IT Optimisation - Server Consolidation Service Overview

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The first phase in the IT audit service is the automatic discovery of Windows, Linux and UNIX server hardware and software assets across the datacenter using an agent-less technology to build a static snapshot for each server within the data centre. Detailed information for each server is then gathered such as hardware specifications, operating system information, installed applications, patch levels, CPU, memory, network and disk resources. Servers can be discovered automatically from an IP range, a list of hostnames or IP addresses or directly from a windows domain.

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Over twenty key utilisation and performance indicators for each server are then measured and monitored every five minutes over a 30 day period. This timescale allows for accurate profiling and resource forecasting over a true monthly processing cycle. These key data points are then used to determine workload sizes and appropriate resource matching and gives an accurate picture of workload at different times of the day and week identifying suboptimal trends such as peaks or valleys caused by batch processes, high business volume, network traffic spikes, etc.

For the third phase of the IT audit, the data will then be imported into the Consolidation EngineT, a rule based analysis engine developed by Q Associates that combines both industry best practice and experience gained from the field to provide with the collected workload profiles to provide proven recommendations, infrastructure sizing and detailed analysis of an organisations infrastructure. The analysis engine is also used in the virtualisation suitability analysis of each workload, evaluating the potential suitability of each server for consolidation based on not only its workload but also its application type and licensing implications.

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The final phase of the IT audit process is the creation of the reporting deliverables. These are a mixture of automatically generated reports combined with custom reports based on specific customer requirements. The final report will not only provide a detailed workload analysis for each individual server but also will evaluate the potential suitability of each server for consolidation based on not only its workload but also its application type and licensing implications. A business case deliverable will be produced detailing specific opportunities for consolidation, potential sizing scenarios, a high level plan for next actions and a TCO analysis comparing the current environment with any proposed new solution. Further details regarding the reporting deliverables can be found in the Sample Reports section.

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