Datacentre Optimisation
Solutions from Platespin
Mark Round [VCP]
Systems Engineer, EMEA
PlateSpin Ltd.
Euretco Expo Center - Houten
FINAL
About PlateSpin
• Global independent software vendor (ISV)
– Founded in 2000
– Headquartered in Toronto, Canada
– Offices in UK, Germany, Australia, and USA
– Global Distribution + Re-Seller Channel
– Over 2000+ Satisfied Customers
– Experts in solutions for virtualised datacentres
• Recent Awards and Recognition
– Winners -International Business Awards for 2005 & 2006
• Best Company Overall (2006)
• Ranked as the 4th fastest growing Canadian IT
Company
Two Thousand+ Customers
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Health Care
Banking
Insurance
Pharmaceuticals
IT
Utilities
Education
Telecom
Financial Services
Government
Business / Technology Alliances
& Certifications
Channel Model /
Technical Certification
• Build success through partners and strategic
relationships
• Industry recognised accreditation (CPSA)
• Fast track programme for training partner network
Goals + Agenda
Presentation Goals
• To show you how Platespin products can help you
with:– Sizing new Virtual Infrastructure environments
– Accelerating Server consolidation projects
– Optimise the datacentre through intelligent software
solutions from Platespin
Agenda
• Platespin PowerRecon 2.x
– Consolidation Planning Module
– Features
• Platespin PowerConvert 6.x
– Features
– Solution Areas
• Continuous Datacentre Optimisation
• Q+A
The PlateSpin Equation
Awareness of Resources
+
Awareness of Workloads
+
OS Portability
=
Optimized Datacenter
How PowerRecon Helps
• Platespin PowerRecon helps you to see
– What resources are in the datacenter?
– What workloads are running on those resources?
– How effectively workloads are assigned to resources?
Workload
Resources
Life without Platespin
PowerRecon
MISSING IN ACTION
Datacentre Manager
LAST SEEN : Behind communications
rack number 7
What is a resource?
Resources are typically Hardware Assets with finite reserves
that can be supplied to meet demand
- In other words - the underlying physical makeup of the server
hardware
What is a workload?
Workloads are defined as the operating system, applications,
and data stack running on a server – these are seen as
demands on the underlying resources
• with 5 quantified dimensions of Processor, Memory, Disk
I/O, Disk Space, Network I/O
Introducing Platespin PowerRecon
with Consolidation Planning Module
Inventory
Utilisation + Workload profiling
PowerRecon Features and
Benefits
•
Key Features
– No physical contact with servers required
• Completely AGENTLESS
– Windows and Linux measurement
– Virtual hierarchy aware (VMWare / MSVS)
– Customizable resource and workload reports
• Quick Start - Ready to run reports
– Secure and contained data collection and analysis
– One click monitoring + analysis
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Benefits
– Not a one-time use product
– Use for consolidation or ongoing optimization
Platespin PowerRecon 2.2
Enhancements
• Data collection capabilities expanded :– VMware Infrastructure 3
– Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9
• Scalability enhancements
– increased number of servers monitored per instance of
PowerRecon to accommodate larger datacentres
• Application and services workload reports with
advanced filtering capabilities
• Detailed processor inventory gathering including cores
and hyper-threading awareness for Microsoft Windows
• Discover and inventory by IP range or CSV file input
• Enhanced Workload Scaling in Consolidation Planning
Module
Question?
• Would you like to collect hardware and software
inventory for 500 servers without leaving your chair?
• Platespin offer Datacentre Server Inventory and
Discovery for FREE to help you “Jump-Start” your
server consolidation projects.
Life with Platespin PowerRecon
Platespin PowerRecon
3 versions
• (Free Edition)
– PowerRecon for Inventory
• HW + SW Inventory only (500 servers)
• Innovative Usage Based Pricing (Pay as you go)
– PowerRecon for Monitoring
• $1 per server per day (100 days minimum)
• Purchase from re-seller or Platespin PowerStore
– PowerRecon for Planning
• $2 per server per day (100 days minimum)
• Purchase from re-seller or Platespin Powerstore
Time Limited Offer until November 30th 2006
Acclaim for Usage Based Pricing
“Usage based pricing is an innovative pricing structure which will be embraced by
datacentres. By providing pricing structures that do not depend on CPU power or
static allocation of physical boxes, solutions such as Platespin's are paving the way
to cost structures that are more equitable and affordable.”
Bob Gill, Chief Research Officer of TheInfoPro
TheInfoPro (TIP) is an independent research network and leading supplier of market
intelligence for the Information Technology (IT) industry
Introducing PowerConvert
• What is OS Portability?
Decouple workload
– Technology that automates the streaming of operating
from host
Infrastructure
system, applications, data between infrastructures
Physical
Blade
NEW
FEATURE
Peer-to-Peer
•LIVE
Workload Movement
•TRANSFER *
Virtual
Deploy or Recover
Workload from
Archives and Backups
Image
Reconfigure Workloads
Dynamically
OS + applications are
decoupled from Hardware
Starting a Server
Consolidation Project
4 step approach
1. Inventory Servers
• servers are added and static data is collected.
2. Collect Data
• servers are monitored and dynamic data is
collected.
3. Select Candidates
• servers are selected for consolidation.
4. Plan Consolidation
• the most optimal consolidation scenario is
identified.
USING - Platespin PowerRecon & Consolidation Planning
Module
Platespin PowerRecon
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Windows Server with IIS + dot NET framework 2.0
Platespin PowerRecon Server
Platespin PowerRecon Client
Database (MSDE) or SQL 2000
Can be physical or Virtual Machine
Monitored Hosts
– Windows NT4 (needs WMI core*), 2000, 2003, XP
– Redhat Linux
– MSVS R2, VMWare GSX, VMWare Server, VMWare ESX 2.x,
VI3 / ESX 3.x
– No need for host agents
• WMI for Windows, RPC, DCOM
• /proc/ for Linux, SSH connection
– Admin / Root or equivalent level credentials
Requirements – Platespin
PowerRecon 2.2
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Trial Installation: 0 to 10 Servers
1 GB memory, Pentium 3, 2.0 GHz, MSDE installation acceptable – 2 GB
limit
• 4 GB free disk space
• Small Installation: 10 to 100 Servers
• 2 GB memory, Pentium 4, 2.8 GHz with hyper-threading
• SQL Server, 20 GB free disk space
• Medium Installation: 100 to 250 Servers
• 4 GB memory, Pentium 4, 2.8 GHz with hyper-threading
• SQL Server, 50 GB free disk space
• Large Installation: 250 to 750+ Servers
• 4 GB memory, Pentium 4, 2.8 GHz dual core or multi-processor
• SQL Server, 100 GB SCSI free disk space
Guidelines : 250 MONITORED SERVERS PER CPU CORE
Requirements
• Guideline of 250 monitored machines per CPU core in
the Platespin PowerRecon server
• Raw Database growth (estimated)
– 2 MB/server/1 day
– 60 MB/server/1 month
– 6 GB/100 servers/1 month
– 36 GB/100 servers/6 months
– 15 GB/250 servers/1 month
• Platespin PowerRecon uses summarisation techniques
to keep these databases manageable.
Step 1: Inventory
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Install Platespin
PowerRecon server into
environment
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Define CREDENTIALS
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Remotely discover
servers WITHOUT
AGENTS
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Organise servers by
discovered properties
(e.g. by O/S) or into
custom groups
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Run your 1st Report
Step 1: Inventory
(All available for FREE)
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HW Inventory Reports
Dynamic interactive
reports – rank by
– operating systems
– installed applications
– patch levels
– CPU
– Memory
– Network
– disk resources etc.
Acrobat Reader style
report viewer
Export in wide choice of
formats (PDF, Excel etc.)
Step 2: Collect
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Choose RESOURCES
for which you would like
to collect utilization data
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One click MONITORING
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Record utilization data
over days, weeks, or
months based on
business need
Step 2: Collect
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Higher accuracy of raw
counters (Burst Sampling
Technique)
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View summary data, or drill
down to granular levels
(counters)
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Rank servers by CPU,
network, disk etc. & group
them for further analysis
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Rich visualization tools
– MIN, MAX, AVG, STDEV
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Generate custom charts &
export them as BMP, WMF
or raw values
Step 3: Select + Plan
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Ready to run Analysis
reports – or build your own
in minutes – e.g. Hardware
Utilisation – Peak
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Find workloads that do not
match their resources
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Identify sub-optimal
servers quickly and easily
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Create Consolidation
Candidate lists for use in
the Consolidation Planning
Module
Optimization
Pre-requisites
Consolidation Candidates
Target Server Templates
Scale-up
Scale-out
Server Consolidation Assessment
• Create Target Server Templates
• Define templates for scale-up / scale-out
• Define if used in Consolidation to Virtual Infrastructure or NONE
Server Consolidation Assessment
• Create new Consolidation Project
• Select Candidates from Logical Group / or Filters
– Select Time range Dimensions
Create Project &
Calculate Workloads
Consolidation Candidates
5D Workloads + Time
Profile
Server Consolidation Assessment
Projects Explorer
• Create new Scenario (Determine minimum number of servers)
Optimization
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Create a scenario
– Find the minimum number of target servers
I. Pack workloads
Optimization
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Create a scenario
– Find the minimum number of target servers
II. Balance workloads across resources
1
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3
4
Review Scenario Report + Charts
View Workload Summary
Optimization of freed-up
resources
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Create a scenario
– Specify the number of target servers
I. Pack workloads
Leftover
Workloads
1
2
3
4
Compare ALL Scenarios
Consolidation Project report
Consolidation Planning Module
Features + Benefits
Benefits
• Intelligent distribution of workloads across available
servers to maximize server utilization
• Balance application workloads by time and hardware
resource to minimize resource contention
• Advanced workload sizing and optimization produce
accurate consolidation plans that minimize cost by
reducing the need for “just in case” servers
Features
• Onsite data analysis, visualization and reporting
• Automated generation of consolidation plans and reports
• What-if, scale-out and scale-up scenarios
• Implement scenarios using Platespin PowerConvert 6.0
Integration
Platespin PowerRecon 2.2 / Platespin
PowerConvert 6.0
• Platespin PowerRecon + Platespin PowerConvert
integration
– Implement scenarios from consolidation project
Implementing Scenarios
• When the job is initiated, PowerRecon:
– Authenticates the servers
– Creates and runs server discoveries for PowerConvert
– Creates and saves conversion jobs
• In Platespin PowerConvert
– Load pre-built JOB
– Amend any final configuration details
– START the job
• Optionally monitor while the conversion completes
• P2V complete !
PlateSpin PowerConvert
The PlateSpin Equation
Awareness of Resources
+
Awareness of Workloads
+
OS Portability
=
Optimized Datacenter
PlateSpin PowerConvert
OS Portability
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Key Features
– No AGENTS or physical contact
required with servers
– Stream servers between physical,
virtual and image
– Connect, drag-and-drop, walk away
– Configure target resources onthe-fly
– 1 at a time / or / parallel conversions
– Windows and Linux
– Built on .NET API
•
Benefits
– 50:1 time savings
– Single point of control
– Use to solve multiple problems in
the data center
PlateSpin PowerConvert
Infrastructure Support
Sources
Targets
Physical Server
Physical Server
Blade Server
Blade Server
VMware ESX Server
VMware ESX Server
VMware Server
VMware Server
Microsoft Virtual Server
Microsoft Virtual Server
PlateSpin Flexible Image
PlateSpin Flexible Image
Symantec Ghost
Symantec LiveState
Acronis TrueImage
NSI Doubletake
Veritas BackupExec
Raw Volumes
Operating Systems that can be Moved
Windows NT4, 2000, 2003, XP Professional
Redhat Linux / SLES 9
Platespin PowerConvert 6.x
RESOURCE
POOLS
Platespin PowerConvert
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Windows Server with IIS + dot NET framework 2.0
Platespin PowerConvert Server
Platespin PowerConvert Client
Database (MSDE) or SQL 2000
Can be physical or Virtual Machine
Inventory Requirements
– Windows NT4, 2000, 2003, XP
– Redhat Linux, SuSe 9
– MSVS R2, VMWare GSX / VMWare Server, VMWare
ESX 2.x, VI3
– No need for host agents
• WMI for Windows, RPC, DCOM
• /proc/ for Linux, SSH connection
Platespin PowerConvert 6.0
Major Features
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X2P Driver Management GUI
– Add drivers for target physical systems x2P from a new
interface in the Platespin PowerConvert client
Set Internal / External NICs of Target VM
– For Warm Standby VM
Scalability Enhancements
– Run up to TWENTY simultaneous jobs
PS Analyser / Conversion readiness tool
– Comes as standard in Platespin PowerConvert
– De-risks conversion
– Checks Hardware readiness
– OS / SP levels
– “PS Analyser” analysis runs for every drag’n’drop
• And much more…
OS Portability Solution
Areas
Server Consolidation
(P2V)
CONSOLIDATE TO
VIRTUAL OR BLADE
INFRASTRUCTURES
AGENTLESSLY AND REMOTELY
PERFORM CONSOLIDATION
De-Virtualization for Support Integrity
(V2P)
DE-VIRTUALIZE
VIRTUAL
PRODUCTION
MACHINES
PHYSICAL
SERVERS
QUICKLY AND EASILY DE-VIRTUALIZE
APPLICATIONS TO MAINTAIN SUPPORT
CONTRACT INTEGRITY – FOR COMMERCIAL
AND HOMEGROWN APPS
Hardware Migration
(P2P)
OLD SERVER HARDWARE
NEW SERVER HARDWARE
RACK OR BLADE SERVERS
SIMPLE DRAG-AND-DROP VS. REINSTALLING OS, APPLICATIONS, DATA
Geographical Server Migration
MIGRATE ENTIRE DATA CENTERS
WITHOUT HAVING TO BE THERE
Hardware Independent Images
Provisioning and DR
(x2I2x)
BARE METAL RESTORE
STORE IMAGES ON
ANY SERVER
RESTORE TO PHYSICAL
SERVER WITH EXISTING OS
RESTORE TO VIRTUAL
MACHINE
AGENTLESSLY AND REMOTELY
CAPTURE AND RESTORE
Disaster Recovery with Physical OR
Virtual Machines
(P2V or P2P)
PHYSICAL
RECOVERY
MACHINE
DIRECT PEER-TOPEER REPLICATION
VIRTUAL
RECOVERY
MACHINE
PHYSICAL
PRODUCTION
SERVER
NO IMAGE CAPTURE
REQUIRED
AGENTLESSLY AND REMOTELY
CONTROL REPLICATION BETWEEN
PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL BOXES
USER OR SERVER RECONNECTS TO
VIRTUAL RECOVERY MACHINE AND
RESUMES WORK
Platespin + NSI Double-Take
Software
PowerSDK API
• Fully functional API
• Aimed at advanced “In-House” developers
who need to leverage OS portability
• Aimed at commercial
– ISV
– ASP
– Datacentres
• Licensed per-named developer
PowerConvert 6.x
with Live Transfer
Live Transfer
Functionality Overview
• Migrate Windows servers without taking them offline or
the need to reboot
• Source / Target servers can be physical or virtual
• Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server applications aware
– PowerConvert will briefly quiet applications during transfer
to preserve database integrity
• Transfer during low-to-moderate activity periods
• Live Transfer is an optional feature
Live Transfer
Compatibility List
• Operating Systems
– Windows 2000 Server SP4
– Windows 2003 Server SP0 / SP1 / R2
– Windows XP (all service packs)
• Applications
– Microsoft Exchange 2000, 2003
– Microsoft SQL Server 2000, MSDE
• Virtual Host
– VMware ESX 2.x, ESX 3.x, VI3
– VMware GSX, VMware Server 1.0
– Microsoft Virtual Server, Microsoft Virtual Server R2
Live Transfer (Highlights)
• Eliminates need for 3rd party live capture tools
• Direct streaming from source to Physical, Virtual or
Image
– Images are hardware independent – deploy to P or V
• Live Transfer captures the server at a point-in-time
• Technology is Application aware (Exchange / SQL)
• Source and Target machines have ON / OFF states for
greater flexibility + control
• VM can be suspended for faster RTO (Recovery Time
Objective)
Upgrading to VI3?
Use Platespin
PowerConvert for V2V
The challenges of upgrading…
• VMware’s recommended upgrade process is not
reversible
– VMs have to be powered-off
– Manual method does not allow for failback
– Manual method requires greater periods of downtime
– Manual method is error-prone
Its as easy as 1,2…..3
1. Discover ESX 2.x
Server + Source VM
ESX 2.x
ESX 3.x
VM
User works remotely from single migration
console
2. Discover ESX 3.x
Server
3. Drag and Drop
Source VM to VI3,
Configure Job +
press START
Migrating your ESX 2.x VMs to VI3
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•
Platespin PowerConvert
– Single GUI for conversions
– Can be done remotely
– Can be scheduled in
advance
– No Agents / No Scripts
– Run one at a time or in
Parallel
Old ESX 2.x VM
– Remains unchanged
– Minimise downtime using
LIVE TRANSFER
– Streamed over LAN / WAN
– No need for shared storage
•
Stream to New ESX 3.x VM
– Is a new VM - native to VI3
– Created where you need it
– Adjust resources on-the-fly
• vSMP to 4 way
• Resource Pool
• Re-Size Disks /
Partitions / Free space
• Choose Datastore
location for the vDisks
– New VMware Tools installed
automatically
– New VM can be tested
before de-commissioning the
old ESX 2.x VM
– Only downtime is when we
inject new Virtual Hardware
(~1 to 5 minutes)
VMware Infrastructure 3 Upgrade –
The PowerConvert Difference
• Leverages proven OS Portability™ technology to create
a native VI3 VM and streams the contents of the ESX 2
VM into the new target
• Manage your VI3 migration projects with maximum
flexibility and robustness
• Provides greater flexibility and significantly reduces
migration risk of failure
• V2V is not a new concept for Platespin
– Microsoft VS to VMware migrations
– GSX to ESX etc. since last 2005
PowerConvert Workflow
Example P2V
PlateSpin PowerConvert
How it Works
Source Servers
PowerConvert Server
Target Virtual Host
PowerConvert Client
Three step conversion process
- Remotely discover and inventory server
- Configure conversion job
- Start the conversion and optionally monitor
Source Servers
PowerConvert Server
Target Virtual Host
PowerConvert Client
Remotely Discover Server Details
PowerConvert discovers and inventories source and target
server using supplied hostname/IP and valid credentials
Discovered details used to:
- Review business use of server to plan consolidation
- Auto configure conversion job
PlateSpin PowerConvert
How it Works
Source Servers
PowerConvert Server
Target Virtual Host
PowerConvert Client
Three step conversion process
- Remotely discover and inventory server
- Configure conversion job
- Start the conversion and optionally monitor
Source Servers
PowerConvert Server
Target Virtual Host
PowerConvert Client
Configure and Start a Conversion Job
- With the server details discovered a conversion
job can be auto configured with a drag and drop
- Right sizing can be done via the job configuration
PlateSpin PowerConvert
How it Works
Source Servers
PowerConvert Server
Target Virtual Host
PowerConvert Client
Three step conversion process
- Remotely discover and inventory server
- Configure conversion job
- Start the conversion and optionally monitor
PlateSpin PowerConvert
How it Works
Source Servers
PowerConvert Server
Target Virtual Host
PowerConvert Client
Create New Virtual Machine
- PowerConvert remotely installs a controller on the
target ESX Server
- PowerConvert creates a new virtual machine
PlateSpin PowerConvert
How it Works
Source Servers
PowerConvert Server
Target Virtual Host
PowerConvert Client
Take Control
- PowerConvert takes control of new virtual
machine and source server
- Purpose is to boot source and destination so data
can be transferred with integrity
- Source machine is not altered
PlateSpin PowerConvert
How it Works
Source Servers
PowerConvert Server
Target Virtual Host
PowerConvert Client
Data Transfer
- Virtual machine disks are partitioned and
formatted
- Source data is streamed directly into the virtual
machine without use of temp space
- Copied operating system is configured to run in
virtual environment
PlateSpin PowerConvert
How it Works
Source Servers
PowerConvert Server
Target Virtual Host
PowerConvert Client
Release Control and Configure
- New VM is booted (control is released)
- PowerConvert configures the VM as per the job
configuration (e.g. network, hostname, domain,
etc)
PlateSpin PowerConvert
How it Works
Source Servers
PowerConvert Server
Target Virtual Host
PowerConvert Client
Conversion Complete
Release Source Server
- PowerConvert releases control of source server if
specified in the job (e.g. avoid duplicate IP)
- Conversion is complete and the new virtual
machine is now ready for operation
- PowerConvert saves server details, can be
refreshed later as needed
Integrated suite
approach to
consolidation
In Summary
• Inventory
– Build an accurate picture of server resources for
effective planning
• Collect
– Gather real workload data to make accurate
consolidation decisions
• Plan
– Run different what-if scenarios to maximise utilisation
and minimise cost (with Consolidation Planning
Module) –Build Platespin PowerConvert jobs directly
from Consolidation Plan
• Implement
– Efficiently manage any size of consolidation project with
remote, automated, and fully configurable conversions
Q+A
Summary
•
Platespin offer the only end-to-end software solution suite for
consolidation
•
CPSA – Industry recognised certification programme
•
The only 100% automated hardware independent migration
software
– Physical, virtual, images
•
Used for multi-purposes
– Server Consolidation
– Disaster Recovery
– Test Lab Automation
– Lease Migration / Data Center Relocation
– Server Provisioning
•
Designed for long-term use to achieve optimized data center
Thank You
Platespin PowerConvert
Versions
• Platespin PowerConvert for Server Consolidation
– Per Conversion License model
– Restricted for P2V or P2P operations only
• Platespin PowerConvert for Recovery
– Licensed per PROTECTED Server OS Instance
– x2I2x (3 step conversion process)
• Uses Platespin Image Server technology
• Platespin PowerConvert Universal
– Anywhere-to-Anywhere
– Peer-to-Peer conversions
– Licensed Per Server
See. Think. Respond.