Experience IBM with Logicalis

Server Assessment

Server Assessment Solutions
Logicalis' IBM-certified specialists regularly conduct consolidation studies using IBM’s Consolidation Discovery and Analysis Tool (CDAT). The CDAT is designed to collect capacity and utilization data from Intel servers, independent of manufacturer and no matter how large or small the environment. Logicalis uses this tool to collect data and develop a capacity utilization report that includes the following:

• Processor utilization per server, maximum and average
• Memory utilization, maximum and average
• Storage utilization compared to allocated storage
• Network capacity

The collected data on the server environment is used to assess two key elements:

• The primary function of the server
• System resource requirements of the existing environment: CPU, memory, storage and network capacity

This information allows us to identify homogenous groups of servers performing similar functions. We call these groups "islands of consolidation." We normally target six types of server consolidation islands. These are:

• Mail servers
• Terminal servers
• File/print servers
• Application servers
• Web servers
• Database servers

Once these islands are identified, analysis of the resource requirements for each island are fed into a set of capacity and sizing models that recommend the optimal solutions for each environment. In this solution- development phase, several scenarios are examined to see if they will be a good match for the particular island:

• Physical versus virtual consolidation
• Scale-up versus scale-out solution
• Blades versus standalone server for the Intel environment