-vs-vmware-comparison) * [How to choose a virtualization platform](/en/topics/virtualization/how-to-choose-a-virtualization-platform) * [What is KVM?](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-KVM) * [What is IT migration?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-it-migration) * [What is KubeVirt?](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-kubevirt) * [How to automate migrations with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform](/en/technologies/management/ansible/automate-migrations-with-red-hat-ansible-automation-platform) * [What is live migration?](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-live-migration) * [Why use Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform with Red Hat OpenShift?](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/ansible-on-openshift) * [Why choose Red Hat for virtualization?](/en/topics/virtualization/why-choose-red-hat-for-virtualization) * [What is CloudOps?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-cloudops) * [Why migrate virtual machines to Red Hat?](/en/topics/virtualization/why-migrate-your-virtual-machines-to-red-hat) * [Red Hat Satellite on Red Hat Enterprise Linux](/en/technologies/management/satellite/satellite-for-rhel) * [What is role-based access control (RBAC)?](/en/topics/security/what-is-role-based-access-control) * [Which Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform deployment option is right for you?](/en/topics/automation/ansible-deployment-options) * [What is an Ansible module—and how does it work?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-an-ansible-module) * [How to manage and automate applications at the edge](/en/topics/edge-computing/how-to-manage-automate-applications-edge) * [What is a virtual machine (VM)?](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-a-virtual-machine) * [How to build an automation Center of Excellence](/en/topics/automation/how-to-build-automation-center-of-excellence) * [What is orchestration?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-orchestration) * [How to adopt Automation as Code: Extending Infrastructure as Code into Policy as Code](/en/topics/automation/how-to-adopt-automation-as-code) * [What is a webhook?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-a-webhook) * [Learning Ansible basics](/en/topics/automation/learning-ansible-tutorial) * [Red Hat Insights data and application security](/en/technologies/management/insights/data-application-security) * [What is an Ansible Role—and how is it used?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-an-ansible-role) * [Containers vs VMs](/en/topics/containers/containers-vs-vms) * [What is data management?](/en/topics/data-services/what-is-data-management) * [Gain security with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform](/en/technologies/management/ansible/gain-security-with-red-hat-ansible-automation-platform) * [What is NetOps?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-netops) * [What is an Ansible Rulebook?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-an-ansible-rulebook) * [What is an Ansible Playbook?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-an-ansible-playbook) * [What is configuration management](/en/topics/automation/what-is-configuration-management) * [What is event-driven automation?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-event-driven-automation) * [Zero-Touch Provisioning and telco automation with Red Hat](/en/topics/telecommunications/zero-touch-provisioning-and-telco-automation-at-red-hat) * [What is infrastructure automation?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-infrastructure-automation) * [What is provisioning?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-provisioning) * [What is YAML?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-yaml) * [What is compliance management?](/en/topics/management/what-is-compliance-management) * [Understanding Ansible, Terraform, Puppet, Chef, and Salt](/en/topics/automation/understanding-ansible-vs-terraform-puppet-chef-and-salt) * [What is cloud orchestration?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-cloud-orchestration) * [Ansible vs. Chef: What you need to know](/en/topics/automation/ansible-vs-chef) * [What is IT service management (ITSM)?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-it-service-management-itsm) * [What is security automation?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-security-automation) * [Ansible vs. Salt: What you need to know](/en/topics/automation/ansible-vs-salt) * [What is a hypervisor?](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-a-hypervisor) * [Learn everything you need to know about Open RAN](/en/topics/5g-networks/what-is-open-ran) * [What is a configuration file?](/en/topics/linux/what-configuration-file) * [Ansible vs. Puppet: What you need to know](/en/topics/automation/ansible-vs-puppet) * [Ansible vs. Terraform, clarified](/en/topics/automation/ansible-vs-terraform) * [Why choose Red Hat for automation?](/en/topics/automation/why-choose-red-hat-for-automation) * [Ansible vs. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform](/en/technologies/management/ansible/ansible-vs-red-hat-ansible-automation-platform) * [VNF and CNF, what’s the difference?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/vnf-and-cnf-whats-the-difference) * [What is cloud automation?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-cloud-automation) * [What is network automation?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-network-automation) * [What are managed IT services?](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-are-managed-it-services) * [What is business process management?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-business-process-management) * [What is patch management (and automation)?](/en/topics/management/what-patch-management-and-automation) * [What is the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform automation controller?](/en/technologies/management/ansible/automation-controller-product-feature) * [What is Infrastructure as Code (IaC)?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-infrastructure-as-code-iac) * [What is SOAR?](/en/topics/security/what-is-soar) * [What is business process automation?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-business-process-automation) * [What is SD-WAN?](/en/topics/edge-computing/what-is-sd-wan) * [What is network virtualization?](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-network-virtualization) * [What is a radio access network?](/en/topics/5g-networks/what-is-radio-access-network) * [Automating Microsoft Windows with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform](/en/technologies/management/ansible/automate-microsoft-windows-with-ansible) * [What is deployment automation?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-deployment-automation) * [Business Optimization](/en/topics/automation/business-optimization) * [What is Kubernetes cluster management?](/en/topics/containers/what-is-kubernetes-cluster-management) * [What is SRE?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-sre) * [What is hyperconverged infrastructure?](/en/topics/hyperconverged-infrastructure/what-is-hyperconverged-infrastructure) * [What is software-defined networking?](/en/topics/hyperconverged-infrastructure/what-is-software-defined-networking) * [What is risk management?](/en/topics/management/what-is-risk-management) * [What is NFV?](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-nfv) * [What is network management?](/en/topics/management/what-is-network-management) * [What is robotic process automation (RPA?)](/en/topics/automation/what-is-robotic-process-automation) * [What is IT system life-cycle management?](/en/topics/management/it-system-life-cycle-management) * [What is an SOE?](/en/topics/management/what-is-an-soe) * [What is DevOps automation?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-devops-automation) * [What is container-native virtualization?](/en/topics/containers/what-is-container-native-virtualization) * [What is cloud management?](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-cloud-management) * [What's business automation?](/en/topics/automation/whats-business-automation) * [What is vRAN?](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-vran) [More about this topic](/en/topics/automation "More about this topic")