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Relocating existing servers to one or fewer IT sites, Virtual centralization or remote management

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to a single server room, or moving 200 servers originally installed across 20 locations to three data centers. - Relocating existing servers to one or fewer IT sites Centralization, or data center consolidation, may be a first step for an organization after a merger. After a merger, the resulting entity does not want to attempt merging applications; however, they will collocate their systems as a first step. For both servers and storage systems, two subcategories of centralization are defined: • Virtual centralization, which is mainly made through the network • Physical centralization, where hardware is physically moved to different locations Centralization is often the initial step a company takes toward controlling costs through consolidation. It's also generally the first step taken toward rationalizing the architecture after a merger or acquisition. By simply relocating existing servers to fewer numbers of IT sites, economies of scale of operation can provide simplified management and cost improvement. - Virtual centralization or remote management You can begin centralization in small steps. With virtual centralization or remote management, physically dispersed servers or storage systems are logically centralized and controlled through the network. Hardware remains physically distributed, but is brought under a common umbrella of systems management and network management tools. Operations costs can therefore be reduced, and system availability can be improved. - Physical centralization or server relocation Existing servers or storage systems are physically relocated to one or fewer IT sites. Because this simplifies access for the IT staff, it helps reduce operations support costs, improves security, and ensures uniform systems management. This is a step in the right direction, but the payback is relatively low. However, it is an important predecessor to future consolidation activities. Physical consolidation Physical consolidation is the replacement or reduction of some number of smaller systems with fewer and more powerful systems. This consolidation does have advantages: - It improves availability because there are fewer points of failure. - It can reduce the cost and complexity of system communications. - It simplifies operations. Chapter 2. Positioning 53

Section	Page
Front cover	1
Contents	5
Notices	9
Trademarks	10
Preface	11
The team that wrote this redbook	11
Become a published author	14
Comments welcome	14
Chapter 1. Technical description	15
1.1 The x440 product line	16
1.2 System partitioning	20
1.3 IBM XA-32 chipset	21
1.4 Processors	26
1.4.1 Intel Xeon Processor MP	27
1.4.2 Intel Xeon Processor DP	30
1.5 SMP Expansion Module	31
1.6 IBM XceL4 Server Accelerator Cache	33
1.7 System memory	33
1.8 PCI subsystem	37
1.9 Redundancy	38
1.10 Light Path Diagnostics	39
1.11 Remote Supervisor Adapter	41
1.12 Operating system support	42
1.13 IBM Director	44
Chapter 2. Positioning	49
2.1 xSeries 440 application solutions	50
2.1.1 Server consolidation	50
2.1.2 Enterprise applications	52
2.1.3 Infrastructure applications	54
2.1.4 Clustering	55
2.2 Why choose the x440	57
2.2.1 IBM XA-32 chipset	57
2.2.2 Intel Xeon MP and DP processors	58
2.2.3 XceL4 Server Accelerator Cache	60
2.2.4 High-performance memory subsystem	60
2.2.5 Active PCI-X	61
2.2.6 XpandOnDemand scalability	61
2.2.7 System Partition Manager	62
2.3 The benefits of system partitioning	63
2.4 Server consolidation	65
2.4.1 Types of server consolidation	65
2.4.2 Why consolidate servers	71
2.4.3 Benefits from server consolidation	71
Chapter 3. Planning	77
3.1 System hardware	78
3.1.1 Processors	78
3.1.2 Memory	79
3.1.3 PCI slot configuration	82
3.1.4 Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet controller	86
3.2 Cabling and connectivity	88
3.2.1 SMP Expansion Module connectivity	88
3.2.2 Remote Supervisor Adapter connectivity	91
3.2.3 Remote Expansion Enclosure	92
3.2.4 Serial connections	97
3.3 Storage considerations	97
3.3.1 xSeries storage solutions	98
3.3.2 Disk subsystem performance	102
3.3.3 Tape backup	103
3.4 Server partitioning and consolidation	104
3.5 Operating system considerations	104
3.5.1 Windows 2000 Datacenter Server	106
3.5.2 Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Edition	109
3.5.3 Microsoft Windows 2000 Server	110
3.5.4 Microsoft Windows .NET Server	111
3.5.5 Novell NetWare	111
3.5.6 Red Hat/SuSE Linux	111
3.5.7 VMware ESX Server	112
3.6 Application considerations	114
3.6.1 Scalability and performance considerations	114
3.6.2 SMP and server types	115
3.7 Rack installation	116
3.8 Power considerations	117
3.9 Solution Assurance Review	118
Chapter 4. Installation	121
4.1 System BIOS settings	122
4.1.1 Updating BIOS and firmware	122
4.1.2 Enabling memory mirroring	122
4.1.3 Enabling Hyper-Threading	123
4.2 Device drivers	125
4.3 Operating system installation	125
4.3.1 Microsoft Windows 2000 Server and Advanced Server	126
4.3.2 Red Hat Linux installation	133
4.3.3 NetWare installation	135
4.3.4 VMware ESX Server	142
4.4 Additional Information	142
Chapter 5. Management	143
5.1 Active PCI Manager	144
5.1.1 Using Active PCI Manager	146
5.1.2 Adding adapters to the system	150
5.1.3 Analyzing an existing configuration	158
5.2 System Partition Manager	164
5.3 Process Control	169
5.3.1 Process alias rules	170
5.3.2 Process execution rules	174
5.3.3 Group process execution rules	175
Abbreviations and acronyms	187
Related publications	189
IBM Redbooks	189
Referenced Web sites	189
How to get IBM Redbooks	192
IBM Redbooks collections	192
Index	193

Match case Limit results 1 per page

Chapter 2. Positioning

to a single server room, or moving 200 servers originally installed across 20

locations to three data centers.

–

Relocating existing servers to one or fewer IT sites

Centralization, or data center consolidation, may be a first step for an

organization after a merger. After a merger, the resulting entity does not

want to attempt merging applications; however, they will collocate their

systems as a first step.

For both servers and storage systems, two subcategories of centralization

are defined:

•

Virtual centralization, which is mainly made through the network

•

Physical centralization, where hardware is physically moved to

different locations

Centralization is often the initial step a company takes toward controlling

costs through consolidation. It

’

s also generally the first step taken toward

rationalizing the architecture after a merger or acquisition.

By simply relocating existing servers to fewer numbers of IT sites,

economies of scale of operation can provide simplified management and

cost improvement.

–

Virtual centralization or remote management

You can begin centralization in small steps. With virtual centralization or

remote management, physically dispersed servers or storage systems are

logically centralized and controlled through the network. Hardware

remains physically distributed, but is brought under a common umbrella of

systems management and network management tools. Operations costs

can therefore be reduced, and system availability can be improved.

–

Physical centralization or server relocation

Existing servers or storage systems are physically relocated to one or

fewer IT sites. Because this simplifies access for the IT staff, it helps

reduce operations support costs, improves security, and ensures uniform

systems management. This is a step in the right direction, but the payback

is relatively low. However, it is an important predecessor to future

consolidation activities.

Physical consolidation

Physical consolidation is the replacement or reduction of some number of

smaller systems with fewer and more powerful systems. This consolidation

does have advantages:

–

It improves availability because there are fewer points of failure.

–

It can reduce the cost and complexity of system communications.

–

It simplifies operations.