Datatrend Newsletter: 4Q 2007

President's Perspective

Data Center Automation

The Ins and Outs of Automation

ITIL: Aligning IT and Business

Why "Best Practices" are Best

TechTip: Data Center Automation

Automation relies on the fundamental understanding of "what". WHAT the task is at hand. WHAT the the task does. And WHAT needs to be accomplished. (Start - Process - End).
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President's Perspective

Mark Waldrep, President of Datatrend Technologies

Data Center Automation: Taking IT Streamlining to the Next Level

In previous issues of TrendSetter, we have explored a variety of solution building blocks that can serve as components of a total infrastructure optimization initiative solution. Some of these solution building blocks include resource utilization assessments, server/storage consolidation, application/OS migration and virtualization.

Realizing the best level of infrastructure optimization benefits may require more.

In this quarter's issue of TrendSetter, we explore data center operations automation and suggest that an IT organization's review of a variety of processes may take IT streamlining to the desired level.

The series of TrendSetter articles over the last year, coupled with this month's theme were intended to provide a mosaic of infrastructure optimization solution suggestions. We hope this issue addresses areas of solution ideas you will find feasible and attractive to consider.

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Data Center Automation

Today's companies have more IT. They have more applications and servers. They have large, global networks and they are responsible for more data than ever before. According to IDC, US server installed base is expected to climb to 16 million by 2009, with a 14 percent growth per year anticipated. Worldwide, the installed server base is expected to reach over 39 million by 2009. These "mores" have to be maintained, costing even more money in labor and overhead.

IT departments are faced with increasing demands and limited, even shrinking, budgets. One of the biggest challenges they face today is getting away from "reaction" mode and more into the "processes" mode. IT departments are there to support business operations and to enable end users and other departments within a company to perform their functions as efficiently as possible. They are expected to deliver applications with increased quality, improved dexterity and assured conformity to all rules and regulations. So how can they keep up? Data Center Automation may be the answer.

To assist companies in the process, a collection of IT-related best practices were developed. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL^®) was created to address the lack of recommendations for managing IT resources. These volumes provide guidelines for IT departments to deliver services in a way that is manageable to companies of all sizes. These are the "sacred books" of Data Center Automation.

What is Data Center Automation?

Data Center Automation is the process of making hardware, software and processes work together to streamline IT operations. Where simple changes might have taken hours and the need to write scripts before, in some cases they now can be done with the touch of a button.

There are different aspects that make up an automated data center. At the heart of these is a configuration management database or (CMDB). The CMDB is a storehouse of information related to all of the pieces of an IT system. This database records the presence of and relationships between all IT equipment and networks, which are referred to as configuration items, or CIs. Information can be input into the CMDB manually or automatically. One can expect that if done manually, the information is not as up-to-date as it could be and there are probably errors and omissions.

Why Data Center Automation?

Since the information captured in the CMDB is only useful if it is the most up-to-date information available, a key benefit for automating a data center and implementing a CMDB is the ability to track changes as they happen. This audit capability allows managers to see, in real-time, who made the change, what the change was, when it was made and why. This capability is not only useful to see what changes were made, but also to see where problems occur, as soon as they happen.

If an alert or incident is detected automatically, then the operators on the frontline can quickly react and begin the troubleshooting/restoration process. If the detection is not automatic, it could be hours, even days, before a fault is manually found and corrected. By this time, the fault has probably escalated to a higher lever, getting upper level IT personnel involved, putting everyone in reaction mode, and ultimately costing the company money.

Another side effect of reaction mode is the lack of ticket documentation. A study showed that only 2% of tickets submitted to the IT departments of large corporations show completion. That means that 98% of trouble tickets are either not being completed, or more likely, completed quickly, without documenting the steps taken to resolve the issue for future reference. The result of this is time being spend diagnosing and fixing the same problems over and over again, without getting to the root of the problem. Over time, this practice takes a huge chunk out of a company's bottom line. This usually occurs because there are no documented processes for closing out tickets, or if a process does exist, it is not enforced. With Data Center Automation and the adaptation of the ITIL's best practices, IT Departments can start enforcing these processes more easily and ultimately running as efficiently as the departments they help support.

Imagine an IT infrastructure that virtually takes care of itself. Imagine having server or network problems automatically identified as they happen, and internally corrected just as fast. These statements are not as far off as you think. Data Center Automation is the first step towards a worry-free IT architecture.

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The Ins and Outs of Automation

Some of the largest corporations worldwide have over 1000 applications and several thousand servers and it has been estimated that most data centers run at only 10-15 percent of their potential. It's no wonder. Most of the time, their IT departments are doing routine maintenance and configurations manually on server after server and machine after machine. When that is the case, who has the time to look into how they can take full advantage of their infrastructure, let alone worry about rising IT operation costs? This is where automation comes in.

When a company plans to move towards Data Center Automation, what can they expect? Exactly what can get automated? The answer is just about everything.

From Network Configuration Management and Server Provisioning to auditing, almost all of the day-to-day and week-to-week activities that IT departments tackle can now be automated. Here is a snap-shot of some of the important components of Automation:

Network Configuration Management

With a Network Configuration Manager, IT Managers can maintain an audit trail of changes that were made to their infrastructure. That way, if something was mis-configured, then they simply look back into the records to see when that item was changed last, what was changed and why and then decide at that point whether or not to change it back.

Another important aspect of the Network Configuration Manager is that it makes enforcing policies for device configuration easier. When there is a tool that takes the guesswork out of maintenance and repairs by doing it for you, then the chance for human error has been all but eliminated.

Server Provisioning and Routine Maintenance

When introducing new servers or reconfiguring existing ones, there is always a chance that some important line or password gets mistyped or forgotten. What if there was a way to get all your servers configured the same way...the right way....every time? What if patches and operating systems could be installed on all a company's machines, at the same time? Inconsistent configurations not only hit a company's bottom line because of the labor costs incurred to find and correct the problem, but it also leaves a company vulnerable to security breaches and downtime because of system shutdowns. When a data center moves towards automation, routine IT tasks such as server provisioning can now be done quicker, freeing up IT staff members to tackle other projects.

Auditing Capabilities

One of the most important tools for IT Managers today is the ability to take a comprehensive look at the overall health of their infrastructure. When a data center is automated, the manager can take a real-time look at the state of operations at any time. Just as important is the ability to look at historical change and maintenance records in case a problem arises, making pin-pointing the root of the issue easier and quicker. Gone are the days of asking around about who changed what and when!

The future of today's data centers is automation. More and more companies around the world are experiencing the benefits of automation first hand. With IT staffs able to focus on ways to utilize more of their infrastructure, data centers are finding it easier to operate to their maximum potential, thereby decreasing downtime, reducing costs and increasing productivity.

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ITIL: Aligning IT and Business

The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a set of procedure standards that enable IT to align itself with all areas of the business and operate efficiently and cost effectively. Today, the ITIL is more than just a standalone library of books. It has created an entire industry including training, certification, consulting, software tools and trade associations.

Written in the late 1980s by the United Kingdom Office of Government and Commerce (OGC), the ITIL is continuously updated to reflect the ever changing state of Information Technology in organizations around the world. The latest version, ITIL v3, was published in September 2007. Though the volume content evolves as the world of IT evolves, there are basic ground-level topics that are covered such as service support, security management, application management and software asset management. Plainly said, the ITIL guides business users through the planning, delivery and management of quality IT services. It provides a methodical, professional approach to the management of IT.

Adopting its strategies provides many benefits including:

Increasing customer satisfaction
Reducing the risk of not meeting business requirements for IT services
Reducing costs when developing procedures and practices within an organization
Better communication and flow of information between IT staff and customers
Standards and guidance for IT staff
Greater productivity and better use of skills and experiences

While adopting ITIL best practices is not a guarantee that all IT problems will melt away instantaneously, it is a step in the right direction. Information Technology giants such as IBM^®, HP and Microsoft^® have adopted ITIL guidelines and have certified personnel on their staffs. They have recognized the importance of and have made the commitment to providing the best IT service possible to their clients, and companies all over the world are following suit. As the world of IT continues to change, companies who have established the groundwork of policies have a better chance of making any transition a seamless one.

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Why "Best Practices" are Best

One of the first steps towards Data Center Automation is the adoption of ITIL best practices. Wikipedia defines "Best Practices" as "a management idea which asserts that there is a technique or method that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc. The idea is that with proper processes, checks, and testing, a desired outcome can be delivered with fewer problems and unforeseen complications." So if there are processes out there that when used, lead to fewer problems and complications, why don't all companies apply them?

The truth is that more and more billion dollar companies ARE applying them. Forester Research predicts that widespread adoption of ITIL best practices will continue to grow through 2008. In 2004, 13 percent of billion dollar companies utilized ITIL which grew to 40 percent in 2006 and estimates show that number will grow to 80 percent by 2008.

While there seems to be a large percentage of companies adopting these practices, what those numbers don't show the numerous other companies who start ITIL implementation, but fail to either complete it or don't commit themselves to the complete process. In order to be a success case, there are a few common pitfalls to avoid:

Lack of Commitment and Momentum

As with all best practices, ITIL can only be beneficial if the ideas are used and applied regularly. All team members must be on board to make the commitment to use them. If everyone is not on board, even one person, then the implementation is not going to be successful. It is especially important that the management team is committed and continues to stay involved in the process. The average ITIL implementation takes 3-5 years. That is a long time to keep your IT team motivated, especially if there are many positive changes early on. Management should be there every step of the way, to remind the staff that like a course of antibiotics, every pill must be taken, even if relief is experienced right off the bat. Otherwise, the sickness will return.

Setting the Bar Too High

Another common pitfall is trying to implement too many processes at the same time. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. Trying to tackle and enforce too many processes at the same time will lead to confusion, staff discord and the chance that all the processes won't fit seamlessly with one another due to mistakes or the lack of firmly grasping one process, before incorporating another.

Focusing Too Much on Performance

Your IT department should not be run like a fast food restaurant. Quick resolutions are desirable, but quality and adherence to processes should not be sacrificed in the process. Organizations should work on delivering quality services as a part of the overall ITIL implementation.

Not Seeing the Big Picture

All too often, companies are so focused on implementing each of the ITIL processes separately that they fail to look at the overall picture of how ITIL framework will fit into their existing infrastructure. The overall success of ITIL implementations depends on how well each process fits with the current infrastructure, and all the other processes. Knowing the order of implementation that works best for your company and existing infrastructure is key.

Any company can successfully implement ITIL best practices by understanding their unique IT strengths and abilities and working with their existing infrastructure. Having a clear picture of your existing infrastructure and realistic goals to work towards will help ensure your IT department becomes committed to adopting ITIL ideas and processes for the long run.

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Tech Tip: Data Center Automation

Automation relies on the fundamental understanding of "what".

WHAT the task is at hand. WHAT the task does. And WHAT needs to be accomplished. (Start - Process - End) .

Automation in its simplest form, is easily adoptable for a system administrator who is in complete control of his/her server, its processes and interfaces.

Here, repetitious tasks such as starting and stopping processes, cleaning up temporary files, or periodic review of system status and thresholds can be easily scripted, tested and scheduled with consistent end results.

More sophisticated levels of automation such as Server Provisioning, Change Control, Run Book Automation and associated diagnostics and resolution, require an in-depth and detailed view of the infrastructure.

Here, a complete inventory of the infrastructure and its associated components is necessary, along with an understanding of all the associated requirements and options.

No matter what level an IT automation activity or project is undertaken the key to its success will be a thorough understanding of the WHAT- from start to finish.

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