clustering lower cost

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Clustering DatabaseApplications to Lower IT Cost

Reorganizing for efficiency, performance and high availability

A U B M W H IT E PA P ER

JANUARY 2010

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Clustering Database Applicationsto Lower IT CostReorganizing for efficiency, performance and high availability

Introduction

Clustering is a new mandate within a responsible

IT data center. For more than eight years enterprises

around the globe have used Oracle Real

Applications Clusters (RAC) to apply the principles

of grid computing at the database tier, adding their

stories to a towering spire of evidence that a clus-

tered architecture can save organizations millions

of dollars.

Customers across all industries are clustering

their transaction processing and data warehousing

applications to deliver a higher quality of service at

a lower cost.

Benefits of clustering your database applica-

tions using Oracle RAC include:

• high availability

• improved resource utilization

• scalability

• manageability

• support for dynamic workloads and new

types of applications

This paper will look at the advantages of clus-

tering, in an attempt to show exactly why this

innovative architecture returns such consistent

value to the enterprises that adopt it. It will show

the direct cause and effect relationship between

database clustering and IT efficiencies that add up

to big savings.

Traditional vs. Grid Architecture

Traditional computing architecture relies on silos

of hardware and software resources, which are

dedicated to various applications or data center

functions. This inflexible design makes it impossi-

ble to route your excess compute power wherever

the current demand is greatest (see Figure 1).

In fact, according to Forrester Research, data-

base servers are only 30 percent utilized on average.

While underutilization provides a comfortable

safety net for demand peaks in any given applica-

tion, it is nevertheless a staggering waste of

resources when aggregated across the entire IT

infrastructure.

Clustered architecture resolves this dilemma

by rationalizing hardware and software to fully

leverage existing processing power and storage

capacity. With clustering there is dynamic provi-

sioning and pooling of resources, which results

in higher efficiency as well as availability, scala-

bility, and high performance. Oracle RAC can

help organizations achieve utilization of their

database servers in the 80 to 90 percent range,

while simultaneously improving their servicelevel reliability.

The top reasons to adopt clustering include:

• improve ROI for IT infrastructure

• minimize administration and improve

operational efficiency

• lower total cost of IT

• improve service-level availability for

applications

• support new types of applications via

clustering’s flexible architecture

DBDB

DBDB

ERP CRM Content SCM

Typical Enterprise Application Deployments

FIGURE 1: In traditional enterprise application architecturehardware and software resources, including databases, areintentionally isolated and, ultimately, underutilized.

UBM WHITE PAPER | Clustering Database Applications to Lower IT Cost



Clustering for Availability, Scalability and

Performance

Traditional siloed architecture forces IT to place

strict priority on applications that require failover

protection. Adding a second, redundant server to

any given application’s stack is wise, but ultimatelyexpensive. As shown in Figure 2, the most mission-

critical applications in the portfolio typically will

get a dedicated server for redundancy while other

applications are forced to make do with no

provision for redundancy, making them vulnerable

to downtime.

Clustering allows the organization to share

the cost—and the benefits—of redundancy across

multiple applications, and perhaps even across the

entire application portfolio. In a clustered architec-

ture, the addition of as little as a single node can

provide the starting point for a robust redundancy

that protects multiple applications. This low-costentry point to high availability is impossible to

achieve in a traditional architecture.

In addition to high availability, many organiza-

tions today are motivated by their increasing need

for high performance and scalability, largely

because of a greater interest and business demand

for mission critical web-based applications. Web-

based applications, particularly customer-facing

applications, such as e-commerce, require the

highest levels of performance and yet they are

often plagued by volatile demand. The satisfaction

of these conflicting requirements demands the

flexibility and scalability of clustered architecture.

In addition, clustering gives organizations the

ability to start small and expand their infrastructure

on an as-needed basis. Companies today do not

have the luxury of being able to bring down

the database for infrastructure expansion or for

periodic updates and maintenance. With clusteredarchitecture you can dynamically add more nodes,

more CPUs and more system resources on the fly—

without shutting down the databases.

Administration: Doing More with Less

Today’s modern enterprises, especially those sup-

porting large web-based applications, can have

database servers numbered in the thousands.

With this volume of databases, configuration

and management tasks alone would represent a

very significant time commitment. Handling data-

base failures at this scale is a potential disaster for

which the organization must be equipped.Clustering insulates the business from the

worst possible outcomes of database failure,

making it possible to manage a large and growing

pool of databases without administrative sprawl.

But more importantly, because each machine can

safely be utilized more fully, clustering gives

organizations the opportunity to consolidate their

database infrastructure. Fewer servers have an

obvious and immediate savings effect in adminis-

trative overhead.

Finally, clustering allows DBAs to spend their

time more productively, concentrating on proac-

tive tasks and activities that advance business

objectives, and spending less time in reactive

mode. In short, clustering allows DBAs to do more

with less.

Reaping the Advantages of Flexible

Architecture

For many of the benefits of clustering we can

thank clustering’s innate flexible architecture. But

what does it really mean to have a flexible archi-

tecture? And how does a flexible architecture

deliver cost-saving efficiency to IT?

The essence of clustered architecture is a

shared cache distributed across multiple virtual or

physical servers. As discussed above, this yields

unsurpassed high availability for the database as

well as an easy-to-scale capability by allowing

additional servers and database instances to be

added to the cluster in a non-disruptive fashion.

Oracle RAC can automatically balance workloads

across the cluster resources as well to avoid hot

and cold nodes in the cluster (see Figure 3).

But the benefits do not stop there. This

shared pool architecture creates a number of


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DBDB

DBDB

ERP CRM Content SCM

Provisions for High Availability are RarelyDeployed Across the Whole Stack

High availability is often

limited to cetain apps.

FIGURE 2: Because all hardware resources are strictly isolated,redundancy requires an expensive allocation of even morewasted computing power, while other applications are left vulnerable.



unique strategic advantages that go beyond avail-

ability, scalability, management, and performance.

Supporting dynamic workloads

More and more organizations today are finding

reasons to develop and support applications with

dynamic workloads, such as web-based applica-

tions, which have unpredictable user demand.

Clustering delivers the right supportive frame-

work to take the risk out of such applications. The

ability to scale on the fly means new resources

can be added as needed and thus mission-criticalapplications with unpredictable load are not a

business liability.

This peace of mind also means organizations

can be more aggressive in expanding their appli-

cation portfolios, trying out new application types

that may be appropriate for future business goals.

For example, with clustering firmly entrenched

in your IT infrastructure your organization can

consider undertaking private cloud applications,

which can ultimately reduce reliance on third-

party application providers and open up new

revenue opportunities.

Introducing low-cost commodity hardware

Clustering is not about any particular server or

database—the whole idea is to focus on the sum

of the parts. Once a clustered architecture has

been adopted, organizations don’t necessarily

need the heavy machinery of an SMP server for

transaction processing anymore. Clustering provides

the flexibility to upgrade to a modern, modular

data center using low-cost, commodity hardware

that is easy to swap out or upgrade.

New, low-cost servers running on high-speed

Intel Nehalem chips, for example, when clustered

together properly, can mimic the power of a super-

computer. And, of course, existing hardware,

regardless of operating system, can always be

leveraged in a clustered environment, maximizingthe value of past IT investments.

Ability to do real-time business intelligence

Organizations today often find that they need to

extract business intelligence from their databases

early and often. Thus data warehousing is becom-

ing much more real time. Data has to move from

transaction processing to data warehousing much

more quickly than it ever did before—every hour or

even every minute.

Oracle RAC makes it possible to put transac-

tion systems and warehouses on the same cluster.

This means up-to-the-second transaction data isimmediately available to the data warehouse and

reporting applications, delivering a huge value for

the organization that relies on the resulting real-

time business intelligence.

Fast provisioning for non-production databases

Clustering makes it not only possible, but down-

right effortless, to create a database instance.

Application developers appreciate (and frequently

require) a non-production database for simulation

and testing of new applications. Because Oracle

RAC allows you to deploy multiple databases in a

cluster—in some cases up to 200 databases in

one cluster—you can configure and deploy a

non-production database in as little as 20

seconds. Not only does this lighten the load on

your team of DBAs significantly, but it simultane-

ously offers an enhanced quality of service to the

organization at large.

Lower Total Cost of IT

The many benefits of clustering and the new

opportunities provided by clustered architecture

combine to make a very powerful platform for IT

cost savings.

How do all these advantages add up to such

significant cost savings? Let’s look at a simple list of

where clustering typically saves money in the IT

organization:

• Maximizing resource utilization for servers,

including CPU, memory and compute power

• Maximizing resource utilization for storage,

including SAN and NAS

• Consolidating IT infrastructure; less hard-

ware needed to support greater loads

• Maximizing efficiency of DBAs; opportunity


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ERPSALES

• Runs all Oracle database applications

• Highly available and scalable

• Adapts to changes in workloads

HR

Oracle Real Application Clusters

FIGURE 3: A clustered architecture using Oracle RAC allows a pool of databases to dynamically respond to the needs of multiple applications, assuring high availability.



to support proactive, future-looking

business initiatives and/or reduce total cost

of human resources

• Introducing use of low-cost, commodity

hardware in place of expensive SMP servers;

modernizing data center infrastructure• Improving availability and thereby insulating

the organization against the costly outcomes

of downtime

• Lowering license fees

• Supporting opportunities for growth-

oriented and potentially profitable new

business initiatives

In addition, some enterprises save by defer-

ring hardware upgrade costs. Many IT organizations

adhere to a traditional policy wherein databases

must be upgraded when utilization rates hit 60

percent. In a clustered architecture, such upgradesare simply unnecessary. IT can defer the cost of

database upgrades and wring more business value

out of sunk costs.

Because there are so many ways that cluster-

ing contributes to lower cost, the total savings can

be very significant. At many enterprises, savings

can easily reach millions of dollars.

• A large retailer saved $2.5 million moving

from a large SMP server to 8-node cluster

using Dell blade servers

• A bank saved $5.8 million when it moved

away from multiple large SMP servers to

clustered servers in 4-node to 12-node

configurations

• A telco saved $3.1 million by moving a

very large SMP server to a 16-node

clustered configuration

• A large technology company made 8-node

clusters a standard configuration for all

database deployments—including non-

production—saving 30 percent.

What to Look for in a Clustering Solution?

Clustering is a major architectural change for IT

and thus, choosing a software solution for a

clustering implementation is a major decision.

Forrester Research Principal Analyst Noel

Yuhanna offers the following guidance for

selecting your clustering solution:

• Make sure it’s simple to deploy. The initial

phases of moving to a clustered architecture will

require many hours of planning and undoubt-

edly a fewlogistical hurdles along theway. You’ll

have enough to think about without adding the

burden of a complex software deployment.

Make sure your existing team can handle the

deployment process with minimal effort.

• Automatic load balancing capability. A

clustering solution should balance loads across

all nodes in the cluster without any manual

configuration, thus assuring the most efficientoperation with no additional effort.

• Easy to provision resources when needed.

To get the most benefit out of clustering—

both in terms of availability and low cost—you

should expect to put multiple databases on

each cluster. A good clustering solution will

make this simple.

• Adaptable to unique business needs. Your IT

organization has policies in place to ensure

compliance with best practices and regulatory

requirements, and those policies are likely to

evolve or change over time. A clustering soft-

ware solution should be able to help youenforce these policies, when appropriate, and

update them as needed.

• Offer seamless integration with current

applications and environments. Your

clusters will be supporting many packaged

and custom applications already in use at the

organization, including large, mission-critical

applications such as ERP. You should expect

your clustering solution to integrate seamlessly

with these applications, without application

modifications or new APIs.

• Support many types of applications. XML

applications, transactional applications, and

data warehouse/business intelligence applica-

tions should all run seamlessly in whatever

cluster configuration you choose.

Oracle RAC is designed from the ground up to

fulfill all of these requirements of simplicity, man-

ageability, and ease of integration.

Best Practices for a Clustering

Implementation

No matter how seamless your clustering solution

deployment may be, moving from traditional to

clustered architecture requires some planning and

strategic thinking. Taking stock of the following

best practices helps you ensure that you’ve done

your homework properly and can thus expect a

smooth deployment with big upside potential.

• Perform a classification and group appli-

cations accordingly. You already know that

all applications are not equal. You may have

a thousand databases in your enterprise

but they don’t all have identical availability


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requirements or common workloads. Do a

workload analysis and classify each database

based on availability needs. Applications with

SLAs in the 99.999 percent uptime range

should not be clustered with applications that

have lower availability requirements. Similarly,group applications together that have CPU,

memory, and storage space requirements in

common.

• Management of the cluster is critical.

Clustering cuts across the whole stack so make

sure that the people you put in charge of the

clustering deployment have the expertise to

manage across the stack as well.

• Define policies based on application prior-

ity and workload requirements. Don’t make

the mistake of neglecting policy setting. For

example, set limits on how much of the avail-

able resources in the cluster each applicationcan consume.

• Automation is important. Take the time to set

up automation routines to handle failovers as

well as client connections.

• Train your staff on clustering. Moving to a

clustered architecture can be difficult in the early

stages, but preparing your staff adequately is

your best insurance against pitfalls. Make sure

DBAs, system administrators, and even applica-

tion developers understand how the clustering

technology works and what the business goals

are. This will minimize the risk of human error

that can derail a successful launch or bring an

entire cluster down.

Summary

For today’s modern enterprises, clustering is an

absolutely essential component of the DBMS

strategy. Clustering offers many advantages over

traditional application architecture that can

deliver unsurpassed quality of service, high avail-

ability, and on-the-fly scalability.

If you are in the early stages of researching

clustering technology for your enterprise, hereare some key points to keep in mind:

• Clustering can be incremental. Start small

and add more nodes and clusters as

needed.

• Clustering can support any application—

packaged or custom—including Oracle,

PeopleSoft, Siebel, SAP, etc.

• Clustering can save money through consol-

idation, improved availability, and infra-

structure sharing.

• Clustering lets DBAs do more with less,

improving their overall efficiency and lower-

ing the total cost of IT.

Since it was first introduced in 2001, Oracle

RAC has been chosen by thousands of enterprises.

Companies of every size and in every industry

have embraced the reliability and scalability ben-

efits of RAC.

Over the years, Oracle RAC has been contin-

ually fine-tuned to meet and exceed customers’

increasing demands for a more streamlined

installation process, a simplified method of

adding nodes, and the ability to create larger

clusters with a higher number of nodes. As the

foundation of Oracle’s grid computing method-

ology, enterprises can use Oracle RAC as a

launching point for broader implementations

of grid architecture, spreading the performance

and reliability benefits into the middle-tier or

storage layers.


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