Server virtualization technology is applied to virtualize and encapsulate all unique information of a server as an image that is stored on a storage area network at one site and replicated on a storage area network at another site to provide high availability of system resources and data recovery capabilities. In one embodiment, a virtualized server system (100) includes a primary site (110), a secondary site (130), and a computer executable control application (150). The primary site (110) includes a storage area network (112), at least one primary virtual server platform (114), and at least one primary virtual server stored as at least one image (116) on the storage area network (112). The control application (150) directs replication of the primary virtual server image (116) onto a storage area network (132) at the secondary site (130) to create a corresponding replicated virtual server image (138). The control application (150) also monitors operation of the primary virtual server platform (114) and associates the replicated virtual server image (138) with a secondary virtual server (134) at the secondary site (130) in the event that a problem is detected with the primary site virtual server (114).