Virtualization in the Datacenter

Timothy AntonowiczSystems Engineer

Bowdoin College

Spring 2004

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

tolerance for services

Problem Statement

We need to find a solution to our space and resource problem.Address Hardware and Physical limitationsSupport our diverse systems environmentProvide best use of staff resourcesConsolidate to better utilize server resources

Software Requirements

FlexibilityMultiple OS support

ManagementEase of UseRapid deployment

Backup and Recovery Industry Standard

Software: VMWare ESX Server

“Bare Metal Install”Licensed per server, not per VMEach VM assigned the same virtual hardwareVMs portable between different ESX servers

Image and Deploy servers in minimal time Multiple Drive States

Use of “REDO” for changes VM is comprised of 2 files, easy backup

Task: Create Testing Infrastructure

Build virtual servers as “sandboxes”Programmers and developersApplication support and upgradesStandardization of platformsBackup and recoverySelf-service option

Task: Migrate or retire old servers

Replace older hardware with virtualApplication upgrades on VMsP2V migration for static servers

“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

Create Server ImagesGold Win2k3 and Linux imagesScale ESX servers for growth

VM resource allocationScale servers at a common base Increase disk, memory, CPU as needed“Added resources make happy customers”

Task: Change the mindset of IT

“Plan for Virtual, move to Physical”Projects begin with virtual serversCharge/spec for “Server Resources”

Prove patches and upgrades in VMBeat up on a Clone

Spread the wealthseparate file, web, and databases for security

Bowdoin Systems Today

46 X86-based servers (retired 30 servers) 122 X86-based hosts 10 ESX servers hosting 86 VMs 86 Virtual hosts vs. 36 Physical hosts 70% virtualized in the x86 space

Savings

Cost of each Blade: $6,250.00 Includes Disk, Memory, Dual Proc, etc.

Number of additional servers: 86 virtual-10 ESX servers=76

Cost to provide physical Servers

76 x $6,250= $475,000.00 ** Bowdoin did not purchase servers in FY05-06

Conclusion

Server Consolidation at Bowdoin was successful at many levels

Consolidation can be done by anyone with a little time, resources and determination

Bowdoin’s effort is ongoing ESX 3 upgrade and migration- Fall’06

Thank you for attending

Tim AntonowiczSystems Engineer

Bowdoin College

1-207-725-3723

tantonow@bowdoin.edu