Virtualization in the Datacenter Timothy Antonowicz Systems Engineer

Virtualization in the Datacenter Timothy Antonowicz Systems Engineer Bowdoin College

Spring 2004 76 Intel servers n Projected growth for 15 -25 per year n No R&D infrastructure n Limited Datacenter resources n Need for higher availability and fault tolerance for services n

Problem Statement n We need to find a solution to our space and resource problem. ¨ Address Hardware and Physical limitations ¨ Support our diverse systems environment ¨ Provide best use of staff resources ¨ Consolidate to better utilize server resources

Software Requirements n Flexibility ¨ Multiple n OS support Management ¨ Ease of Use ¨ Rapid deployment Backup and Recovery n Industry Standard n

Software: VMWare ESX Server n “Bare Metal Install” ¨ Licensed per server, not per VM ¨ Each VM assigned the same virtual hardware ¨ VMs portable between different ESX servers Image and Deploy servers in minimal time n Multiple Drive States n ¨ Use n of “REDO” for changes VM is comprised of 2 files, easy backup

Task: Create Testing Infrastructure n Build virtual servers as “sandboxes” ¨ Programmers and developers ¨ Application support and upgrades ¨ Standardization of platforms ¨ Backup and recovery ¨ Self-service option

Task: Migrate or retire old servers n Replace older hardware with virtual ¨ Application upgrades on VMs ¨ P 2 V migration for static servers n “Plan for Virtual, move to Physical” ¨ New upgrades or migrations are done to virtual servers first. If more resources are needed, it is moved to a blade at that time.

Task: Build for future growth n Create Server Images ¨ Gold Win 2 k 3 and Linux images ¨ Scale ESX servers for growth n VM resource allocation ¨ Scale servers at a common base ¨ Increase disk, memory, CPU as needed ¨ “Added resources make happy customers”

Task: Change the mindset of IT n “Plan for Virtual, move to Physical” ¨ Projects begin with virtual servers ¨ Charge/spec for “Server Resources” n Prove patches and upgrades in VM ¨ Beat n up on a Clone Spread the wealth ¨ separate file, web, and databases for security

Bowdoin Systems Today 46 X 86 -based servers (retired 30 servers) n 122 X 86 -based hosts n 10 ESX servers hosting 86 VMs n 86 Virtual hosts vs. 36 Physical hosts n 70% virtualized in the x 86 space n

Savings n Cost of each Blade: $6, 250. 00 ¨ Includes n Disk, Memory, Dual Proc, etc. Number of additional servers: ¨ 86 virtual-10 ESX servers=76 n Cost to provide physical Servers n 76 x $6, 250= $475, 000. 00 n ** Bowdoin did not purchase servers in FY 05 -06

Conclusion Server Consolidation at Bowdoin was successful at many levels n Consolidation can be done by anyone with a little time, resources and determination n Bowdoin’s effort is ongoing n ESX 3 upgrade and migration- Fall’ 06 n

Thank you for attending n Tim Antonowicz Systems Engineer Bowdoin College 1 -207 -725 -3723 tantonow@bowdoin. edu