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run at 50-60% utilization. Excess or underutilized capacity on one server
cannot be shared with workloads of other servers in a distributed
environment.
– Optimization of skilled resources - Under the distributed alternative,
systems management responsibilities are often only part-time, extra-duty
assignments such that a critical skill level is rarely achieved. Furthermore,
since other departments may employ disparate architectures and
applications, there is little opportunity to benefit from the experiences of
others.
Scalability and workload growth
Server consolidation can help you handle scalability and workload growth
issues in the following ways:
– True scalability - Server consolidation provides the ability to deal with peak
usage without crashing or seriously degrading performance. It also
provides an upgrade path without degradation in response, excessively
complex forms of database partitioning, or other problems.
– Granular upgrades - Server consolidation provides the ability to quickly
grow the number of users, the number of applications, or the size of an
application when needed, without major disruptions to the current
production environment.
Service level
Most companies spend their IT budget for services. They need services for
hardware, software, and infrastructure maintenance. Server consolidation can
help you to reduce the increasing service costs in the following ways:
– Delivery of a specified service level is costly if servers are uncontrolled.
– Management of servers as corporate assets is easier when they are
centralized.
– Application deployment is quicker and easier when not spread over a large
number of servers.
– Staff time freed from server maintenance tasks can be used for activities
more directly related to business needs.
Business continuity
Almost all enterprises need to run their business without interruption.
Business interruption can be very costly and it influences the productivity of
your business. Server consolidation can help you to run your business without
interruption in the following ways:
– Consolidating IT resources can help you ensure that critical business
information and processes are accessible and shared across the
enterprise.
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IBM ^ xSeries 440 Planning and Installation Guide
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