IBM 8687 Installation Guide - Page 66

These are summarized in Table 2-1 and described in detail below. Table 2-1 Server consolidation strategies Type of Consolidation Definition Potential Benefit Centralization Relocate to fewer sites Reduction in administration costs Increased reliability and availability Lower operation costs Improved security and management Physical Consolidation Replace with larger servers Reduced hardware and software costs Improved processor utilization Reduced facilities costs (space, power, A/C) Lower operations costs Improved manageability Data Integration Combine data from multiple sources into a single repository Reduced storage management costs Improved resource utilization Reduction in administration costs Improved backup/recovery capabilities Enhanced data access and integrity Application Integration Consolidation of multiple applications onto one server platform Reduction in administration costs Increased reliability and availability Reduced facilities costs (space, power, A/C) Lower operation costs Scalability Centralization Server consolidation means different things to different people. As shown in Figure 2-4, in its simplest form, servers are physically moved to a common location. Because this simplifies access for the IT staff, it helps reduce operations support costs, improve security, and ensure uniform systems management. This is an important predecessor to future consolidation activities. London Zurich Toronto Zurich Sydney Hong Kong Los Angeles Hong Kong Figure 2-4 Centralization Centralization involves relocating existing servers to fewer sites, for example, taking 20 servers scattered over three floors in your building and moving them 52 IBM ^ xSeries 440 Planning and Installation Guide