When to Use Zones
Zones are ideal for environments that consolidate a number of applications on a single server. The cost and complexity of managing numerous physical machines make it advantageous to consolidate several applications on larger, more scalable servers.
The following figure shows zones that create separate execution environments for running an application in a production environment in a native zone and a kernel zone running a different SRU. Another native zone is used for developing the application. An additional zone maintains an environment to run legacy versions on Oracle Solaris 10. All zones run on the same server that is running an Oracle Solaris 11 global zone.
Figure 1 Zones Server Consolidation Example
Zones enable more efficient resource utilization on your system. Dynamic resource reallocation permits unused resources to be shifted to other zones as needed. Fault and security isolation mean that poorly behaved applications do not require a dedicated and underutilized system. With the use of zones, these applications can be consolidated with other applications.
Zones allow you to delegate some administrative functions while maintaining overall system security.