Management eBook

7/29/2019 Management eBook

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1 ManagingLinuxinaVirtualorCloudEnvironment

THE KEYtoLinuxManagement


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3 LifecycleManagement101

THISCHAPTERINCLUDES: Theimportanceofprocess Whatislifecyclemanagement RedHatNetworkSatellite

yourmissioncontrol

PROCESS: LOVE IT OR HATE IT (LEARN TO LOVE IT)

Engineers,programmers,andsystemadministratorshavealove-hate

relationshipwithprocess.Theyloveknowingexactlyhowsomething

shouldbedoneandthateverystepcanbetracked.Almostanyonecan

followawell-designedanddetailedprocess.However,theyhatethe

limitedfreedomthatseemstoaccompanythatprocesspreferring

do-it-yourselfapproachesandimmediatequickxes.Thefreedomofablank

pagecanbefunandexciting,butprocessiswhatkeepsyoufromgetting

those3a.m.phonecallstellingyouthatsomethingisseriouslywrong.

Whenanyorganizationmovesbeyondasingle,simpleLinuxserver,

itquicklybecomesclearthattheyneedsomesortofprocesstohelp

decidehoweachservershouldbeprovisioned,congured,andupdated.

Morethanafewhavefollowedthetried-and-truemethodofhandingasystemadministratoraprintoutandtellinghim,Goandbuildthis.See

youinacoupleofdays.

Doesthatreallysoundlikeagoodideaespeciallywhenyouretalkingabout

morethanahandfulofservers?Itgetsworsewhenyoustartthinking

abouthundredsofphysicalserversandTHOUSANDSofvirtualones.

Seriously. You need a process. You need procedures.You need lifecycle management.

CHAPTER 1LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT 101


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LifecycleManagement101 4

WHAT IS LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT?

Lifecyclemanagementisaprocessandtoolsetthatisdesignedto

provideasystematicandrepeatablemethodformanagingeachstage

ofasystemfromconceptionthroughproduction.Afullyrealized

lifecyclemanagementplanincludes:

Systemdesignrequirementsandstandards

Systemandsoftwarelicenseandsubscriptionmanagement

Provisionstandardsandapproaches

Testingandqualityassuranceproceduresandstandards

Productionimplementationsteps

Usage/demandmonitoringandmethodsforreallocation

ofservices

Accesscontrolandsecurity

Complianceandauditingplansandapproaches

Updateandpatchmanagement

Systemmonitoringandalertmethods

Decommissioningandrepositioningplans

Thekeytooperatinganenterpriseenvironmentusingalifecycle

managementapproachisthis:aclearsetofproceduresandatoolset

toexecuteit.Aplanwithoutthetoolscannotbeimplemented,while

toolswithoutaplanwillprovideunpredictableresults.

Asuccessfullifecyclemanagementapproachisthecombinationofa

thoroughandworkablesetofprocedurescombinedwiththerighttoolset.

USE RED HAT NETWORK SATELLITE TO MAKELIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT WORK FOR YOU

So,nowyouvegottheplan,howdoyouputthatplanintoaction?

IfyoureusingRedHatEnterpriseLinux, theansweriseasy:

RedHatNetwork(RHN)Satellite.

RHNSatellitecanbecomethemission controlforyoursystems

throughoutthelifecycleofyourproject.Usingitsweb-basedinterface,


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5 LifecycleManagement101

youcaneasilyprovisionhundredsofserversinamatterofminutes,

keepingthemerror-free,up-to-date,patched,andfullycompliant

allwhiletrackingeveryactionperformed.Youcangrouptheminto

channels,controlaccess,andmonitoreverything.Jobsthatordinarily

takedaysforteamsofsystemadministratorstocompletecannowbe

managedbyoneadministratorinjustminutes.

Whatwouldyoudowithallofthatfreetime?Justthinkofall

thosehumanresourcesthatarenowunchainedfromthedrudgery

ofupdatingandbabysittingsystems.Youcouldbuildnewcustom

applicationsthatyourusershavebeenbeggingfor.Youcouldrewrite

thatancient,butcriticalsystemthatyouvebeennursingalong.

Oryoucouldexpand,scaleup,andgobig.

Theresalottoloveaboutprocessprocessandlifecyclemanagement

canopenuprealfreedom,especiallyifyouuseRHNSatellitetomake

itallhappen.

TELL ME MORE

Wanttolearnmore?Thereareloadsofmaterialsincludingwhitepapers,

casestudies,anddetailedinformationallconvenientlyorganizedon

ourwebsite.Justvisitredhat.com/rhn andgetwiththeprogram.


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PitfallsofaDo-it-Yourself(DIY)ManagementSolution 6

THISCHAPTERINCLUDES:Opensource,freedom,andyourenterprisesystemsWhatarethepitfallsofDIY?RedHatNetworkSatellite:ThecureforDIY

OPEN SOURCE, FREEDOM, AND YOUR ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS

Forengineers,oneofthemostexcitingthingsaboutLinuxisthe

completefreedomtochangeanything.Asinglesystemadministrator,

withenoughtimeandaccesstotheInternet,shouldbeabletobuild,

x,orchangeabsolutelyeverything.WorkingwithLinuxsystemsisa

littlelikebeingasettlerintheWildWest:Justrollupyoursleevesand

digin.Sowhynotdoityourself?

Well,guesswhat,cowboy?Timeistheonethingthatyoudonthavein

unlimitedquantities.

Doingityourselfisaterricwaytolearnandexplore.ManyLinux

administratorsanddevelopersstartoutbybuildingtheirownsystemsathomeandarecontinuallyexperimenting.Thatsterric,butwhen

youcarrythatintoanenterpriseenvironment,evenasmallone,you

begintodiscoverthatitsnotliketheWildWest.Itsmorelikeajungle

lledwithatangleofvines,bottomlesspits,andnastysurprises.

ADIYapproachisagoodwaytolearn;buttobuildandmanagea

systemtorunyourbusiness,youneedprocess,automation,andthe

righttools.YouneedtheoppositeofDIY.

CHAPTER 2PITFALLS OF A DO-IT-YOURSELF (DIY)

MANAGEMENT SOLUTION


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7 PitfallsofaDo-it-Yourself(DIY)ManagementSolution

WHAT ARE THE PITFALLS OF DIY?

Buildasystemovertime,withasuccessionofdo-it-yourselfers,and

whatdoyoutypicallynd?LetslisteninonafewtypicalITquestions

andndout:

NotonlydoDIYsystemsgetthosequickxesthatpopupunexpectedly,

butitcanalsoresultinaproblemknownintechnicaltermsasabigballofmud.Abigballofmudcanalsocontainmoundsofspaghetti

code,whichisjustasunpleasantasitsounds.Thesesystemsarefull

ofundocumentedscripts,patches,andsystemsthatarevirtually

impossibletoscaleuporaudit.

IDONTKNOW,BUTDONTMESSWITHIT.

WHATDOESTHISSCRIPTDO?

OH,WEHAVENTHADTHATINAGES.

NOWHEREIGUESS.

WHEREDOESTHISPROGRAMCALLGO?

THREEDAYS,MAYBEFIVE,

IFNOTHINGELSEGOESWRONG.

HOWLONGWILLITTAKETOBUILD

ANOTHERSERVER?

LETSJUSTHOPETHATNEVERHAPPENS.

IFSTEVEGETSHITBYABUS,

HOWDOWEUPDATETHISSERVER?


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PitfallsofaDo-it-Yourself(DIY)ManagementSolution 8

Thekeytounderstandingwhatyouneedtosuccessfullyrunyour

organizationssystemsisrecognizingthelimitationsofyourexisting

DIYsystem.DIYsystemsaredifculttomaintain,andyoucantjust

throwbodiesatthisproblem.IfyouhaveaDIYsystem,itshardtotrain

someonenewonhowitworksbecausealotofsolutionsarecreated

onthey.Andbigissues,likecomplianceaudits,canbeenormously

painful,time-consuming,andultimatelyabudget-breakingexpense.

WhiletalesoftheWildWestmightsoundlikefun,whatmost

organizationsreallyneedandwantiscalm,predictable,and

reliableresultseverytimeandwithoutdrama.

RED HAT NETWORK SATELLITE: THE CURE FOR DIY

Process,procedure,andlifecyclemanagementmaysoundlikealossof

freedomtothedevoteddo-it-yourselfer,butthetruthisclear:Thisisthe

onlywaytobreakfreefromthedrudgeryofmaintainingaDIYsystem.

RedHatNetwork(RHN)SatelliteaddresseseachpitfalloftheDIY

approachandsetsorganizationsonapathofsane,relaxedmanagement.

WithDIY,youhavechaosthatcanbarelybecontained.

However,RHNSatelliteholdsdownthefortforyou.

DIY RHN SATELLITE

Creatingandtestingnew

systemstakesdaysorlonger

andwithunknownerrors.

Provisionnewsystemsin

minutes100%errorfree.

Scalingcanbeslowandis

alwaysdifcult.

Addhundredsofnew,

perfectlycongured

serversinminuteswith

justafewclicks.

Systemsaremaintainedby

spaghetticode,ducttape,

oradministratorJedimind

tricks(orjustbruteforce).

Easy-to-usewebinterface

tocontroleverythingwith

afewclicks.


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9 PitfallsofaDo-it-Yourself(DIY)ManagementSolution

DIY RHN SATELLITE

Scripts,code,andoperations

areallmaintainedthrough

oraltradition.Nothingiswrittendown.

Fullydocumentedpractice

andprocedures.

Itisverydifculttohireand

trainnewpersonnel.

Professionaltraining

availablefromRedHat.

Whocanyoucallwhen

somethinghasgonewrong?

24X7supportfrom

RedHatengineers.

ManyDIYsystemsstartasanattempttofullycustomizean

environmentforaspecicenterprise.Thatsagreatgoal,but

maintainingandgrowingaDIYsystemistypicallyverydifcult.Unless

everyelementisapproachedwithcarefulplanning,fulldocumentation,

andcontinualmaintenancewithupgrades,itsvirtuallyimpossibleto

keepitfrommorphingovertimeintothatbigballofmudthatyour

staffwillthenworkdayandnighttoprevent.

Perhapsthebiggestsurprise:Whenyoueliminatethebigballofmud,

yoursystemadministratorshavemorefreedomtodothethings

theyreallylove,likebuildingthosenewapplicationsthatcanhelp

yourorganizationbecomemoreproductive,grow,andprosper.RHN

SatelliteistheidealtooltotransformyourRedHatEnterpriseLinux

environmentintosomethingthatseasytomanage,grow,andscale

withoutasinglespeckofmud.

TELL ME MORE





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ManagingLinuxinaVirtualorCloudEnvironment 10

THISCHAPTERINCLUDES:Hey,you,getoffmycloudWhatexactlyisthecloud?Headintheclouds,feetontheground,andusingRedHatNetworkSatellitetomanageitall

HEY, YOU, GET OFF MY CLOUD

Youknowsomethingishappeningwhenevenconsumersstartdropping

computingterminologyintodailyconversation.Everybodyseemsto

betalkingaboutit.Cloudcomputingisthelatest,greatestthing.And

whoknows?Runningsystemsinthecloudmaybejustthethingtohelp

controlcostsandofferupunlimitedprocessingpowertosmallandlarge

enterprisesalike.

Backintheday,youhadyourdatacenteranenormousopenspace

withraisedoors,brightlights,andthedroneofairconditioning.Even

thebiggestenterprisescouldgetbyprettyeasilychurningthrough

batchjobsovernight,processingorders,invoicing,andpayroll

allonthebigmachinessittingintheirowndatacenters.Lifewasgood(although

thoseplatterdriveswereprettyheavy).Now,multinationalcorporations

operateoutofwhatsometimeslookslikeanapartmentonerackof

bladeserversmayrepresentallofthehardwaretheydirectlyown.

Youcallthatadatacenter?

Therearenomoresimplebatchjobstoprocessovernight:The

demandforservicescontinuestoskyrocket,andemployeeshavemorecomputingpowerontheirdesktopsorintheirpocketsthanthose

giantdatacentersofthirtyyearsagoeverdid.Evenyourcustomers

aremakingincreasingdemandsonyoursystemssurngyoursitefor

information,buyingthingsfromyou,andusingthosenewservicesyou

CHAPTER 3MANAGING LINUX IN A VIRTUAL

OR CLOUD ENVIRONMENT


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rolledout.Someorganizations,maybeyours,havetobuildsystems

aroundasinglepeakseasonoreventduringtheyear,suchastaxtime,

holidayshopping,ortheSuperBowlcreatingsystemsspecictothat

peakdemand.

Sowhenyouheartalkofthecloud,itsoundsinteresting.Scary,maybe,

butinteresting.

WHAT EXACTLY IS THE CLOUD?

Cloudcomputingisthenextgenerationofvirtualsystems.Itnotonly

abstractsthehardwarelayer,butalsoaddsanautomationlayer.Suddenlyyounolongercarewhereyoursystemsphysicallyreside.Buttheresmore

toitthanjustthat.Letsbreakdowntherangeofpossibilities:

PHYSICALHARDWARE

Thisisagenerictermfortheactualphysicalcomputerthatyoucan

touchtheactualserver.

VIRTUALMACHINE

Thisisanabstractedcomputer.Onephysicalhardwareservercanrun

multiplevirtualmachines.Virtualmachinescanbesetupandoperated

justlikeaphysicalserverandtypicallyare.Virtualmachinesareoften

treatedjustliketheirphysicalcounterparts,rarelychanging.

PRIVATECLOUDS

Thesearebanksofvirtualmachinesthatyourenterpriseownsandoperates,allwaitingtobeprovisionedandused,butonlyasneeds

dictate.Allofthesearehousedsafelyinsideyourenterpriserewall.

Forexample,youmighthave12physicalmachinesand120virtual

servers,butyouuseonly30ofthesevirtualserversatanygiven

moment.Theother90areavailabletobeusedasneeded.Acrossthe

dayandweek,theseserverscanbeusedforanumberofdifferent

servicesandcanchangefromhourtohour,sometimesasoftenastwo

orthreetimesanhour,dependingondemand.Privatecloudsaddan

automationlayertovirtualization,sothatyounolongercareorknow

exactlywhichonemachineyoursystemisrunningon.


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PUBLICCLOUDS

Theseareevenlargerbanksofpotentialserversthatsitoutsideyour

rewallandarenotownedoroperatedbyyourenterprise.Theyre

available,foraprice,tomeetdemandbeyondwhatyoucanhandleon

yourownsystems.Ifyoureconcernedaboutprivacyandsecurity,this

soundsscary(andyourconcernsarejustied).

HYBRIDCLOUDS

Theseareacombinationoftheprivateandpublicclouds,butalso

includetheextensionofyourprivatenetworkandmanagementtools

intothesystemsbeyondyourrewall.Thismaysoundlessintimidating,

buthowexactlydoyoudothat?

Cloudcomputingisntsodifculttounderstand.Butmanagingsystems

runninginitmightbeespeciallyifyourestrugglingtokeepyour

current,non-cloudyphysicalsystemsrunningsmoothly.

ThekeytocreatingandmanagingRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystems,

runningeithervirtuallyorinacloud,isthis:Youneedaclearplanand

atoolsetthatdoesntcareifyouremanagingarackofbladeserversorthousandsofvirtualservers.Youneedatoolthatwillallowyouto

deploysystemsandservicesinminutes,notdays,andthenremove

themfromserviceanddeployothersminuteslater.Orbetteryet,make

itallhappenautomaticallyandunattended.


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HEAD IN THE CLOUDS, FEET ON THE GROUND, AND USINGRED HAT NETWORK SATELLITE TO MANAGE IT ALL

Unfortunately,theresnowaytomanageadynamicallychanging

cloudenvironmentmanually.Youdonthavedaystobuildandtest

serversyouneedthemNOW.RedHatNetwork(RHN)Satelliteallows

youtoswiftlydeploynewRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystemsanywhere.

Thatmeansonacomputersittingrightnexttoyou,ononeofthe

manyvirtualserversonyourrackofblades,orsomewherewithinyour

privatecloud.Andheresthepayoff:RHNSatellitecanprovisionthat

newserverinminutesandhaveitinfullproductionand100percent

error-free.UsingRHNSatelliteyoucandeployevenhundredsofnew

serversinthatsamefewminutes,anywhere,insideyournetworkor

inthecloud.

Thecloudisntyourproblem.Theproblemishavingtheright

serversattherighttime.RHNSatelliteisthewayyoucandeploy

yourRedHatEnterpriseLinuxserverseasily,quickly,and100percent

righteverytime.

Whenthedemandpeakpasses,youcantakethoseserversyounolongerneedoutofproductionandputcompletelydifferentsystemsin

theirplace,baseduponwhatscurrentlyneeded.UsingRHNSatellites

web-basedinterface,thesesystemscanbemonitored,updated,

maintained,andremovedfromserviceeasily.Alternately,systemscanbe

deployedandremovedinacompletelyunattended,automatedfashion.

Butprovisioningisjustonesmallpieceofthepuzzle.RedHat

EnterpriseLinuxsystemsrunninginthecloudneedthesamecare

andfeedingasthoserunninginatraditionaldatacenter.Theystill

needtobeupdated,congured,andmeetanynecessaryauditand

compliancestandards.RHNSatellitemakessurethatallofyour

RedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystemsareupdated,patched,andfully

compliantnomatterwheretheyarerunning.


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Therearealotofthingstomanageinthecloud,andRHNSatellite

handlesallofthem:

Sprawl

Churn

Patchandupdatemanagement

Rapiddeploymentrequirements

Subscriptionmanagement

ThebenetsofimplementingaprivatecloudforanenterpriseLinux

infrastructurearesignicant;however,youcantgettothesebenets

withouttheuseofasystemsmanagementtoolandapproach.

RHNSatelliteprovidesthosetoolswithasimpleinterfacethatallowssystemadministratorstodesign,build,andmaintainaprivatecloud

fortheenterprisewithrelativeease.RHNSatellitegivesorganizations

theabilitytoeliminatetheissuesofclutterandchurninahighly

virtualenvironmentandprovidesacleartoolsetwithwhichtorapidly

provision,update,monitor,andmanagesystemswithinaprivatecloud.

Itsthetooltokeepyougroundedwhileyoursystemsbecomefully

cloud-based.

RHNSatellitecanbeimplementedonbaremetaltoprovisionall

enterprisesystemsorcanbeimplementedwithinavirtualmachineand

usedtoprovisiononlyvirtualguests.Itcanmanageacombinationof

physical,virtual,andcloud-basedsystemsbothwithintheenterprise

environmentaswellasextendedintoanexternalcloudviaavirtual

privatenetwork.ForusersofRedHatEnterpriseLinux,RHNSatellite

istheclearchoiceforbuildingandoperatingRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystemsinaprivatecloud.

TELL ME MORE





14/25

15 OvercomingtheComplexitiesofaLinuxSystem

THISCHAPTERINCLUDES:Nobodysaidthiswouldbeeasy,butyouvegottobekiddingmeExactlyhowcomplex?ComplexsystemsserviceseasilymanagedwithRedHatNetworkSatellite

NOBODY SAID THIS WOULD BE EASY,BUT YOUVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

Howdidthingsgetthiscomplex?Youstartwithanice,cleanLinux

installandnowlookatit.Wasntconvertingtoopensourcesoftware

andhavingthefreedomofLinuxsupposedtomakethingseasier?

Butwhosaidbuildingandmanaginganenterprisedatainfrastructure

waseasy?

ManyITorganizationsarecaughtbetweentwoconictingdemands:

providemoreandmoreservices,whichareinnitelyfaster,andreduce

costs.Howisthatevenpossible?Ifyouwantmoreservices,thatll

costmoremoney,right?Whataboutthecloud?Heresahint:Moving

tothecloudisnotfree.AndfartoomanyITorganizationshavetheir

handsfullmerelymaintainingwhattheyhave.Youknow,thatmassof

spaghetticodethatjustbarelygetsbyasitis.

Andwhatwouldyoudoifuppermanagementsentwordtodaythat

theyneedyoutoscaleupyoursystemsbyafactorofvebytheend

ofthemonth?Couldyoudoit?

CHAPTER 4OVERCOMING THE COMPLEXITIES

OF A LINUX SYSTEM


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OvercomingtheComplexitiesofaLinuxSystem 16

EXACTLY HOW COMPLEX?

Heresasimpletesttondouthowcomplexyoursystemsare.Pick

aserver,anyserver.Howlongwouldittakeforyoutobuildanother

one,justlikeit,andputitintoproduction?Andbeforeyoustartthat,

isthatservercompletelyup-to-datewithpatchesanderrata?Isitfully

compliantwithallofthestandardsrequired?Coulditpassanexternal

audit?Couldyoubuild,say,tenmoreofthem?Howlongwouldthattake?

Andthatwasjustforonerandomlyselectedserver.Nowletslook

atyourentireinfrastructurecanyoupointtoanygivenserverand

state,withfullassurance,thatits100percentup-to-dateandfully

compliant?Howdoyouknowthat?Whatservicesarerunningonwhichphysicalorvirtualservers?

AsforthatscalingthingletssaythattheCIOsendswordthatyou

havetoprepareforaseasonaldemandpeak,andtheyaresendingyou

threenewsystemadministrators,freshoutofschool.Howlongwillit

takeyoutotrainthemsotheycanactuallyhelp?Ordoyoujusttell

themtostayoutofthewaybecauseitseasiertojustdoityourself?

Nowletsmakethingsinteresting:Pickyourmostseniortechnician,

whomyoudependonthemost,tokeepyoursystemsrunning

smoothly.Letspretendthatthiskeypersonjustwonthelottery.

Ofcourse,youllneverseethatpersonagainorbeabletoreachhim

onthebeachinTahiti.Everythingstillokay?

COMPLEX SYSTEMS SERVICES EASILY MANAGED WITHRED HAT NETWORK SATELLITE

Believeitornot,itdoesnthavetobethatcomplex.Youcanreducecosts

anddramaticallyscaleupyourofferings.Youjustcantdoitmanually.

RedHatNetwork(RHN)Satellitecanhelpyoudealwithallofthosecomplex

scenarios.Needtoscaleup?Noproblem.Justhavethemtellyouhowmany

serversandwheretoputthem.Tenminuteslater,youllhavethoseservers

inproduction.Wantahundredmore?Justanother10minutes.Thatkey

personwhowonthelottery?Sendsunblockyoullbene.Andthose

threenewsystemadministrators?Youllhavethemtrainedandproductive

inafewdays,managingtheirowngroupofservers.How is that possible?


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17 OvercomingtheComplexitiesofaLinuxSystem

ThekeyfeaturesofRHNSatelliteprovidethebasisforagreatly

simpliedmanagementprocess:

1.PROVISIONINGBYTEMPLATE

AttheheartofRHNSatelliteistheabilitytofullyprovisionanew

server,fromOStoapplicationsanddata,inamatterofminutes.From

manuallybuildingandtestinganewserverinahit-and-missfashionto

completeanderror-freespin-up,thischangecanhavedramaticeffects

onanorganizationssystems.Enterprisesthathavehaddifculty

managingahandfulofsystemscannowcreate,literally,hundredsof

perfectlyconguredsystemsinminutes,andasingleadministrator

caneasilymanagethem.Aserveronlyhastobebuilt,congured,andtestedonce,andthenusedasatemplatetomakeasmanyidentical

serversasnecessary.

2.SECURITYANDCOMPLIANCEMANAGEMENT

Formanyorganizations,agreatdealofadministratortimeisspent

researchingnewpatchesandupdates,lookingfornewxes,andthen

determiningiftheyarerequiredandwhatimpacttheymayhave.

UsingRHNSatellite,anadministratorcanreviewasimpleweb-basedviewonceadayandknoweverypatchandupdatethatappliestothe

enterprisessystems.Fromthere,itseasytodecidewhichpatchesto

applyandwhen.Theupdateprocessbecomesvirtuallyautomatic.

3.VIRTUALIZATIONMANAGEMENTANDDYNAMICPROVISIONING

Asanorganizationrespondstotheadditionaldemandsofgrowthand

requestsforservices,virtualizationbecomesanincreasinglyimportant

approach.RHNSatellitecanbeusedtoassistinnotonlyprovisioningvirtualservers,butcanalsobeusedtobuildaresponsetochangingdemands.

Buildyourownprivatecloudormoveintothepubliccloudeasily.


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OvercomingtheComplexitiesofaLinuxSystem 18

RHNSatellitecanbeconguredtoautomaticallyprovisionsystems

inresponsetospeciedrequirements,timing,orsystemstates.For

example,anadministratorcanspecifyawebserverloadlevelatwhich

totriggertheprovisioningofadditionalwebservers.Withinminutes,

asinglenewvirtualserver(orevenhundreds)canbeonline.When

thepeakdemandisover,thosesystemscanbeautomatically

re-provisionedforuseofotherservices.Thiscanallowanorganization

torespondtochangingdemandswithoutacostlyoverbuildingofits

physicalinfrastructure.

TELL ME MORE





18/25

19 8TipsforIntegratingManagementintoyourEnterprise

THISCHAPTERINCLUDES:ManagetheentireLinuxenvironment,notjustindividualserversBeexibleandresponsivetotheconstantlychangingneedsoftheorganization

PreparetorapidlyscaleupordownBeparanoidaboutsecurityandcomplianceApproachmanagementsolutionswithaneyeoncostcontrolsEliminatekeypersonneldependenciesFuture-proofyourenvironmentUseasingletooltomanageeverything

ITS TIME TO RAISE YOUR GAME A NOTCH.

EIGHT NOTCHES, ACTUALLY.

Managinganenterpriseenvironmentiscomplextheresnogetting

aroundthat.Butthatdoesntmeanithastobedifcultorcostly.

Aconvenient,predictableapproachtomanagingaLinuxenvironment

isntjustpossibleitsnecessaryforyourITorganizationtomeetthe

increasingdemandsofyourenterprise.

Hereareeighttipswevelearnedfromourcustomersthatwillhelpyou

unlockthepotentialofyourLinuxsystems:

MANAGETHEENTIRELINUXENVIRONMENT,

NOTJUSTINDIVIDUALSERVERS

Anenterpriseenvironmentismorethanjustabunchofservers,although

thatsthewaysomeITdepartmentsthinkofit.Systemadministratorsareresponsibleforindividualservers,whereeachadministratorhandles

ahandfulofsystems.Howwellthingsworkcanvaryfromonesystem

administratortoanother,servertoserver.Thatsareallimittogrowth.

CHAPTER 58 TIPS FOR INTEGRATING MANAGEMENT

INTO YOUR ENTERPRISE


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8TipsforIntegratingManagementintoyourEnterprise 20

Whenanorganizationdecidestomanagetheenvironmentasasingle,

functionalwhole,thepicturechangesdramatically.Securitythreats,

updates,andcomplianceissuesaredealtwithfortheentiresystemrather

thanserverbyserver.Andtheenvironmentcanbemanagedtoreactto

changingdemand,notinamatterofdaysorweeks,buthourtohour.

BEFLEXIBLEANDRESPONSIVETOTHECONSTANTLYCHANGING

NEEDSOFTHEORGANIZATION

Yourinternalandexternalusersneedandwantchangeduringtheday,

week,andtimeofyear.Afewyearsago,youwouldhavedesignedyour

entiresystemaroundthesepeaks.Now,youcanbuildtoappropriately

meettheneedsofyourorganization.

Thesecretistobeabletorapidlyprovisionwhatyouneed,whenyou

needit.Onethingtonote:Youcantmanuallyaddandremoveservers

fastenoughtomeetthischangingdemand.

PREPARETORAPIDLYSCALEUPORDOWN

Changingservicesandprovisioningisonething,buttheneweconomic

realitiescanalsomeanthatyoumighthavetochangenotjustthe

compositionofyoursystems,butyourentiresystemtoscaleupordownwhenfacedwithmergers,acquisitions,orchangingbusinessmodels.

Younolongerhavemonthstoreactthetimeframeisyesterday.

Youcanaccomplishthisifyoucantreathundredsorthousandsof

systemsinthesamewayyouwouldtreatasingleserver.Youwillneed

togroupthemtogetherandbeabletoprovisionasmanyasyouneed

orremovetheonesthatarenolongerneeded,eitherre-provisioning

themorremovingthemfromserviceentirely.

BEPARANOIDABOUTSECURITYANDCOMPLIANCE

Thethreatstoyoursystemsarereal.Identitytheft,creditcardfraud,

healthcareregulations,andevenindustrialespionagearenotjustthe

ITversionsoftheboogeymantheyrereal,andtheycanbecareer-

andbusiness-endingevents.Gettingsecurityandcompliancerightthe

rsttimeisallaboutavoidingcareerlimitingmoves.

TheonlypossibilityofreliefistoknowthatALLofyoursystemsare

properlyupdated,patched,andcompliant.Buthowdoyouknowthat,and

howdoyoukeepup?Centralizedpatchmanagementandauditcapabilities

arentjustnicetohavetheyreoneofyournewtoplinerequirements.


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21 8TipsforIntegratingManagementintoyourEnterprise

APPROACHMANAGEMENTSOLUTIONSWITHANEYEONCOSTCONTROLS

Thepurseisnolongerbottomless:Everythingintheenterpriseisnow

subjecttocostscrutiny.EvenwhenITisaskedtodomore,muchmore,

youknowyouwontbegivenablankchecktogetitdone.Infact,youmaybeaskedtodomorewithless.

Youcantdoanythingextrawithlessmoneyifyouhavetoaddnew

humanresourcestodealwithyourgrowingandcomplexsystems.

However,youcancontrolcostsifyoucanmanageyoursystems

centrallyanduniformly.Thekeyistochangethevalueofthevariable

inthissimpleequation:

Amazing.Youresuddenlydoingmorewithless,andlovingit.

ELIMINATEKEYPERSONNELDEPENDENCIES

Therstthingthatanysystemanalystorconsultantlooksforinany

situationisthis:Wherearethefailurepoints?ForITorganizations,thatpointisfrequentlythesamethingasitsgreateststrengthitsbest,

mostskilled,andexperiencedpeople.

Anditsnotjustthepersonitsthelackofdocumentation,procedures,

oranythingelsethatcouldhelptotrainnewstafformakereplacinga

keyindividuallessstressful.Eliminatingkeypersonneldependencies

meansbuildingsystemsthatarentdependentonkeypeoplewhomay

leavetheorganizationorassumenewresponsibilities.

1SystemadministratortoXservers.

IfyourcurrentsystemsarerepresentedbyX = 24,whatwouldyourcostsavingsbeifyoucould

changethattoX = 100?Or300?Or1,000?


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8TipsforIntegratingManagementintoyourEnterprise 22

FUTURE-PROOFYOURENVIRONMENT

Whoknowswhatthefuturebrings?Theresonethingthatscertain

aboutthefutureofyourITenvironment:Itwillneedtochange.The

technologieswillchange.Theuserdemandswillchange,theservices

theyrequirewillchange,andtheratethatthosechangesareexpected

willcontinuetoaccelerate.

Youcanfuture-proofyoursystemsbybasingallsystemsonmodelsand

templatesallofwhichcanberevised,updated,orreplacedquicklyand

easily.Whenthefuturearrives,buildandtestanewserver,thenprovision

hundredsmoreinminutes.Futureshockbecomesathingofthepast.

USEASINGLETOOLTOMANAGEEVERYTHINGTherealkeyistouseasingletooltomanageeverything.Ideally,this

willbeasingletoolthataddressesallofthesystemmanagement

issuesforyourRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystems.Thetypicaldo-it-

yourself(DIY)approachmaysolveasingleproblem,butitcanrarely

addresseverysystemmanagementneed.AndfewDIYsolutionsare

maintainedovertime.

Ifyoureseriousaboutputtingtheseeighttipstoworkforyou,thereisasingle,simpleanswer:RedHatNetwork(RHN)Satellite.RHNSatellite

canprovideyourITorganizationwithasingle,easy-to-useinterface

thatyoucanusetomanageallofyourRedHatEnterpriseLinux

systemseasilyandefciently.Usingthefullydocumentedweb-based

GUI,yoursystemadministratorscanmanagehundredsorthousands

ofserverswheretheyonlymanagedahandfulbefore.Systemscan

beprovisionedinjustminutes,completelyup-to-dateanderrorfree.

Andconcernsoversecurityandcompliancecanbequieted,ifnot

completelyeliminated.

TELL ME MORE





22/25

23 Best-of-BreedManagementSolution:RedHatNetworkSatellite

THISCHAPTERINCLUDES:Youhavethekeys.Nowwhat?Howdoyouknowwhatsbest-of-breed?Needproof?RHNSatelliteusersspeakup

YOU HAVE THE KEYS. NOW WHAT?

Overthelastfewchapterswevereviewedtheissuesthatmany

ITorganizationsface:

Coveringthebenetsoflifecyclemanagement

Mappingoutthepitfallsofdo-it-yourself(DIY)solutions Surveyingthepossibilitiesandopportunitiesofvirtualizationand

cloudcomputingenvironments

Layingouttheapproachesthatcanhelpanorganizationovercome

complexitiesevenpresentingeighttipsforintegratingsystems

managementintoyourenterprisesystems

Itmaysoundlikealottohandle,butRedHatNetwork(RHN)Satelliteis

uniquelydesignedtomeettheneedsoforganizationsrunningRedHat

EnterpriseLinux.Itsmorethanjustahandytoolitsthebestsolution

availableformanagingRedHatEnterpriseLinux.Period.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHATS BEST-OF-BREED?

Itseasytomakehyperbolicmarketingclaims.Anyonecanshoutout

extraordinaryfeaturesorcapabilities.ButthedifferenceisthatRHN

Satellitecandeliver.

Letsreviewthefacts:

RHNSatelliteisdesigned,built,andmaintainedbyRedHat.Itwas

designedtomanageRedHatEnterpriseLinuxbythesameteam

thatdesigns,builds,andmaintainsRedHatEnterpriseLinux.

CHAPTER 6BEST-OF-BREED MANAGEMENT SOLUTION:

RED HAT NETWORK SATELLITE


23/25

Best-of-BreedManagementSolution:RedHatNetworkSatellite 24

RHNSatelliteisbackedby24x7RedHatsupport.

RedHatprovidesfulltraininganddocumentationforRHN

Satellite.Trainyourexistingstaffornewhiresandspinthemupto

productiveresourcesindayssavingyourorganizationhundreds

ofunproductivegureitoutyourselfhours.

RHNSatelliteincludesextensiveAPIsupport,meaningyoucan

connecttoothersystemsandtakeadvantageofRHNSatellites

featurestomeettheneedsofyourorganization.RHNSatellite

canbeintegratedwithothermanagementframeworks,andwhen

customizationisneeded,thepowerandexibilityofRHNSatellite

isthere,thewayyouwantit.

RedHatoffersbothprofessionalservicesandtrainingforRHN

Satellite.IfyouneedtohireanewRHNSatelliteadministrator,all

thatyouneedtodotogethimuptospeedissendhimtoaRedHat

trainingcourse.

Givenadedicatedstaffandenoughtimeandmoney,youmightbeable

tobuildyourownDIYsolutiontomanageyourRedHatEnterpriseLinux

systems.However,RHNSatelliteisreadytodayandbuildsuponRedHats

continuingexpertiseinmanagingLinuxsystems.Astechnologyandneedcontinuetoevolve,RHNSatellitewillbefullyup-to-dateand

supported,whichDIYsystemsneverseemtomanage.

NEED PROOF? RHN SATELLITE USERS SPEAK UP

ThebestevidencethatRHNSatellitecanworkforyoumaycomedirectly

fromyourpeers

peoplewhoareimprovingtheirorganizationsusingthispowerfultoolset.Herearejustafewtestimonials:

DANIELKINON

Senior Systems Administrator for Choice Hotels

DanestimatedthatbeforeusingRHNSatellite,hespentover360

hoursor45workingdayseveryyearpatchingandupdatingthe

ChoiceHotelsRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystems.AfterimplementingRHNSatellite,thatwasreducedtoatotalof24hoursjustthree

workingdaysspreadoutovertheentireyear.ImplementingRedHat

NetworkSatellitewasagreatexperience.Imabletodelegatetomy

newadministrator,andImworkingmuchfewerhours.


24/25

JACKVELAZQUEZ

Senior Systems Engineer for the

Open Systems Team at Florida Hospital

OurRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystemshavebeenveryresilient

andhavesurvivedthemostcatastrophicconditionswithgreat

stability.WeveneverhadaproblemwithourRedHatEnterpriseLinux

serversitsreallyaself-sufcientdatacenter,saidVelazquez.

RedHatNetworkSatellitemakessystemmanagementeasy,

enablingustodeploynewapplicationsandsecuritypatchesto

allserversatonce.

ThereareplentymorewhowillsingRHNSatellitespraises,butthe

bestevidencewillcomefromyourowneyes.Isntittimeforyoutotry

outthisbest-of-breedsolutionforyourself?

TELL ME MORE

Wanttolearnmore?Thereareloadsofmaterialsincludingwhitepapers,casestudies,anddetailedinformationallconvenientlyorganizedon


25 Best-of-BreedManagementSolution:RedHatNetworkSatellite


25/25

2011RedHat,Inc.RedHat,TheShadowmanLogo,JBoss,andFedoraareregisteredtrademarksofRedHat,Inc.intheUnitedStatesandothercountries.Productnames,logos,brands,andothertrademarksfeaturedorreferredto

are the property of their respective trademark holders

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