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Dt Cente Modenzton:8 Best pctces o Unx tolnux Mgton

Migrating rom proprietary Unix/RISC to industry-standard x86-based servers

running Linux was once considered risky. But advances in server technology

are prompting IT organizations to take another look. Heres a guide to

why and how savvy IT leaders are leaving legacy systems behind in the

quest or an IT inrastructure thats fexible enough to meet business

demands today and to adapt or the uture.


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Dt Cente Modenzton: 8 Bestpctces o Unx to lnux Mgton

As companies look to transorm their operations

to gain eciency and cost eectiveness, IT depart-

ments oten try a number o approaches, including

consolidating servers and data centers and vir-

tualizing their inrastructures. However, many

companies ail to undertake an even more basic

and useul change: rom proprietary Unix systems

to industry-standard, open x86-based servers run-

ning Linux.

By moving away rom proprietary hardware

and sotware, companies can realize signicant

nancial and eciency benets. Moreover, they

make their data centers more compatible with not

only sotware and hardware available today, but

with not-yet-developed tools that will arrive in the

uture. The business has greater choice in applying

technology and avoids becoming locked-in to a

single vendors roadmap and pricing. By moving

to an open architecture, a company addresses the

undamental issues o infexibility and lack o agil-

ity that proprietary inrastructure creates.

Makg SThere was a time when the power and benets

proprietary Unix systems oered justiied the

high prices they demanded. Those days are gone.

BMW, Lockheed Martin, VeriSign and other large

enterprises have switched rom RISC-based serv-

ers to industry-standard servers running Linux.

The top benets that come with the shit to open

systems rom proprietary ones include:

Linux on x86 WorksLinux has become an industry-standard operating

system, which means most popular applications

run on it. In act, there are Linux versions o most

third-party Unix applications. Major database

systems running on Linux experience ve nines

availability (99.999 percent) in secure environ-

ments. Compilers or such common programming

languages as C++, Java, and J2EE are also avail-

able or Linux. Enterprises will nd that they can

migrate many unique applications developed in-

house to the platorm.

Lower Total Cost of Ownership

One o the most obvious benets is the reduction

in both capital and operating expenses, start-

ing with lower hardware and operating system

sotware costs. An x86-based server costs hal

as much as similar Sun SPARC systems and 80

percent less than similar IBM POWER systems.1

Industry-standard hardware and sotware also

provide more choice when it comes to compatible

storage, network components, and applications

because theyre not vertically integrated or limited

by what a single vendor can oer. Greater choice

opens the potential or lower prices. Operating

expenses drop because x86 servers tend to be ar

more ecient in cooling and power consumption.

Servers that use x86 architecture chips can save up

to 92 percent in total energy savings compared

to proprietary systems. Consolidating ve-year-

old Unix proprietary servers into x86 systems can

reduce foor space use by 95 percentand has

an eight-month ROI.2 A PowerEdge M910 blade

server oers 4S perormance in less than a third

o the space o traditional 4S rack servers. A set

o 21 Dell PowerEdge R810 servers can provide

the equivalent perormance o 46 Sun SPARC

Enterprise T5240 servers.3 And Dell PowerEdge

R910 and R810 servers have a 75 percent lower

total cost o ownership over three years than simi-

larly perorming Sun SPARC machines.4

No Vendor Lock-in

Perhaps the single biggest problem with pro-

prietary Unix systems is vendor lock-in and the

resulting increased expense and lack o fexibility.

The extra costs start with the proprietary hardware

designs. Because components are non-standard,

the vendor cant leverage the high levels o pro-

duction seen in standard components, increasing

costs or the parts and the nal hardware. Sotware

1. Intel testing and analysis.2. Internal Intel research.

3. Dell vs. Sun Servers: TCO Comparison 2 Processor Dell and Sun Servers; Principled Technologies, commissioned by Dell; March 2010

4 Dell PowerEdge R910 and R810 Testing Perormance Comparisons and TCO Analysis vs. Sun SPARC Enterprise TS440 and TS240 Servers;

Principled Technologies, commissioned by Dell; March 2010


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UBM TECHWEB WHiTE papEr | Data Center Modernization: 8 Best Practices or Unix to Linux Migration

3

licensing costs or proprietary Unix versions are sig-

nicantly more expensive than Linux. In addition,

a proprietary Unix inrastructure requires special

versions o many IT inrastructure components,

rom storage to sotware applications, which typi-

cally cost more than standard versions. Opting orproprietary servers also locks organizations into

uture use o those same systems and associated

products, reducing lexibility in running the IT

inrastructure and uture business needs.

Best-of-Breed Applications

Open systems provide an additional type o fex-

ibility over proprietary ones. More third-party

application and tool vendors create products or

industry-standard platorms than or proprietary

ones. Companies using x86 servers running Linux

will be more likely to nd the sotware they want

and need available or their platorms. With a

greater variety o sotware available, companies

can readily assemble whatever best-o-breed appli-

cations they need. IT departments become more

agile as they have additional options to support

their companies strategies. Without vendor lock-

in, an organization can undertake technology

planning on its terms, not the vendors.

Continually Improving Performance

Proprietary Unix supporters oten claim that x86

servers with Linux lack the necessary power to run

enterprise applications. However, that is untrue

or modern industry-standard servers. An x86

server with the right processors and Linux creates

a platorm that is powerul, scalable, and cost

eective. For example, independent 4-processor

server comparisons show that the Dell PowerEdge

R910 has an 89.8 percent perormance advantage

over a Sun SPARC Enterprise T5440 server and a

121.1 percent perormance advantage over a Sun

SPARC Enterprise M5000 server.5 More power

per server means a greater concentration o com-

puting resources available to a business and, as

a result, greater server utilization. Additionally,

open-standard x86 technology progresses morerapidly than proprietary, RISC-based architectures.

The widening perormance gap means an increas-

ingly greater ability to reduce data center foor

space and power consumption while increasing

overall perormance o the inrastructure.

Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability (RAS)

Industry-standard servers oten have advanced

RAS eatures that may not be available on propri-

etary Unix systems. Modern eatures that address

the evolving reality o IT computing are critical

or RAS. One example is the growing importance

o memory recovery. As memory usage acceler-

ates, DIMM error rates run as high as 8 percent a

year.6 The Intel Xeon processor E7 amily includes

more than 20 new reliability, availability, and

serviceability eatures that enable levels o data

integrity and system resilience never beore seen

on industry-standard servers. In act, the Xeon

7500 processors have more than twice the RAS

eatures o Xeon 5600 processor series. With their

modern RAS capabilities, industry-standard serv-

ers7 protect workfow and technology investment

in ways that proprietary Unix systems do not.

Improved Scalability

Industry-standard servers running Linux are

extremely scalable. The Dell PowerEdge R910,

or example, can use two or our Xeon proces-sors, which support multi-socket system designs

without requiring third-party node controllers. This

level o scalability reduces excess capital invest-

ment. Rather than over-purchase hardware, a

company can invest knowing that it can expand

server capacity in the uture, without requiring

additional foor space.

More Flexible Management

Organizations that use proprietary Unix systems

proceSSor power

Next-geneton x86 seves e cy omthe edecessos. Wth dvnced ocessossuch s intes Xeon 7500, they oe doube

the ebty, vbty, nd sevcebtyetues o even the evous geneton.New etues in the Xeon 7500 ncude: Such etues s Snge Devce DraM

Coecton (SDDC), Memoy Mong, ndMCa recovey suot edundncy ndove o key system comonents ndhe ng dt connectons.

Memoy them thottng, memoydemnd nd to scubbng, nd cout dt contnment mode educeccut-eve eos nd mt the mct osuch eos.

MCa eo oggng wth OS edctveue nyss, memoy bod hot sw

ecement, nd eectoncy sotedttonng he edct ues beoethey occu nd ow eemtve ece-ment o ng comonents.

Fo dets, go to htt://nte.com/tcente/tocs/mssonctc.

5.Dell vs. Sun Servers: R910 Perormance Comparison SPECp_rate_base2006; Principled Technologies, commissioned by Dell; March 2010

6.DRAM Errors in the Wild: A Large-Scale Field Study; Bianca Schroeder, Eduardo Pinheiro, Wol-Dietrich Weber; SIGMETRICS; 2009.

7.A Catalyst or Mission-Critical Transormation; Intel; 2010


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generally ace limited choices in management

tools, and available tools typically arent com-

patible across equipment rom other vendors.

With industry-standard servers, however,

an IT department needs only one set o tools

and training, which reduces costs. The unior-mity o administration platorm also means an

IT department can more eectively use its

sta. System expertise transers to virtually

any part o the company, simpliying human

resource planning.

Fundamental Improvement of IT Processes

Proprietary Unix supporters also question whether

an open x86 inrastructure model is really more

cost eective, especially when considering design,

implementation, and support costs. They argue

that a strategy o long-term investment in plat-orms and applications that are sized and deployed

or specic workloads is more cost-eective than

an open methodology that an organization con-

tinuously renews and updates without adverse

impact to its dayto-day business. Studies have

plAn well to Avoid pitfAllS

Inaccurate Business CasesOgnztons shoud exoe t the outset whethe the nstuctue chtectue theyenvson w ovde benets, ncudng educed costs, o thee mght be bette one

to mement. Fo exme, some comnes wnt to mement the sme nd esets o mgton st. Howeve, much o the rOi comes om shuttng down moeexensve seves n tmey shon. Deyng ge ts o mgton mght ctuykee the moe exensve seves unnng onge nd bunng though the otent svngs.Othe comnes hve moved mjo dtbse sotwe nto vtuzed envonment tocheve seve consodton. Howeve, becuse the sotwe vendo equed cense oevey seve coe, the vtuzton sttegy eectvey doubed the numbe o coes thtneeded censng.

Hidden Server and Application Dependenciesa gven nstuctue my hve comex chn o deendences. Fo exme, ctonsmy deend on secc mddewe oducts tht un on tcu seves. iT must ccu-tey document the deendences to undestnd n wht ode the mgton must hen,est msccuton de the mgton ocess.

Incomplete Migration Processes and Toolsany comny undetkng mgton needs the oe toos to document the cuent

chtectue, desgn the new one, estbsh nd conto the mgton ocess, nd cttecommuncton mong nvoved. The tme to do tht s s ey n the oject s ossbe.

Linux Infrastructure not Ready for Productionlnux s cetny cbe o suotng msson-ctc ocesses o gob cootons.But oey desgned lnux sttegy must be n ce beoe mgton. a commonmstke s to tnste od oety systems nto lnux settng. Tht och just eo-duces the od obems, bet on moe cbe nd ess exensve hdwe, educng themngebty dvntge mgton s ntended to cete. Comnes must deveo stn-dd lnux mge o the new seves so tht the dmnsttve ocesses nd toos wwok wth o the new system congutons.

Incomplete MigrationMuch o the rOi n mgton comes om ctuy shtng to the new seves nd shuttngdown the od ones, ong wth the hghe enegy costs nd mntennce. To the degeetht mgton s sowed o et ncomete, comny mght nd tht the cost benets t

sought dse.

Operational ReadinessJust s mgton n must denty hdden cton-seve deendences nd nccodngy, t must so ntcte the mct on oetons nd sotwe ssunce o-cesses. The detment w need to mke ote modctons to ensue tht odnywok contnues s needed.

Lack of Post-Migration Performance ReviewsNo mtte how thoough the e-mgton nyss nd nnng, thee s wys the os-sbty tht somethng unntcted cuses obems nd educes benets. To uncove suchssues eques ost-mgton ttenton. at the vey est, comny shoud undetke evew sx months te the oc cometon o mgton.


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shown that open system deployment costs are

actually less than 75 percent o traditional meth-

odologies cost, including acquisition, transition,

and servicing. Not only is this new model cheaper,

but it also provides additional value through theability to rapidly adapt inrastructure to address

emerging innovations, markets, or technologies

without pain o migration, risk to critical opera-

tions, and, ultimately, the high cost o change. A

strategy based on open standards, virtualized envi-

ronments, and common automation best positions

an IT organization to direct more o its budget into

innovation, thereby providing a strategic competi-

tive advantage or the parent organization.

There are many good reasons or a company

to switch rom proprietary Unix to industry-

standard Linux servers. Some areas are easier to

migrate than others. However, barring unusual

circumstances, a company can usually migrate its

systems within a ew weeks, with appropriate in-

house expertise or outside consulting help.

Bs pas1. Standardize, Simplify, and Automate

Unix-to-Linux migration is one aspect o a three-

pronged data center transormation strategy:

standardize, simpliy, and automate. Standardizing

the IT inrastructure on open systems makes it

possible to develop a portolio o hardware and

sotware that provide implementation predictability.

However, standardization alone isnt enough.

An ineciently designed and implemented archi-

tecture remains a problem, even i built with

standardized technology choices. In its 2009 Q4

global ERP consolidation survey, Forrester Research

ound that 12 percent o the companies inter-

viewed had rom ve to nine global instances o

their ERP packages. An additional 14 percent had

10 or more instances, and a th o respondents

didnt know the number.8 But once an organi-

zation has standardized on technology, it can

design the post-migration inrastructure with

simplication in mind. Adding automation to thestandardized and simplied environment makes

system administration and management even

more ecient.

2. Enlist Support from the Top

Migration is a dicult and complex undertak-

ing that requires substantial resources, corporate

ocus, and interdepartmental cooperation. It only

works i there is sucient support rom upper

management. Someone must make the necessary

resources available and set a clear path or escala-

tion o departmental conficts.

3. Rationalize Workloads

Servers are the visible maniestation o a companys

inrastructure. Workloads are the virtual one. By

simpliying workloads beore migration, IT orga-

nizations can reduce what must be supported in

the new inrastructure, which will, in turn, require

ewer resources to run and administer.

ModUlAr And coStefficient

Msson-ctc iT envonments ce dunt-ng chenges: dt voumes e exodng,custome equements e exndng, ndcomnes ncesngy need to tnsomdt nto ctonbe busness knowedge.and yet, budgets e ft even s nstuc-tue ges nd s oten nfexbe. Howeve,some sotwe nd hdwe vendoshve undmenty tnsomed wht sossbe. They ddess these chengesthough oen, nteoebe budngbocks. Ths och oes much bettece-eomnce tos thn mnmend oety riSC-bsed oengs whest ovdng the ebty nd vbty

equements tht iT mnges hve.

ledng entese sotwe soutons oErp, CrM, busness ntegence, nd dt-bse envonments cheve ths fexbty,ebty, vbty, nd cost svngs byotmzng o inte Xeon-bsed seves. iTmnges hve extensve choces n hd-we toms, s mute vendos hveceted bod vety o seves, n bothbde nd ck congutons, bsed oninte Xeon ocessos to ovde fexbtyo entese soutons.

an nstuctue tht uses inte Xeon

ocesso-bsed seves cn deve the sc-bty, eomnce, dvnced ebty,nd dt otecton tht iT detmentsexect o the most dt-ntensve ente-se ctons. and t does so t totcost o ownesh tht s sgncnty owethn tht o tdton, oety sou-tons. in ct, some o the wods mostsuccessu comnes coss vety ondustes hve mgted the most ct-c busness oductvty ctons nddtbse deoyments to inte Xeon o-cesso-bsed seves.

8. The State o ERP 2009: Market Forces Drive Specialization, Consolidation, And Innovation; Hamerman, Paul D., November, 2009.


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4. Planning and Project Governance are Key

Focusing on proper project control rom the

beginning is a key to success. The rst step is to

thoroughly plan the complex set o tasks and then,

keeping in mind such issues as hidden dependen-

cies, prioritize the tasks.Once the plans are ready and the new inra-

structure designed, the migration to new systems

should occur as quickly as possible. Remember,

the longer old systems remain up and running,

the lower and slower the ROI.

With the systems shited to the new inrastruc-

ture, look or more potential consolidation in addition

to what was gained in the early planning. Consider

virtualizing the new inrastructure or even more

ecient management and increased consolidation.

5. Use the Right Tools

Make identiying and implementing the right tools

a priority early on. Identiy the Unix applications

that are candidates or migration and then create

the necessary migration processes, templates, and

methodologies or each.

6. Form Migration Teams

Managing the complexity o the migration project

itsel is essential. A good way to ensure that plan-

ning and implementation are well designed is to

develop teams devoted to the major parts o the

migration plan. Each team involves all aspects o

business and IT operations, so line-o-business and

technical personnel can bring their insight o the

overall business needs into the process.

Roles, responsibilities, and authority must be

appropriately assigned, and teams must be able

to handleand are accountable or the work.

7. Create a Communications Plan and

Infrastructure

Because teams implement the migration plan,

communication is key to making it a success. But

communication involves more than memos and

the occasional meeting; tools that enable a con-

stant fow o communications are required. Dell

has used intranet portals to improve communica-

tion among all teams connected to a particularaspect o the migration.

Any communications approach should

include everyone involved in the migration. That

way, teams stay up-to-date and can raise issues

that might otherwise be overlooked.

8. Use Proof of Concepts and Pilots

Start with smaller more manageable blocks o

migration to show that the process can work. It

gives those in charge o migration a chance to nd

problems early on and develop solutions that will

speed later work. Early success and savings build

condence among managers and make it easier to

get the resources necessary to continue.

Makg c wkFollowing established best practices and keeping

a watch on potential problems in a migration, a

company can shit rom proprietary Unix/RISC

systems to industry-standard x86-based serv-

ers running Linux, save money, and improve

operations and system management in the pro-

cess. Using next-generation servers such as Dell

PowerEdge R910 with Intel Xeon 7500 processors

lets organizations increase reliability, availability,

and manageability while improving perormance

and scalability and lowering total cost o owner-

ship. That makes a switch rom old proprietary

Unix/RISC servers not only possible, but a smart

business move.

This white paper is for informational purposes only, and may

contain typographical errors and technical inaccuracies. The

content is provided as is, without express or implied warranties

of any kind.

ABoUt dell And intel

d i. (NaSDaQ: DEll) stens to customes nd deves nnovtve technoogy nd sevces they vue.

a edng gob systems nd sevces comny unquey enbed by ts dect busness mode, De s

No. 33 on the Fotune 500 st o amecs gest comnes. Fo moe nomton, vst www.de.com o to

communcte decty wth De v vety o onne chnnes, go to htt://www.de.com/convestons.

To get De news dect, vst htt://www.de.com/rSS.

i (NaSDaQ: iNTC) s wod ede n comutng nnovton. The comny desgns nd buds

the essent technooges tht seve s the oundton o the wods comutng devces. addton

nomton bout inte s vbe t newsoom.nte.com nd bogs.nte.com. inte nd the inte ogo

e tdemks o inte Cooton n the Unted Sttes nd othe countes.

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