These are summarized in Table 2-1 and described in detail below.

Table 2-1 Server consolidation strategies

Type of Consolidation

Definition

Potential Benefit

 

 

 

Centralization

Relocate to fewer sites

Reduction in administration costs

 

 

Increased reliability and availability

 

 

Lower operation costs

 

 

Improved security and management

 

 

 

Physical Consolidation

Replace with larger

Reduced hardware and software costs

 

servers

Improved processor utilization

 

 

Reduced facilities costs (space, power, A/C)

 

 

Lower operations costs

 

 

Improved manageability

 

 

 

Data Integration

Combine data from

Reduced storage management costs

 

multiple sources into a

Improved resource utilization

 

single repository

Reduction in administration costs

 

 

Improved backup/recovery capabilities

 

 

Enhanced data access and integrity

 

 

 

Application Integration

Consolidation of

Reduction in administration costs

 

multiple applications

Increased reliability and availability

 

onto one server

Reduced facilities costs (space, power, A/C)

 

platform

Lower operation costs

 

 

Scalability

 

 

 

￿Centralization

Server consolidation means different things to different people. As shown in Figure 2-4, in its simplest form, servers are physically moved to a common location. Because this simplifies access for the IT staff, it helps reduce operations support costs, improve security, and ensure uniform systems management. This is an important predecessor to future consolidation activities.

London

Zurich

Toronto

Zurich

Sydney

Hong

Los

Hong

Kong

Angeles

Kong

 

Figure 2-4 Centralization

 

 

Centralization involves relocating existing servers to fewer sites, for example, taking 20 servers scattered over three floors in your building and moving them

52 IBM ^xSeries 440 Planning and Installation Guide

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IBM 440 manual These are summarized in -1 and described in detail below