John Sheehy e-TechServices.com, Inc. 08:00 16 Aug 2004 -- Session 6830 Server Consolidation:...

John Sheehy

e-TechServices.com, Inc.

08:00 16 Aug 2004 -- Session 6830

Server Consolidation: Maximizing Your Shared Resources

1Copyright 2004 John SheehySession 6830 – Aug 16 2004

Overview

• Server Consolidation Background

• Shared Resources

• Utilization Strategies

• Examples

• Resources

• Questions/Contact Information


What is a Server Consolidation?

• Definition of Consolidate• join together into one whole; unite

• Definition of Server Consolidation• Merging of server resources into a well-planned environment

• Two Main Types of Server Consolidation• Physical

• Move servers to fewer locations; gather servers together

• Rationalization• Move workloads to fewer servers; today likely involves partitioning


Why Perform a Server Consolidation?

• Business needs usually drive server consolidation efforts

• Align current IT environment with business needs• Reduce Costs (TCO)• Reduce Complexity• Increase Efficiency• Increase Flexibility• Increase Return on Investment (ROI)• Manage Risks• Integrate acquired/merged business units• Centralize Services• Respond to Market Forces• Eliminate unnecessary redundancy


Common Goals

• Reduce Costs (TCO)• Software Licensing• Maintenance/Support• Staff• Facilities/Operations

• Electricity, HVAC, Network

• Operating Lease Stream

• Reduce Computing Sites

• Improve Availability

• Simplify Disaster Recovery

• Improve Resource Utilization

• Improve Manageability


Common Server Consolidation Benefits• Reduced TCO

• Improved Service Levels

• Eased Disaster Recovery

• Improved Flexibility

• Improved Resource Utilization

• Improved Manageability

• Reduced Facility Requirements

• Redeployment/ Retirement of older assets


Server Consolidation Methodologies

• IBM ALIGN-lite• Four Step process; much quicker than ALIGN; focuses on one platform

• IBM ALIGN• Six step process; typically takes three to five weeks to complete

• IBM SCORPION• Longer-term analysis; more encompassing of financial considerations

and business value ; usually IGS engagement

• e-TechServices Rationalize


IBM ALIGN-lite Methodology

1. Qualify -- identify potential areas of consolidation and savings

2. Profile Environment -- collect detailed information about applications, servers, etc

3. Analyze Environment -- develop optimization recommendations

4. Detailed Analysis & Implementation -- Refine, Assure, Implement


IBM ALIGN Methodology

1. Qualify -- identify potential areas of consolidation and savings

2. Profile Environment -- collect detailed information about applications, servers, etc

3. Analyze 'Islands' -- identify and prioritize groups of servers

4. Detailed Analysis & Design -- design solution, perform TCO analysis

5. Implement -- Perform migration, etc.

6. Validate -- Was the design criteria met?


IBM Scorpion

1. Define the study scope with the IT executive sponsor

2. Collect Data

3. Conduct comprehensive interviews with staff

4. Analyze the IT budget and personnel costs

5. Analyze the server and application data

6. Perform efficiency and service quality health check

7. Outline solution areas and a credible migration path

8. Build the investment case

9. Deliver final recommendations to the IT executive sponsor


e-TechServices Rationalize

1. Define Business Goals

2. Prioritize Business Goals

3. Profile environment -- servers, applications, lease streams, etc.

4. Analyze environment

5. Design first draft of solution

6. Analyze 3-year TCO

7. Iterate over solution until goals are met

8. Implement/Validate


Server Consolidation Tools

• Performance Monitoring/Data Collection• SAR• iostat• vmstat• svmon• Tivoli Monitoring for Transaction Performance• dsh

• Questionnaires

• Modelling/Analysis• Spreadsheets• BEST/1


Server Consolidation Tools (cont.)

• Design• LPAR Worksheets• P5 LPAR Validation Tool (LVT)• Manuals/SAPR Guides


Server Consolidation Failures

• Why?• Inexperience in analysis• Hardware centric analysis• No long-term understanding• Often about selling hardware to fit X, rather than analyzing X

• Avoiding failures• Verify analysis and design experience of analyst• Perform in-depth analysis of all business and technical needs• Don’t try to do everything at once• Have a multi-staged plan for the future (over 5-years)• Often a services engagement


What resources are shared?

• Budget• Time• CPU• Memory• Network• Space• HVAC• UPS

• Generator• Personnel• Backup• Storage• Software Licenses/Maintenance


Strategies

• Reduce OS images• Combine multiple instances of the same application onto fewer servers• Combine multiple components from a single application onto fewer

servers (database and application tiers)

• Workload Management• AIX Workload Manager (WLM)• Cross Partition WLM (AIX 5.2 and 5.3)

• Implement centralized (cluster) management tools• CSM• Backup/Recovery (TSM, NetBackup, etc)• Monitoring (Tivoli Enterprise Console)


Strategies (cont.)

• Pooling of shared resources• Static LPARs• Dynamic LPARs• Advanced Virtualization

• Micro-partitioning• Shared-pool

• Physical Consolidation• Reduce data centers and server sites• Rack and stack servers in a centralized location• Deploy alternate power sources generators and UPS

systems to build a hardened environment


Strategies (cont.)

• TCO Reduction• Replace higher cost (maintenance, power, and floor space) servers

with lower cost, more reliable alternatives• Redeploy or retire older equipment based on TCO• Reduce software license costs due to processor performance

improvements

• Group along natural boundaries


Synthetic Example

• Five legacy servers, each an IBM RS/6000® 44P-270, running at 375-MHz with 4MB L2 caches and 7-GB of memory

• Running identical software stacks, each with AIX 5L V5.2, WebSphere® WAS5.0, and DB2® Universal Database V8.1 FP4

• Consolidated onto 4-way p5-570 with five Micro-partitions, physical I/O, migrated to AIX 5.3


Real World Example

• Large Transportation Company

• 35 Servers – RS/6000, pSeries, Sun

• Consolidated onto five p650s using LPARs

• Reduced Lease and Maintenance stream from $62,600 to $39,165 per month

• Increased Availability and Flexibility


Resources

• IGS Server Consolidation• http://www-1.ibm.com/services/us/its/pdf/consolidation.pdf

• Server Consolidation on IBM eServer pSeries Systems• http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg246966.pdf

• IBM Storage Solutions for Server Consolidation• http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg245355.pdf

• LPAR Heterogeneous Workloads on the IBM eServer pSeries 690 System

• http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpapers/pdfs/redp0425.pdf


Resources (cont.)

• Storage migration and consolidation with IBM TotalStorage products

• http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpapers/pdfs/redp3888.pdf

• Introduction to Advanced POWER Virtualization on IBM eServer p5 Servers

• http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/pdfs/sg247940.pdf

• Transition from PSSP to Cluster Systems Management (CSM)

• http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/pdfs/sg246967.pdf


Resources (cont.)

• IBM eServer p5-570 Server Consolidation Using POWER5 Virtualization White Paper

• http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/pseries/hardware/whitepapers/570_serverconsol.pdf

• LPAR Validation Tool (LVT)• http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/iseries/lpar/

systemdesign.htm

• IBM eServer pSeries Information Center• http://publib16.boulder.ibm.com/pseries/en_US/infocenter/base/


Questions?

• Questions?


Contact Information

• John Sheehy

• [email protected]

• (352) 333-0112

• http://www.e-techservices.com/

John Sheehy e-TechServices.com, Inc. 08:00 16 Aug 2004 -- Session 6830 Server Consolidation:...

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