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MagnumSC At Work
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MagnumSC Server Consolidation at Work
Why should you consolidate servers on the new MagnumSC appliances powered by Virtuozzo? Let's consider a few real-life scenarios:
Mission 1: Divide and Conquer
There are multiple Linux servers running various applications scattered across enterprise workgroups and you'd like to increase performance and control, while, at the same time, decreasing overall IT costs.
The Challenge:
The IT infrastructure was originally implemented by in-house enthusiasts to handle basic IT requirements. As the size and complexity of your organization grows, so, too, does the sophistication of your data center, which becomes increasingly expensive to service and maintain.
The Magnum-SC Solution:
By consolidating servers onto a Magnum-SC appliance, you can now manage them centrally, using a scriptable, easy-to-use command-line interface or a full-set of GUI tools. Each server will be migrated onto its own fully isolated virtual environment, providing heightened security and unified management of all resources. Each virtual environment can have its own variant of Linux binaries installed -- you can run Red Hat, Mandrake and Debian on the same physical machine and also delegate the control (full root access) over the individual environment to the workgroup administrator.
Mission 2: Catch-22
The organization finds itself constantly buying new hardware to meet increasing application demands. The hardware quickly becomes obsolete and the company is forced to either replace servers or work with outdated models, both of which increase already tightened budgetary constraints.
The Challenge:
The organization needs to find ways to improve reliability and scalability of all systems, while, at the same time, maintaining and, ideally, lowering total cost of ownership (TCO).
The Magnum-SC Solution:
Deploy servers on four (4)- or eight (8)-CPU Magnum-SC appliances. As more powerful systems typically perform better, last longer and provide greater reliability, you can invest in hardware redundancy (i.e., disks, power supplies, network adapters) one time across multiple servers, saving power and space in the data center while sharing total costs. The underlying Virtuozzo technology provides fully isolated, virtual hardware partitioning, ensuring that each application will have ample resources. But not more than allowed by the systems administrator, which protects the performance and integrity of the network.
Mission 3: Lowering Costs and Keeping the Troops Happy
Your enterprise uses a farm of Exchange servers to handle mail. Although maintenance is a nightmare and licenses are expensive, users like the groupware capabilities of the MS Outlook client.
The Challenge:
Reducing TCO and maintenance of hardware, while giving users the tools and resources they want and need.
The Magnum-SC Solution:
Replace the Exchange server farm with Magnum-SC appliances running multiple copies of Linux groupware from Bynari, which supports a full set of Outlook mail features. The new Virtuozzo-powered appliance will allow control over individual departments, workgroups and/or Virtual Environments, while also providing full isolation between them. As you can imagine, reduction in TCO can be staggering.
TCO Estimation for Mission 3
Let's estimate the one-year TCO reduction for 5,000 users, equally distributed between 10 separate departments at 100MB/mailbox:
Using a Windows/Exchange system, there will be at least 11 servers (10 + a failover one). Each Dell 1650 1-U two-way 1.4GHz server with 1GB SDRAM, two mirrored 73GB HDD, Windows 2000 Server and Gold support will cost $9,000, totaling $99,000 for all servers. The space used under this scenario is 11U. To add Exchange licenses -- at $50/seat -- it will cost $250,000. To support these servers, it will require at least two (2) Windows systems administrators which, after salary, benefits and other costs totals $238,000 ($55,000 x 1.7 x 2). The total cost for this solution is more than $587,000.
Let's now consider the Magnum-SC solution, consisting of two (2) Quad 900MHz Xeons MagnumSC M130s, equipped with 4GB SDR. (During system failure, Virtuozzo's Virtual Environments on failed nodes can be restarted on remaining "good" nodes with minimal performance loss and downtime.)
Total cost of the hardware, including all Virtuozzo licenses (good for life), is $108,000. Space used under this scenario is 2x4U + 3U disk array, or 11U total, the same as above. The Bynari InsightServer license for 500 users will cost roughly $9,500; we will need 10 of them, $95,000 total. Only one Unix administrator is required to maintain this configuration. His/her salary, benefits and taxes will cost $153,000 ($90,000 x 1.7). The total for the Magnum-SC server consolidation appliance is $356,000.
By using the Magnum-SC appliance, you save more than $231,000, which is more
than enough to cover the cost of the MagnumSC hardware and Bynari
software during the first year. Over the next two years, the additional
savings on administrators' salaries will be more than $170,000.
Over a three-year period, the TCO reduction is more than $400,000, which does not
include savings associated with the reduced probability of data loss.
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