Optimize your virtualization_efforts_with_a_blade_infrastructure

Optimize Your Virtualization Efforts
with a Blade Infrastructure

In This Paper
• The increased adoption of virtualization is
placing new demands on IT infrastructure
• Organizations need an intelligent infrastructure
that integrates with virtualization management
and eliminates manual operations
• HP blade server systems leverage built-in
intelligence, maximizing every hour, watt,
and dollar
a QuinStreet Executive Brief. © 2013

Datamation

®

Executive Brief

Datamation

Optimize Your Virtualization Efforts with a Blade Infrastructure

®

The increased adoption of
virtualization is placing new
demands on IT infrastructure. The
interdependencies between server,
storage, and network elements must
be finely balanced to maximize virtual
machine performance and sizing.
There should be integration with
the virtualization management tool
to ensure efficient use of IT human
resources and optimization of data
center processes. This Executive Brief
summarizes the benefits of using a
converged and intelligent bladebased infrastructure to support today’s
highly virtualized environments.

Introduction
companies need an infrastructure with

use of all resources and optimization

Virtualization was supposed to be the

tightly integrated components, built-in

of computational workflows. Yet, many

disruptive technology that saved IT.

intelligence, proactive and automatic

companies find their solutions are hard

The cost savings from consolidation

management, and the flexibility to

to optimize because they are difficult

and the ease at which applications

automatically tune performance to

to manage, consuming a great amount

can be deployed promised to vastly

application needs. These requirements

of IT staff time and budget dollars.

improve delivery of IT services, free up

are leading companies to adopt a

IT staff to work on other projects, and

converged infrastructure based on

In today’s business world, where

not strain budgets.

smart blade servers. Such solutions

budgets are tight and IT staffs are

let companies optimize their highly

being asked to do more with fewer

Unfortunately, lack of insight into IT

virtualized operations increasing

resources, organizations need an

resource status in highly virtualized

hardware utilization, automating

infrastructure that is intelligent, can

environments and the complexity

management, and improving the

be updated with minimal downtime

of the interactions between server,

energy efficiency of the servers.

and that eliminates many manual

storage, and network elements have
added to IT staff manual workloads
and led most companies to dedicate

operations. At the same time, an

The need for an optimized
infrastructure for virtualization

too much time to operations and

infrastructure must deliver the
performance, scalability, and features
to support current and future server

not enough time to innovation. This

The increased adoption of

and client application workload

basically negates the major benefits of

virtualization is placing new

virtualization efforts. Furthermore,

virtualization.

demands on IT infrastructure. The

IT staff must have the capability

interdependencies between server,

to manage both from within the

To avoid these problems and to reap

storage, and network elements must

hypervisor’s console as well as out of

the full benefits of virtualization,

be finely balanced to ensure efficient

band via a dedicated management

© 2013, QuinStreet, Inc.

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network, for example, allowing for a

initiate the migration of a virtual

One place to start when trying to

remote cold reboot without having

instance from one server to another.

deploy an optimized infrastructure

to set foot into the data center even
when the production network is down.

is the server. Virtualization lets
• To address data protection

companies make more efficient use

concerns and rein in desktop

of server resources enabling multiple

With more companies moving mission-

support issues, many companies

applications to run on a single system.

critical applications onto virtualized

are moving to a Virtual Desktop

With multiple applications running

systems, increased attention is being

Infrastructure (VDI), which replaces

on a shared system, any downtime

paid to infrastructure issues. The

desktop PCs and workstations

can have a significant impact. What

reasons for this increased attention to

with virtual machines in the data

is needed are servers that have

infrastructure issues include:

center. VDI enables the flexibility

embedded intelligence to monitor,

new business models require,

self heal, and alert IT staff about

yet the infrastructure needs

potential problems so they can take

instances of compute- and data-

to be optimized to deliver the

steps to avoid outages and disruptions

intensive applications on a set of

performance users expect and at

from happening. For example, an IT

servers sharing common network

the cost points aligned with the

staff needs an infrastructure capable

elements and storage devices.

business.

of minimizing the efforts to restore a

• Companies often run multiple

These workloads generate
unpredictable performance,

failed server.
• Given the potential impact on a

throughput, and IO requirements.

business, if any one of its critical

Beyond the server itself, more

And the interplay between the

applications were to experience

attention needs to be paid to

various infrastructure elements

unplanned downtime, there

the server edge in today’s highly

under these loads means any

would be extreme consequences.

virtualized environments. The interface

change in one element impacts the

Therefore, companies need

between the server and storage and

others.

intelligence embedded into every

networking elements is much more

component of the infrastructure.

complex. And as a result, companies

IT staff needs the ability to quickly

need a solution that simplifies how

balancing and failover. What is

determine the root cause of

the server, network, and storage are

needed to accomplish this is a

performance issues and fix them

managed and work together.

way to automatically identify when

while applications are online.

• Virtualization can simplify load

a server is degraded and virtual

For example, the approach of some

machines should be moved. An

These application areas highlight the

vendors requires up to six tiers of

infrastructure should be able to

need for an optimized infrastructure to

network infrastructure (that would

predict impending failures and

run today’s virtualized applications.

include core, distribution, access, Fibre

“A converged infrastructure based on smart blade
servers lets companies optimize their highly virtualized
environments.”

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Channel SAN directors, management,

infrastructures, much of this work must

choices for an infrastructure for their

distributed virtual switches). In such

again be done manually by server,

virtualized environments.

networks, servers must be essentially

storage, and networking experts,

hardwired to storage elements.

consuming great amounts of IT staff

Looking at the server, virtualization

Making a change, say moving a

time and opening up the possibility of

will increase utilization of compute,

workload from one server to another,

disruptive errors.

memory, and IO resources compared

would require reconfiguring connections

to a non-virtualized environment. With

which involves server, storage,

Integration of storage is also a critical

multiple workloads running on a single

and networking experts. That, and

layer in an optimized infrastructure

physical device, reliability and uptime

management of the infrastructure alone,

for virtualization. Many applications

are critical. One trend on the reliability

is time-consuming and the manual

benefit from tiered storage. Here

side to embrace is the embedding

nature of the work makes mistakes from

flexibility and a broad choice of

of intelligence into the server itself.

human error quite common.

storage technology can help optimize

Companies should look for systems

performance and cost to match the

that include self-monitoring and

With virtualization’s ability for IT

data and cache requirements. Thus,

automated “phone home” capabilities

managers to quickly provision,

availability of choice and the level

to minimize downtime caused by

deploy, and move virtual machines,

of integration are key factors when

server lockups without having to load

most server environments are highly

selecting solutions.

software agents on the server. Solutions

dynamic. When each new instance is
created or moved, storage resources
must be allocated. In the constant
process of creating or moving virtual

also must offer tools to manage both

Characteristics of an ideal
infrastructure solution for
virtualization

instances, IT must assign or reassign

physical and virtual elements.
And given that most companies need
to deploy more services to more users

associations between applications

Taking these points into consideration

and accommodate the explosion in data

and storage resources. In complex

can help companies narrow down their

that needs to be analyzed, more servers
and more robust servers will likely be
needed than in the past. So servers also
need to be energy-efficient.
All of these requirements can be
supported with blade servers.
Blade servers allow for high-density
deployments that support the high
performance workloads found in
highly virtualized environments. Blade
systems incorporate high availability
features including redundant power
supplies, fans and other critical
components. And since blade systems
are integrated, more automation
capabilities can be embedded than
in standalone and rack-mounted


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systems. For example, knowing that
the blade server in bay number one is
always wired to switch ports one and
two makes it easier to automate data
center processes since the alternative
with rack servers would be to have an
operator make sure that a given server
is wired to the correct switch ports.

“Blade servers allow for high-density
deployments that support the high
performance workloads found in
highly virtualized environments.”

To accommodate the huge power
requirements of high-density,
high-performance blade systems,

between the various elements. With the

of the application network. This allows

some vendors have power supply

ability to quickly shift virtual machines

for non-disruptive server maintenance.

configurations that are ideally suited

to different servers to balance loads,

to today’s more efficient three-phase

blade systems must support both the

power systems.

traditional north/south network traffic

HP as your technology partner

(i.e., client-server data flows out of the

Given the characteristics needed in

Additionally, many vendors offer a

data center to the desktops) AND east/

today’s highly virtualized data centers,

price/performance choice in their

west traffic, when a virtual machine is

how do you select an infrastructure

blade servers. This allows companies

moved from one server to another.

partner? There are certainly many

to match servers to application

vendor choices for hardware, but few

workloads.For instance, some vendors

Increasingly, there is interest in

provide the simplified architecture,

offer a broader range of blades with

technology that virtualizes the

embedded intelligence, proactive and

increased processor performance and

connections between the server,

automated management features,

features, more memory and memory

network and storage elements.

energy efficiency, and systems

reliability/availability features, more IO

Such virtual connection technology

management capabilities to truly

and slots, new IO technology, more

promises to simplify deployments and

optimize a virtualized environment.

vendor choices of in-enclosure storage

makes replacing a server or adding a

solutions, and blades with a variety

server to a virtualization cluster a snap

One provider meets these criteria.

of Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

because there is no need to involve

HP offers complete solutions for

choices for use in graphics-enabled VDI

networking and storage experts. The

highly virtualized environments. Prime

deployments.

server admin can do it right the first

advantages of using HP systems are

time all by himself.

that they leverage built-in intelligence

Beyond the server, the blade system

and energy savings, maximizing every

must be tightly integrated with storage

Another aspect to consider is

hour, watt, and dollar, while delivering

and network elements. At a minimum,

management and how management

the performance and blade server

companies should select servers that

traffic is handled. Many vendors run

portfolio needed to support the wide

are open and that can connect to any

the network management traffic and

range of application workloads found

LAN or SAN. Management systems

the application traffic on the same

in most organizations. They also

need to be able to work with all

network. A more reliable solution

significantly reduce operating costs.

three elements and provide a means

would be an infrastructure with out-

Going beyond built-in intelligence,

to better understand relationships

of-band management, independent

HP solutions are cloud-ready, offering


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converged infrastructure management

movement of memory modules from

HP Smart Update Manager, software

and flat LAN and SAN architectures.

one slot to another.

that helps simplify and accelerate
system updates. The HP Smart Update

Self-sufficient servers: At the heart of

This information can be used to

process uses a comprehensive update

the offering are the HP BladeSystem

take actions before a problem

package that includes firmware,

and the ProLiant Gen8 blade servers.

occurs, thus preventing downtime,

drivers, and tools for servers and other

These servers have embedded

and to quickly find the root cause

infrastructure elements. The packages

intelligence that continuously

of a problem, allowing for faster

are pre-tested for interdependencies

monitors conditions and automates

restoration. In particular, rather than

and allow for fewer, more predictable

most routine administrative chores.

running diagnostic tools after an

updates. Using this approach speeds

Specifically, ProLiant Gen8 blade

outage or problems occurs and using

server updates and reduces downtime.

servers leverage the HP ProActive

that information to try to isolate

Many updates can be done online,

Insight architecture to continuously

the cause, HP Active Health System

without a reboot.

analyze thousands of system

automatically and continuously

parameters to optimize application

collects a chronological log of system

These elements of HP ProActive Insight

performance and deliver pre-

events and information so companies

automate and simplify management

failure alerts allowing companies to

can start problem analysis faster

aspects, including system provisioning,

proactively improve uptime and give

and spend less time with support,

troubleshooting, and the handling

IT managers insight into every aspect

reproducing, or describing errors.

of software updates, of the servers

of their IT infrastructure.

over their entire lifecycle. This lowers
Addressing another time-consuming

HP ProActive Insight includes

operating costs and reduces downtime,

task, HP ProActive Insight incorporates

greatly improving the value of the

Intelligent Provisioning capabilities
that help bring systems online faster,
thanks to a fully integrated system
and OS configuration tool. Access
to all the necessary firmware, drivers,
and tools is pre-loaded and ready to
deploy. There are no CDs to load and
no software to find.
Other vendors tout their easy setup,
but offer little to help after the first
ten minutes of a server’s operating
life. In contrast, HP ProActive Insight
also includes HP Active Health
technology, which automates
monitoring, diagnostics, and alerting.
It monitors and securely logs more
than 1,600 system parameters and
all configuration changes such as
firmware updates or the physical

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servers to an organization over their

As companies are virtualizing and

time from weeks to hours. HP has

lifetime of use.

running a variety of enterprise

Reference Architectures for a single

applications (web servers, messaging

database stack, for several database

In addition to the automation and

and email, virtual desktop

stacks (each with several thousand

time-saving features, HP BladeSystem

infrastructure, database and other

users), and for very large database

solutions include advanced energy

data-intensive applications), HP offers

requirements that could include

savings technology to help cut the

a wide range of blade servers to

multiple consolidated databases.

cost of electricity. HP Thermal Logic

match the configuration and price/

technology lets HP BladeSystems

performance needs of an organization.

Today, VDI is extending the breadth

pool, share and optimize power and

For running heavy workloads, HP

of clients that can be virtualized and

cooling resources. The BladeSystem

offers both Intel performance-based

thus enabling new business models

is intelligent, automatically adjusting

E5 and E7 based architectures and

and solutions for managing end-user

the speed of each fan (and thus using

AMD high core count and lower cost

compute devices. HP already has

electricity more efficiently) based on

architectures. Companies have a

tested/proven Reference Architectures

each server’s workload. Additionally,

choice between 2-socket and 4-socket

for Enterprise and Mid-market

94 percent efficiency power supplies,

Intel and AMD blades that optimize

deployments of VMware View, Citrix

intelligent PDUs that measure PSU

workload performance through

Xen Desktop, and Microsoft solutions.

power consumption to within 1 percent

balanced architectures of processor

HP recently extended its solution of

accuracy, Dynamic Power Capping,

capabilities, memory, and IO.

graphics-enabled workstation server

and other features enable maximum
energy efficiency and control.

blades with the industry’s leading GPU
Many enterprises are looking to

density of 64 GPUs per 10U enclosure.

consolidate databases on a virtualized

This enables virtualization to support a

Performance to match workloads:

platform. HP also has purpose built

range of user needs from the media-

HP BladeSystem and HP ProLiant Gen8

Reference Architectures for Oracle

rich PC to high-end 3D delivering a

blade servers deliver the performance

that enables consolidating the myriad

discounted ROI of over 100 percent and

needed to support the virtualized

databases with one high-performance,

a payback period of less than a year.

workloads running in businesses today.

virtualized environment engineered

In fact,1 HP is the number one platform

and tested expressly for Oracle.

For integrated storage, HP offers

for VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V, and

The offering enables increased

specialized storage blades (supporting

Linux KVM hypervisors.

performance and reduces deployment

spinning disks and SSDs), array
controllers optimized for SSD

“Virtual connection technology

performance, bladed IO accelerators,

promises to simplify deployments

storage architectures. These solutions

and makes replacing a server or
adding a server to a virtualization
cluster a snap.”

DAS, and flat FC SAN enable tiered
are optimized to the performance
needs of the type of data and cache
used by an application; they also offer
a most cost-effective price point.
The storage blades are ideal for
applications requiring large data sets
where the traditional SAN alternative
might be too expensive.
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A complete solution: As noted above,

BladeSystem Flat LAN and Flat SAN

devices, more cables, more points of

today’s virtualized environments

scenarios where, for example, servers

failure, and more chance of human

require a tight integration of server,

are directly connected to Fibre

error leading to downtime. Virtual

storage, and network elements.

Channel SAN storage arrays without

Connect 4.0 also extends the already

To that end, while HP servers are

the need for an intermediate layer of

industry leading integrated physical

based on open technologies and

infrastructure in the form of a Fibre

and virtual machine management

can work with any standards-based

Channel switches. Thus, the server

with automated profile mapping of

equipment, HP offers all the needed

edge is simplified.

Virtual Connect networks to vSwitches
in vCenter.

elements for a complete infrastructure
for virtualization. That includes a

New HP Virtual Connect 4.0, coming

complete line of HP Networking

soon, offers improved network

Taken together, the HP intelligent

switches and Fibre Channel SAN

intelligence and integration. This

blade servers and simplified server

storage solutions.

includes expanded quality of service

edge provide the performance,

capabilities, real-time network

simplified management, and energy

Compared to its leading competitors,

flow monitoring, and the ability

efficiency needed for today’s variable

HP uses a flat network architecture,

to implement a more simplified

and demanding virtualized workloads.

called the HP FlexFabric architecture,

infrastructure using dual-hop Fibre

Using HP solutions can reduce the

that requires fewer tiers of switches.

Channel over Ethernet (FCoE).

time IT staff must spend on dayto-day chores and cuts recurring

This saves in costs compared to other
vendor architectures that require

With this architecture, a complete

management, electricity, and other

more ports.

infrastructure solution for

operating costs freeing up resources

virtualization requires fewer switches,

for innovation.

The FlexFabric architecture is

cables, and adapters. This reduces

enabled through the use of HP Virtual

management chores and reduces

For more information about HP

Connect technology. Virtual Connect

the chance of human error (e.g.,

blade-based infrastructure solutions

is part of the server infrastructure

plugging in a cable incorrectly), thus

for virtualized environments, visit:

and provides a virtualization layer

helping to decrease downtime. Other

www.hp.com/go/blade-servers

between the servers and the Ethernet

solutions require more tiers, adding

and SAN networks. This enables HP

management complexity, more

1

Source: WW IDC ISS CQ312 Virtualization Market Share Report: HP is the number one x86 virtualized server hardware vendor with 36.2

percent share.


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