FOCUS: ENTERPRISE SERVERS: Behind Those Walls...

When someone mentions servers, the mind conjures up images of a stuffy room

with huge machines installed wall-to-wall, humming methodically. Big or small,

stored in dingy or airy sweet-smelling rooms where journalists come to inspect

the IT implementation in your organization, they are the ones that make life

possible at the front-end touch points. Irony of fate, the reader might say, but

while working on this story, the servers (rather the lifeline of our

organization) crashed for a brief period and from a calm serene working

atmosphere, we had people tugging their hair out and cursing the fast-looming

deadlines. Chaos reigned as people were unable to access the network and the

data stored on their drives. Floppies were in great demand and the only question

being flung back and forth across the DQ floor, in the canteen and at the dhaba

outside, was–"When will the server be up and running? When will our comps

function normally?" Though it was a disguised respite from the routine

stuff, people seemed more than anxious to get back to work.

Imagine the same scenario re-enacted in a bank or financial institution. The

financial loss is not entirely fathomable, but the lack of face that ensues is

irreparable. And the wizards who wield the wand that can make or break life in a

computer-dependent atmosphere are the back-room men–those who play around and

fix servers... the ones at whose mercy our sanity at times lies.

But no more drab thoughts on the importance of servers in this tech-savvy

age. It is a foregone conclusion that an organization should make a prudent

choice while shopping for servers to take care of their information and workload

needs–both present and future. Given the multitude of configurations available

in the market, there are some simple rules to decide on the type of server that

will fit or cater to your organization’s needs.

Entry-level servers: If your requirement is to take care of the e-sharing,

messaging (e- mail), and print-sharing tasks, then look for servers with the

lowest price points. However in this case it should be kept in mind that

scalability could be a problem in the long run. The typical minimum

specifications (specs) should include an Intel Pentium 4 processor/up to 533MHz

front-side bus speed, up to 2GB maximum memory, at least one HDDs, up to three

SCSI or IDE. And of course some manageability tools.

Mid-range sfdervers: A mid-range server would fit your bill if you are

looking to perform multiple functions like departmental applications, files, and

print and can exist in a cluster configuration. The usual specs for these range

of servers include up to four Intel Xeon processors, memory ranging from

512MB-12GB, Hot-pluggable: 6 x 64-bit/100MHz PCI-X (supports 3V or Universal PCI

Adapters), up to 10 high-speed SCSI drives in a RAID configuration, Hot-pluggable

hard drive bays and multiple external components, including Fibre Channel SANs

(storage area networks), or other attached storage devices. Also, these would

have high reliability features.

High-end servers: If you are looking at mission critical applications, and a

24/7 uptime, then these fit the bill. They are expensive but are useful for

organizations depending on a large database, data warehousing, and e-commerce

applications.

These highly scalable workhorse servers are usually found in airlines, banks,

government agencies, large retail distribution companies, and universities. This

category offers quite a few choices. If you are looking at the Intel based

servers, then they are quite a few to choose from.

Apart from IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Dell, you will find a host of Indian

companies like HCL Insys and Wipro ready with their offerings. However, if you

are looking at the RISC-based servers, then the choice is limited to a handful–IBM,

Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems, and Indian players merely distribute and

integrate the same.

Quick thoughts



Once you have decided on the apps and the type of servers that best fit your

requirement, it’s time to go shopping. Obviously, the first consideration

would be the existing relationship with the vendor. For example HDFC Bank has

systems from Sun as it started out with and developed the expertise on the Sun

platform. So buying a new system–the choice obviously being Sun given past

experience–was an easy job for the IT head at HDFC Bank. However, even when

you share a very close relationship with a single vendor, it’s still not a bad

idea to explore other options. You still have a budget to think about.

According to studies by the Meta Group, "The greatest factor

contributing to aggressive server vendor discounting is the extent to which

vendors perceive a threat from competitors. In the current buyer’s market, we

have seen discounts of up to 50% for single high-end Unix systems." The

studies add–"It is not a bad idea to introduce generic third-party

systems management tools (e.g. CA), which would be common across hardware

platforms."

Another aspect to conveniently ignore are benchmarks. Since each vendor will

produce specific benchmarks where his product tops the charts and the results do

not portray real-life situations, it should hardly have an impact on the buying

decision. Talking of real-life situations, a better test is to run the server

continuously for 72 hours with specific apps. If it works fine for the given

time-frame, it will work for the next couple of years without glitches.

Trends



One thought that reigns in the minds of CIOs across the globe for server

purchases is whether the system should be based on UNIX or Windows. Till

recently, Unix-based ones were the mid-range to high-end systems–the de facto

servers for mission-critical applications. Windows and Intel were relegated to

the low-end server category. However, the Wintel combination has grown much

beyond expectations. Of worldwide server purchases in 2001, 88% was made up of

what IDC calls ‘Standard Intel Architecture Servers’. This was a market

dominated only a few years ago by proprietary systems like the IBM 3090, Digital

Vax, and the Hewlett-Packard 3000.

Call it the effect of standardization or what you may. But the question that

arises is why has this trend not moved to the high-end lot also? According to

IDC, it is because of the perception that not all software programs, databases

and functions are available or currently suitable for these devices. Will the

same continue or are there more options available to the CIO? Linux could prove

to be the answer given the fact that most of the Unix vendors are also supplying

the Linux version.

Then again, the price of these systems could take a beating, or Intel-based

systems could move up the value chain. This will lead toward greater

standardization, as research reveals that the significant benefit of using

standardized products is the lower cost of the product itself, lower software

costs as well as the lower cost to deploy and operate. It boils down to easier

deployment and lower cost of services.

Yograj Varma

Best Server Practices

Peer Information: This is the best source

of information. Check with others on their experiences with vendors regarding

support and service issues.

Scalability: Before buying servers, do

talk to your business heads to get a feel of the possible business expectations

from IT. This will help you plan for future applications and hence have the

scalability built in accordingly. For example a general-purpose server may

handle your messaging and low-end application needs, but it can quickly become

bogged down as you add more applications and users.

Avoid multiple platforms: While its

absolutely ok with dealing with couple of vendors, try to avoid multiple

platforms floating around in your organization. Integration and management of

various applications on the various platforms could become your worst nightmare.

High availability features: if your are

looking at 24/7, look for servers with ‘hot- swap’ components, as they are

ideal for mission-critical operations, where you cannot afford any kind of an

interruption. These allow you to swap components while keeping all the

operations running and thus helps avert system failure.

Performance: Ignore the vendor’s talks

about particular benchmarks. Given the fact that there are hundreds of

benchmarks, vendors only play up the ones they are comfortable with. Get the

overall benchmarks from SPEC and TPC-C, TPC-H, SPECSFS and others like SAP ATO

and SD.

Investment protection: Before you make

the final decision, also check if the vendor is guaranteeing future investment

protection. If you are looking at the high-end RISC servers, hardware

partitioning and binary compatibility features ensure that upgrading the system

would not cost as much as replacing it. With Intel servers, this may not be the

case.

Service level agreements: Don’t forget

the fine prints. If your business is prone to suffer financially from a server

outage, be sure that you have factored in the same in your service-level

agreement and should include readily available components and software to

minimize downtime. Also warranty service should be atleast two-three years with

next-day, on-site service built in. It may be worthwhile to look into an

extended warranty plan that provides 4-hour on-site service, especially if your

server is running mission-critical applications.

Deal with the company: While negotiating

go the Dell way—do it directly. This will prevent confusion in the future and

cost/time escalations. Another important aspect of going direct is that as soon

as you are ready to talk about the product, talk to the technical team rather

the marketing team. This will save a lot of time and effort and going back and

forth.

Upgrade path: The ability to upgrade is

as important as getting the proper hardware initially, so look for a server that

has several free expansion slots, open drive bays, and even room for an

additional processor, if you expect the server to see a significant load

increase in the future.

TEAM DQ

When to Consolidate, and the Benefits

One of the key areas in server purchase in recent times has been

consolidation. Here’s a look at when is the right time for server

consolidation:



n Whenever there is
talk of capacity expansion, you think of new servers



n It is the same
with scalability. If you need scalability, you need bigger servers



n In the outsourcing
age, your IT staff budget is equivalent to the sales and marketing department

staff budget



n The users in your
organization are very IT savvy and buy their own hardware but managing it is

your headache



n You are the proud
owner of servers with different OS’



n Utilization rates
for most servers are in single digits



n At the end of the
month, you have to make a physical verification of all your servers



n Server maintenance
is eroding the bottomline



n TCO is becoming an
important topic for discussion with the management, apart from with vendors



n Non-tech-savvy
users start talking about SLAs

And the benefits from server consolidation:



n Cost of

staffing needs



n Cost of upgrades


n Reduction in
administration costs



n Reduction in the
costs of delivering service



n Scalability,
allowing for prompt reaction to changing business needs



n Reduction in
systems management costs including maintenance as well as improved systems

management



n Improved
availability of service (fewer or no outages, and shorter outages should they

occur)



n Back-up and
security issues



n Better utilization
of floor space



n Lower
electricity/power bills