Jerrod WilliamsProgrammer/Analyst II| Texas Tech University Parking ServicesLubbock, Tx, United States
Hello All,
My name is Jerrod Williams and I am a graduate student at the University of Denver's University College. This quarter I am taking Project and Change Management. Although I am not completely new to project management, this class is definitely a blast from my undergraduate past. I also have the pleasure of working for my alma mater, Texas Tech University, for the most beloved department on campus, University Parking Services. It is a necessary evil, I promise.
All of that aside, the focus of my final project is our move to a virtualized data center. We are making this move for several reason. One of the main reasons is that we are self hosted center and space is at a premium. Our existing center and server rack is just about full of equipment. Of course, there are the other obvious benefits such as a more environmentally friendly architecture, scalability, performance, etc...
I'm creating this post because I have been unsuccessful finding anything on the topic. This very well could be the fact that I am a new and have yet to figure out all the "bells and whistles", or that it just doesn't exist. I'm leaning more towards the first explantion. If anyone has any direction for me or anything they would care to share on their experience of taking on such a project would be GREATLY appreciated.
When planning to virtualize an environment, I've found it best to understand what you currently have in regards to software (especially licenses) and hardware. Is your current environment mostly Microsoft, or others? How new are the current servers and can any of them be salvaged for use as virtual servers?
VMWare (http://www.vmware.com/) is the big player in the virtualization arena. They have a full range of products that are well proven, but can prove costly depending on your budget and what you currently have in place.
These are the two I am most familiar with. We support a few customers on the federal side that have virtualized their environments usings VMWare. Internally my company decided to stick with Microsoft since we are a partner with them, and get Hyper-V for free, as VMWare would cost us roughly $70k.
Once again, it really comes down to what you have already, where you want to go, and what you can leverage to get you there.
Just google for "data center virtualization" and you'll get a bunch of whitepapers.
If you have more specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Saving Changes...
Jerrod WilliamsProgrammer/Analyst II| Texas Tech University Parking ServicesLubbock, Tx, United States
Shawn,
Thanks for your input and insights!
We are currently using 100% Microsoft OSs. We are running Server '03 in most cases with one '08 exception. However, some of the '03 versions are constrained by the amount of memory the OS can use. Since that is the case, we're hoping to be able to upgrade OSs to '08 and even 64 bit. Licensing is not going to be too big of deal. Being a state organiation, we have some sweet deals with MS volume licensing.
We have also decided to go with VMWare at this point in time. We just felt like Hyper-V wasn't there yet. If we were doing this project a year or two down the road, we would more than likely go with Hyper-V to avoid the hefty licensing fees.
I've realized that my first post was not very accurrate. I mentioned that "I'm creating this post because I have been unsuccessful finding anything on the topic." This simply isn't true. I'm able to find a myriad of whitepapers and other resources online. However, as far as creating a project plan, namely a WBS, for this type of project is what I'm looking for. I've started on something using MindManger and then exporting that into MS Project, but I feel like I am missing key pieces and would love a template to compare it to.
Hi, I was involved in a virtualisation (VMWare) project 2-3 years ago, here is some of what I recollect;
Applications analysis is key. VM does not suit all apps types (to say the least), and also it is not suited if they run their current servers at high CPU. You need to get business ownership of the apps to help with testing too, and watch out for licencing issues.
I hope it is some help, sorry there is not more but it was a while back and the project was cancelled anyway as many tech limitations.
Saving Changes...
Here are a few links that will (hopefully) assist you in filling in the blanks of your plan, as well as a few other odds and ends. I also attached a white paper from Cisco which identifies most of the steps/activities.
If you are going with VMware, they already have a good process in place to achieve what you are looking for. It generally goes something like this:
1. An analysis of your existing datacenter environment is established. Basically an inventory of exactly what servers you have, their configuration, what the server is being used for, resources allocation, datacenter support, security, network infrastructure, etc.
2. This will give your VCP a solid list of what you have. VMware has tools that they will then run in your datacenter to monitor traffic, resources, server utilization, etc.
3. The information gathered from 1 and 2 will then be used to analyze which servers you have can be migrated to a virtualized environment. This sets forth the baseline information needed to create the design for your Virtual Architecture and Design Specifications. The URS and Design for your Virtualization Platform, as in any Engineering activity, is critical. Its most critical during the maintenance phase, so doing it, documenting it, and following good Software Engineering Practices is a must. You can try ITIL, but I think ITIL has a long way to go. Read NASAs System Engineering Handbook or follow IEEE or even GAMP5. ITIL will only become a subcomponent of the bigger picture that already exists.
4. Virtualization environments are running in highly regulated and controlled environments and this is achieved during the implementation and commissioning process of the Virutal Architecture in the VMware world its a specific SKU called a VIPQ (Virtual Infrastructure Platform Qualification).
5. After the VIPQ is done, we do it for Pharmaceutical and Government clients in a period of 8 weeks or so, the Virtual Environment is fully operational, tested, documented, and ready for migration and then operation.
6. There are a number of options depending on the size of your datacenter to virtualize your existing hardware based servers to virtual servers. VMware has a tool called VMware converter. There are other tools available that do large number of server conversions at once that can be purchased. A migration plan is critical. Plan your work then work your plan.
7. VMware has another SKU called a Healthcheck which is very useful and it should be done periodically to monitor and control your virtual environment. Its important to remember that a server can be provisioned virtually in minutes, so controlling which servers exist and their resources is critical to making sure server sprawl does not get out of control.
The process is becoming more and more routine, but with every organization there is an element of management and control that is required. It is important to remember that there are three layers. The paradigm changes a little. You still have your core physical networking layer which will still exists and you have your application layer which will still exists. Virtualization adds a layer in between which more efficiently and effectively allows you to manage and control your operating systems, making them more portable and reliable.
I hope this helps. If you have any questions please let me know.
Chris Saving Changes...
Jerrod WilliamsProgrammer/Analyst II| Texas Tech University Parking ServicesLubbock, Tx, United States
I can't thank you all enough! The links, documents and insights are extremely helpful.
When the dust settles, I will attach the MS Project file and project plan so that it might help out the next person.
Thanks again for all the good stuff! Saving Changes...
Shalini PrasadIBM India Pvt LtdLewis Center, Oh, United States
Thanks. I was looking for some text around DataCenter. It helped :) Saving Changes...
