Server Consolidation Assessments with VMware CapacityPlanner

Rich Talaber

AgendaEvolution of the infrastructureUncovering the opportunityConducting the assessmentThe typical clientDeveloping the strategyManaging objections

Need to be changed by Rich

We Started With Shared EnvironmentsNothing newSingle OSSometimes partitionsMixed workloadPredictable loadCapacity planning disciplinePerformance tuningDesign rigor

Operating System

APP1

APP2

APP3

APP4

DBMS1

DBMS2

The Transition BeginsIn the late 80s, prices started to dropEnvironments no longer sharedDevelopment acceleratedShift from operational excellence to market speedShift from rigor of design to management of:

Server names and WINSIP addressesCablingSubnetsWINSLicenses

One Day, We Took a BreathWe found hundreds, sometimes thousands of serversWe found higher ratios of IT staffWe had difficulty managing service levelsWe found unlicensed softwareWe found security issuesCosts out of controlServers not being utilized

But…it was the right thing to do!

What Lies Beneath?Approximately 40% of Windows servers are > 3 years old

Rack spacePower consumptionWeight and BTUs

The average utilizationProcessor utilization: 6%Memory utilization: 50%Disk busy: 1%Disk capacity: 10%NIC busy: 1%

20 to 50% more servers than expected

The Impact of Excess Capacity

More to: SecurePatchMonitorStore, heat, cool and power

Troubleshooting is more complex

Reason for ConsolidationThe Reasons for Consolidation Help Shape the Assessment

MoneyPhysical constraints

SpaceWeightPower

Service levels (infrastructure simplification)Migration from old to newIntegrate acquired IT

MoneyRequires strong TCO and ROI analysisAOG does not automatically capture:

Date of purchasePurchase priceLease amountWarranty information

Determining what is actually possibleGrouping

Physical ConstraintsThe Typical Client Has Opportunity for Rack Optimization

40% of equipment is > 3 years oldUtilization

Processor = 7%Memory = 50%NIC < 1%Disk throughput < 1%

Multi-processors1 way = 21%2 way = 52%4 way = 16%8 way = 3%

Service LevelsNeed to Shift from Tactical Operations to Strategic Thinking

Number of physical machinesNumber of operating systemsStandardizationProcesses

Change managementService level agreementsQuality assuranceCharge back and options

Impediments to ConsolidationCulture / politicsLack of accurate informationMoneyExpertiseAcceptance of technologyLack of processPeople’s time

Successful Assessments IncludeAccurate assessment of:

Customer needsCustomer willingnessCustomer expectationsCapacity: All servers

Plan that includes:Process creation / improvementIterative capacity utilization improvementInternal marketingSupplemental expertiseStandardizationMaximum usage of existing infrastructure

Overall IT AssessmentStandardizationVersioningService packs and patchesSecurityOptimizationUtilizationData center planning… and more

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Mixing Resource Requirements

50%

Mixing Resource RequirementsC

PU

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BETTER

50%

Avoiding Peak Conflicts12

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50%

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50%

BAD

BETTER

Grouping of Servers

Will not cross boundaries by defaultOnly two servers have the possibility of consolidationConsolidation ratio may be 15:14

15PApp1BWeb14TAppBWeb13PCSAWeb12PERPAWeb11PERPAWeb10TERPAWeb9PHRAWeb8THRAWeb7PFinAWeb6PAppBSQL5TAppBSQL4PCSASQL3PERPASQL2PHRASQL1PFinASQL

ServerEnvDeptLocApp

Combining Departments

Changing from physical ownership to capacity ownershipVMware enables capacity management11 servers have the possibility of consolidationRatio may be 15:7

14T0BWeb5T0BSQL

15P0BWeb6P0BSQL

10T0AWeb8T0AWeb

13P0AWeb12P0AWeb11P0AWeb9P0AWeb7P0AWeb4P0ASQL3P0ASQL2P0ASQL1P0ASQL

ServerEnvDeptLocApp

Combining Locations

Combining locations increases ratios due to economy of scale 14 servers have the possibility of consolidationRatio may be 15:4

14T00Web10T00Web8T00Web

15P00Web13P00Web12P00Web11P00Web9P00Web7P00Web5T00SQL6P00SQL4P00SQL3P00SQL2P00SQL1P00SQL

ServerEnvDeptLocApp

The Typical Client40% of equipment is > 3 years oldUtilization

Processor = 6%Memory = 50%NIC < 5%Disk Throughput < 5%

Multi-processors

5%3%8

6%25%4

6%42%2

7%30%1Utilization% of InventoryProcessors

Environment Only Boundary

We must retain the environmental boundary

Service levelsSecurityBusiness continuity

Highest ratio15:2

14T00010T0008T0005T000

15P00013P00012P00011P0009P0007P0006P0004P0003P0002P0001P000

ServerEnvDeptLocApp

Dispose of Old ServersSince June, the average number of servers 700MHz or less is 28%The average rack size of a server with CPU <= 700 MHz is 7Client with 1000 servers

280 with <= 700 MHz processors1960 rack units (approx. 50 Racks)446 Watts/Hour average = 125 KW/Hr

Just switching to blades280 with 2.8Ghz processors6 rack units36 Blade Chassis @ 3000 Watts/Hour = 108 KW/HrReduced cablingImproved manageability

Virtualizing increases the opportunity even more

Test and DevelopmentGreat opportunity for virtualizationProves the technology is ready and prepares for next stepsConsolidate servers that service infrastructure

Proves you willingness to consolidate yourselfProves new technology

Clients report that 25% to 50% of their environment is test / dev / BCPConsider concurrency

What percentage of your test / dev servers are actively being used at any time?Could management software that schedules deployment of environments to a sandbox reduce requirements even further?

Like ApplicationsMultiple physical servers to one single OS serverIntroducing

Workload managementChange managementQuality assuranceChargeback

SQL server consolidation on 64bit Still have control and service level issues

Workload management softwareVirtualization

Mixed WorkloadsVirtualization

Retain some controlNew production technologyMultiple OSSizing questions

Mixed workloads on single OSDLL Conflicts

OptimizationOptimize before you consolidateCould increase your consolidation ratio significantlySQL example

4 servers using 2 GB of RAM eachOptimize to use 1GB of RAM eachDouble consolidation opportunity

Comparative analysisAnomaly detectionTrend deviation

The Typical Server(1.7) 1276 MHz processors2.6 GB RAM on board / 1.5GB used% utilization approximately 7.2%Disk busy 5.6%

4.138

5.8164

5.4562

8.1251

Processor %% of ServersProcessors

The Typical SQL Server(2.3)1400 MHz processors/1.8GB RAM% utilization approximately 7.3%Disk busy 5.7%Cache hit % = 99.7Large consolidation opportunity

38184552241

% of ServersProcessors

9>20

10Between 2 and 20

81<2

% of ServersTrans/sec

(2.2) 2188 MHz processors/1.7GB RAM% utilization approximately 10.6%Disk busy 15.1%Directory cache hit % = 55IS cache hit % = 83More memory needed

The Typical Exchange Server

38164592221

% of ServersProcessors

8>500

12Between 200 and 500

80<200

% of ServersActive Users

The Typical Citrix Server(2.1) 2065 MHz processors3.2GB RAM installed/ 900MB used% utilization approximately 10.1%Disk busy 2.3%Active sessions average = 8.4Too much memory allocated

1834

94221

% of ServersProcessors

6>20

41Between 10 and 20

53<10

% of ServersActive Sessions

VMware Server Consolidation Assessment Services

A focused set of assessment services that enables:Assessment of the current state of your infrastructureIdentification of server consolidation and virtualization opportunitiesScenario modeling and benchmark comparisons with industry dataObjective, validated, actionable server consolidation recommendations

Based on VMware’s Virtual Infrastructure Methodology (VIM)Powered by VMware Capacity Planner: A hosted capacity planning and analysis tool for faster, more accurate, benchmarked IT assessmentsAnalysis and reporting delivered by “VMware Service Bureau”Services available through Select VMware Partners

A Comprehensive Assessment Services Framework

Agentless Discovery/ Inventory

VMware Capacity Planner – Hosted IT Capacity Analysis and Planning Tool

Performance/Utilization metrics

Industry Information Warehouse

Scenario Modeling/ What-if Analysis

Capacity UtilizationAnalysis

Application/ Org. Groupings

Application Analysis

Virtualization Modeling/ Analysis

VMware Service Bureau

VMware Virtual Infrastructure Methodology (VIM)

VMware Server Consolidation Assessment ServicesCapacity

AssessmentsStandard Virtualization

AssessmentsCustom Virtualization

Assessments

ComplianceAssessment

FinancialAssessment

ApplicationAssessment

OrganizationalAssessment

InfrastructureAssessment

VMware Capacity PlannerAn IT capacity analysis and planning tool delivered as a hosted app serviceLeveraged within VMware Professional Services’ Server Consolidation Assessment Services to drive faster, more accurate and benchmarked assessmentsBuilt for agent-less implementation, it provides improved visibility of complex, heterogeneous IT environments

Discovers servers in just minutes and gathers detailed inventory data in just hoursCaptures key performance data and analyzes server load profiles and capacity utilization

Includes an Information Warehouse that houses valuable, aggregated industry data that’s leveraged for comparative analysis and benchmarkingPrimarily a decision support tool that helps:

Assess current capacity and identify opportunities for capacity optimization Drive intelligent virtualization, consolidation and other infrastructure planning projects

VMware Capacity PlannerCapacity Planner Dashboard

Discovery Inventory PerformanceStatistics

Data Synchronization

Data Manager

DataCollector

DataCollector

Data Upload

Data AnalyzerAggregation Comparison Trending

HTTPS

What-if?

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Industry Benchmark Data ( > 4 B records and growing!)

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Industry Benchmark Data ( > 4 B records and growing!)

Client IT Environment

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Assess Plan Decide Monitor Web

Agent-less Discovery and Inventory

Manual or Scheduled Data Collection

Manual / scheduled uploads