Server Consolidation and Virtualization Joanne M. Kossuth, Vice President for Operations and CIO, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Definitions: Consolidation Implies combining workloads from separate machines/applications into a smaller number Combine heterogeneous workloads from multiple servers into a single larger server Multiple workloads may be combined under a single OS, reducing OS images. Multiple applications such as email or databases can be combined into a single system Centralized, physical, operational

Definitions: Virtualization Virtualization tools include: Partitions Virtual machines Resource management software All enable multiple workloads to run simultaneously on larger servers

Here is what Server Virtualization looks like:                                                                       

Approach Alternate approach to growing the data center Implications: Real estate Use less space Potential cost savings Requires fewer resources for renovations Allows for reclamation of space for other institutional needs

Implications, Cont. Energy usage Improves efficiency Uses less electricity Requires less cooling equipment “Greener” approach

Implications, Cont. Flexibility and agility Simplification Increases responsiveness to customers Allows for increased development and test opportunities Simplification Standards Images Support Hardware utilization Increased utilization Better metrics

Implications, Cont. Costs Reduced TCO Reduced support Licensing? Disaster recovery/business continuity Increased opportunity Improved reliability and uptime Reduced recovery time Others?

Questions to Ask Licensing Life time costs Compatibility Shared storage requirements Network hardware requirements (GB?) Support Internal External

Planning the Project Understand your goals Assess the existing environment Work with vendor partners on potential designs Evaluations and assessment of vendor solutions Staff training Make sure to work with YOUR potential configurations and software

Planning II Deployment plan Ongoing evaluation and support Don’t forget about backup planning Multiple front ends, one backend storage array? Standards Implications for user experiences Planning for change and next gen

Olin College Experience Goals Increase development and testing environments Reduce the total number of servers supported Improve agility Reallocate costs Streamline operations

Your Experiences Share your experiences Positive Negative Lessons learned?

Other Opportunities Network virtualization Storage virtualization Desk top virtualization

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