The promise of utility computing (page 2 of 2)

Also, the APM system must accurately assess the quality of service received by each user, zero in on problem areas, and identify appropriate solutions.

Tracking key performance indicators from each tier means enterprises can take a snapshot of the user experience by measuring actual -- not simulated -- application response time. Effective transaction monitoring can mean the difference between keeping and losing millions of customers for companies that deploy Web-based applications. Because site users are likely to get frustrated and go elsewhere to buy if they don't get a quick response to online inquiries and purchase requests, it is essential that companies be able to find and fix performance bottlenecks before they affect critical business processes.

Maximizing your IT investment

Because more than half of a typical IT budget is spent on labor, it's smart business to make sure that the IT staff has the proper tools to be productive. Also, the more mundane tasks that can be automated, the more the IT staff can be refocused to more strategic work. In a utility computing approach, automation provides the means for efficiently provisioning and managing resources.

Today, tools are available that give enterprises server and storage provisioning, allocation, and tracking functionality. Such tools can identify and inventory all heterogeneous resources in the enterprise, then enable IT to automatically reallocate under-utilized servers to those areas in the enterprise where the need is greater. Similar functionality is available for storage resources.

Automating the process of server provisioning means discovering server hardware, installing operating systems, configuring applications, and modifying network settings on multiple servers simultaneously. Administrators can save images of server configurations to a central location and redeploy those images to available server resources as needed. In addition, they should be able to personalize those resources with the appropriate application and network settings -- eliminating configuration errors and shortening server configuration time.

Traditionally, deploying multiple servers is a time-intensive process. Not only must each server be manually configured with the correct operating system, applications, and network settings, but each of these functions is often performed by a different group. By automating the process, multiple servers can be configured automatically by one person without handoffs between groups.

Automation products also simplify the management of storage systems. By automating the routine, manual tasks typically associated with storage management, a single system administrator can manage more storage while providing higher levels of performance and availability.

In addition, storage automation products enable administrators to move data between different operating systems and storage arrays, balance I/O across multiple paths to improve performance, replicate data to remote sites for higher availability, and move out-of-date files to less expensive storage without changing the way users or applications access the files.

Conclusion

As a concept, utility computing holds great promise for IT administrators. To be accepted into the mainstream, however, utility computing must prove valuable to IT administrators at each step of its evolution. Only then will enterprises succeed in transforming their IT department from a cost center into a value center.