Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Different kinds of consolidation
So far in the introduction you did not find specific information about the different ways to consolidate. Since that is
important for the understanding of this topic, I would like to introduce a systematic overview of the various aspects of
consolidation. Depending on your point of view there are different forms of classification, such as:
•
Hardware consolidation
•
Operating system consolidation
•
Storage consolidation
•
Platform consolidation
When speaking of hardware consolidation most people associate it with a move towards standard hardware.
In many cases today this implies a move to blade servers or blades for short. Primarily based on the x86-64 platform,
a blade server is a small somewhat naked looking device with the bare minimum required to function as a computer.
Blades are not exclusively made for the x86 architecture. Apart from the mainstream there are enterprise blades for
IBM Power and Oracle SPARC processors as well. If your IT department is absolutely sure it does not want to consider
x86, then there is no need to move away from their favorite platform.
Multiple blades are combined in a so-called blade enclosure. The enclosure is mandatory and provides the
power, cooling, and outward connectivity to the users of the whole system. Blade vendors have of course read the
signs of the times already and add interesting management capabilities into their products. Chapter 3 describes
blades in more detail.
Operating System consolidation is a term coined for those users who want to consolidate as many of their
environments as possible under a common operating system. It is not to be confused with operating system
virtualization, although the latter is often used in facilitating such a move! You have by now read a number of times
that increased efficiency, a lowered license footprint, and a better support are the main drivers behind operating
system consolidation.
Storage consolidation is another form of consolidation discussed in the media. Often Storage consolidation
is initiated to counter the sprawl of storage systems in an enterprise. Due to cost constraints, absence of site-wide
storage agreements, lack of oversight, or other reasons projects and product groups may have bought storage for
their project on their own. These insular solutions are ineffective in the long run since a lot of time and energy
has to be invested to keep the storage stack current. Additionally, storage technology is as complex as many other
technologies, requiring in investment in talent to manage and operate it. The overhead of managing many different
storage products becomes even more apparent during upgrades of components involved. Instead of repeating the
certification and test process for controllers and firmware for each combination of storage array, fiber channel switch
and host bus adapter synergies can be achieved by reducing the complexity of the stack.
Additionally, the move away from small or low-end storage may improve storage performance overall. One has
to be careful though no to apply the rule without exception: storage is a complex topic, and the rule of thumb that one
size fits all does not apply to all systems. High-end decision support systems and OLTP systems should probably not
reside on the same storage array! The term storage consolidation is also applied when low-end systems move data
from internal disk to a storage array.
As you may have already guessed, this topic is about all of these aspects, something which is referred to as
platform consolidation. Storage consolidation however will not be dealt with in more detail because many
mid-sized and large enterprises are very likely to have an agreement with one of the major storage vendors to
consolidate storage with them. This has the big advantage that storage sprawl is under (better) control, and also
removes a lot of work from the storage engineers. Whoever has worked on a certified storage stack from storage array
firmware to firmware version of the switches in the storage network to finally the host bus adapter will appreciate the
reduction in moving parts.
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