Consolidation
Database Consolidation
- Database Consolidation - A Cost Saving Green Initiative learn more » »
- Not all Databases are Created Equal learn more » »
- Analyze, Test, and Validate for Successful Database Consolidation learn more » »
- Applications Portfolio a Crucial Element of Database Consolidation Analysis learn more » »
Database Consolidation - A Cost Saving Green Initiative
Database consolidation is the process of centralizing and sharing of resources for multiple databases and instances. As datacenters are increasingly overrun with databases, loaded with essential applications, server sprawl continues to...well, sprawl.
Database consolidation is an important aspect of any server consolidation effort and the reining in of escalating server sprawl.
Just as virtualization of the datacenter brings cost and management benefits to IT administration, database consolidation contributes many of the same benefits plus a few of its own:
- Saves energy as fewer servers require less heating and cooling
- Saves valuable space as fewer servers have a smaller footprint
- Saves time and money through lower IT administrative costs
- Reduced time to manage IT resources and use them in a more effective and useful way
- Increased availability and higher utilization rates
- Simplified management and greater ease of database administration
- Improved quality of database technology by reducing number of database instances
- Improved backup and disaster recovery through centralization
- Lower licensing costs because fewer instances of the database software are required
When it gets right down to it, in most cases it is inefficient to run only one application on one server because so many applications share data anyway.
Consolidation can increase efficiency when these like applications, which are sharing data, are housed on the same server. This shared data need only be stored once and then each application that needs it can access it independently.
Not all Databases are Created Equal
The first step in a database consolidation project is to determine which server to include in the project. Escalating server sprawl can cost an organization time and money, but addressing the sprawl may also require hardware upgrades and the reconfiguration of some of the databases or applications that use them.
New hardware can be an expensive factor and it needs to be determined if the benefits justify the cost.
A consolidated server will have to do the work of several existing servers so the technology needs to be in place to manage the server load. For example, the project may require migrating storage from a low-end disk array to a high-end SAN. However, the cost of the hardware could be offset by the lower licensing costs.
Servers with high-security requirements, such as those imposed by regulations like HIPPA or PCI-DSS, may involve prohibitive costs in the overhead of assuring compliance on the consolidated server.
Applications that are hard-coded to a server and which might require time-consuming changes to code are another consideration in server inclusion or exclusion.
Either of the above instances could possibly tip the scales and should be consideration factors.
The ENS-Inc Engineers and Project Managers are experts in datacenters and consolidation projects with many years of experience.
- The impact of legacy equipment and its integration with and migration to newer hardware is one of our areas of expertise.
- We know the complex ins and outs of regulatory requirements and the security of the data.
ENS-Inc works with your organization to determine a consolidation initiative that fulfills your organization’s needs.
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Analyze, Test, and Validate for Successful Database Consolidation
Because databases are core to the business processes and informational needs of the enterprise, database consolidation must be approached in a methodical way and requires a structured approach during the analysis phase.
First, the current environment is evaluated.
- What type of hardware is currently in place?
- What types of databases are being used?
- What types and quantity of applications are running?
An impact analysis is a key step in the planning process.
- What risks are associated with the consolidation?
- What are the vulnerabilities of the datacenter?
- How will the organization be affected by the consolidation?
Testing and validation are crucial for a successful database consolidation.
- Ensures that the database and its design are running the way it was intended.
- From this point, the consolidation of the server farm at large can be done, and the creation of a new database can take place.
When the excess capacity which allowed for sustained performance during high transaction rates is used up, more workload is created on the consolidated server. If the pre-consolidation analysis is not done right, database consolidation could result in reduced performance and increased maintenance responsibilities, even though overall costs are reduced.
Standardization reduces operational costs, reduces business risk, and enables business agility.
Another key consideration is standardization at all levels of the technical stack and within the associated IT processes. The standardization is best defined in concert with a strategy of tiered service levels.
A tiered set of service levels, with each specifying detailed availability and performance constraints, along with scalability requirements will simplify and improve the chances of success.
The final analysis in consolidation decisions is alignment with an organization’s priorities. The degree of success is in direct relation to understanding those priorities for cost reduction, service levels, and risk acceptance.
It is exceedingly important to have highly skilled and certified engineers on your team for analysis, testing, and validation.
ENS-Inc teams approach your database consolidation project using best practices and Product Life Cycle (PLC) ( link to Project Management page) methodologies. By establishing a standard and repeatable methodology for each endeavor, our team provides our customers with exceptional service and quality products.
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Applications Portfolio a Crucial Element of Database Consolidation Analysis
Database consolidation is a continuous process because it is driven by the hardware refresh cycle and the evolving nature of businesses. The supporting processes, application portfolio management and technology refresh, should be an integral part of the IT process.
A comprehensive applications analysis, and probably a decommissioning of the applications alongside the database consolidation, must be evaluated in various contexts:
- Business Context - the relationship between the database, application, and business process, and the service level required by the business process
- Technical Context - the relationship between database and the supporting hardware; internal database structures, version, and feature usage
- Operational Context - both current and historical workload and usage statistics and forward-looking capacity planning data
It must be determined which applications will fit best in which databases. This does not mean merely evaluating database size and structure, but determining if the vendor can support that as a primary database, and how the new database will support the applications.
In the database consolidation, any dependencies the databases expect, such as drive names or external applications, must be carefully reconstructed. Naming conflicts with usernames and passwords must be resolved. Any applications that use the databases will need to be redirected to the new server.
Uptime also becomes a greater concern because more applications will rely on the consolidated server. Each new server performance must match or exceed that of the old database, even under maximum strain.
ENS-Inc delivers proven reliable and scalable database consolidation solutions and we ensure your projects will be on time, on budget, and within scope. Most importantly, your database consolidation project will yield the benefits required for your specific organization.
We’re on your team...our expertise, your needs, your success.
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