In part one of this "series" ( ok, mini-series) I spoke about the benefits of Server refresh. It is pretty huge for most installed servers. In many cases an IT manager could see a 5x jump in compute capacity by replacing depreciated servers. If these are older single core processor based servers, the number is probably even greater. Hopefully a 5x increase in capacity can push out your data center construction needs.

My next recommendation revolves around virtualization, or more specifically consolidation through virtualization. You can skip the words now and jump to the video below.... but since you are still reading, here is an intro to the video. I have seen a lot different data on "enterprise server utilization" but most of it pegs the meter at 10-15% utilization for volume landscape servers. ( By the way, that is a low number, not something to be proud of) Now, if you follow my advice and replace all these less-efficient older servers with cutting edge high efficiency Intel quad core machines, on a one for one basis, you are going to see some pretty un-pleasant utilization. Think single digit. In a nutshell, it is time to virtualize and consolidate. If you both virtualize and carefully manage and balance your workloads, it is reasonable to expect another 5x capacity boost through improved utilization. AND 5x*5x=*25x* more capacity ( in the same space and power!) (Try out the Intel consolidation calculator) vid 2

Ok, nothing is free, but some things are a pretty good deal. I spoke last time about the capacity boost delivered through virtualization. I threw out some big numbers, so here is a bit more detail. More accurately this capacity comes from applying virtualization to a new model for data center management ( you will have to do more than install a hypervisor). I felt pretty conservative with my 5x multiplier in five years.

Even if all you ever read is the in-flight magazine, you know virtualization is a big deal. Hype aside, virtualization is the foundation for realizing the "next generation data center-*NGDC*". Utilization on enterprise servers is pathetic. The number I used was 15%, but I have heard many customers talk of 5% or even less. The target I used for a super efficient data center was 75% utilization - hence the 5x.

Getting to 75% average utilization will take a lot more than simple consolidation of physical servers onto a virtualized server. This is why I jump to NGDC requirement. Reality says server utilization is all over the place, with odd spikes and many differences in where the bottle neck is. Capacity limitations can be in CPU, Memory, Disk, or Network.

The key to maximizing consolidation is in achieving what I call "Dynamic Resource Management" or sometimes Dynamic Resource Pooling. DRM is what moves the NGDC beyond simple consolidation to Policy Based Balancing of data center resources. In the DRM model a server has become a virtual collection of compute, storage, and network resources. This model is beginning to emerge in commercial offerings from VMware, Microsoft, Sun, Cisco, Virtual Iron, and others.

The trick here is to couple the ability( like in vmotion from VMware) to move a VM from one set of hardware to another, with policy based moves. In my view this makes DC efficiency "just" another logistics optimization problem, not unlike airline scheduling or package delivery. "A game to maximize the utilization, minimize energy use, maximize availability, gracefully handle exceptions, and meet all my SLAs". i.e. a really hard problem. I have tried to capture this journey to NGDC in a compelling graphic, but all seem to fall short. (Thinly veiled request for better pictures of NGDC)

For now achieving the NGDC requires complex software stacks, coupled with management heroics. Intel, IMHO, has the best roadmap and view of this future as shown in the addition of virtualization features across compute, storage, and network. I would like to hear from others where you see barriers and bridges to NGDC. Who are the rabbits leading the way to this dynamic data center?

I read recently that 50% of data centers will exceed capacity by 2012 - capacity being some variable combination of physical space, available power or available cooling. I am skeptical. I agree that if you project the current growth rate and available capacity and such, you could come up with the 50% number, but, we are far from status quo in our data center opportunities. I would hesitate to break out the wrecking ball. Today I see three, sort of distinct, opportunities that every data center manager should be looking at very hard before they write the big check for new real estate.

The first is efficiency. There are numerous avenues available here including consolidation (through virtualization), server refresh with more powerful ( and more efficient ) servers, and new approaches to cooling. If we quit thinking of the data center as a room, and start thinking of it as mainframe in a really big box, our approach to cooling can become radically different. Why make a data center comfortable? Instead just keep it within the boundaries of warranties. Nobody wants to be in there anyway. Data center optimization should be your first initiative - learn more opportunities for effiency from Werner.

The second path to capacity containment is external hosting. Improvements in network speed and reliability have nearly negated the need for local data centers, and many businesses already rely on geo distributed data centers. The shift to letting someone else build and run the raised floor area just makes sense. I think of the shift from self run data centers to commercially hosted data centers much like the shift from private to commercial suppliers for power and communications. It is also a shift that can be executed incrementally, moving just some of the application hosting to a service provider. A variation on this theme is the *SAAS*( software as a service) model - for example salesforce.com*. Virtually everyone in the application business is offering, or planning to offer soon, down the wire applications. Can you really run an email system for your staff better than a commercial system? By applying data center optimization and taking advantage of targeted hosting and SAAS, a data center owner can squeeze at least a few more years out of the current raised floor real estate.

For some businesses, or at least for some of their applications, commercial hosting or SAAS is not seen as viable. The application is too important a value differentiator, or the data is too big, or the work to special, or, whatever. This is especially prevalent in engineering and finance where large amounts of "top secret" compute are executed. Well, there is a solution here as well. When you need to "own every line of code, and how it is run" you can still shift some of the work to machines outside your data center and defer capacity expansion. I am referring to "cloud computing". The most recognized example of this is in the compute service offered by Amazon* that uses spare cycles in their server structure. I think we will see a growing number of large scale internet and service companies offering up clouds. With cloud computing you push a "unit of work" to be executed in a service providers compute cloud. With appropriate encryption and obfuscation, the "unit of work" can remain as secret and secure as you wish. The application, database, and work results remain under local management and control.

If I were looking at a shrinking capacity window( any type of capacity) in my data center, I would pay attention to these opportunities, and their variations. I would be looking very hard at my next $25,000,000 data center expansion to understand if an alternate approach and architecture could shift those funds to better use.

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