Server Consolidation without Compromises
Drivers and Benefits of Server Consolidation
Whether you are trying to control server sprawl, manage floor space, power or cooling capacities in your data center, or launch new applications using existing servers, server consolidation can help you “do more with less.”
The rationale for server consolidation is simple: Reduce IT costs.
By reducing the number of physical servers, you can immediately save operational expenses – power and cooling, maintenance and support contracts, system administration, etc. – which are typically about 40% of the total server cost. In addition, leveraging existing servers will allow you to delay and reduce capital investments and sometimes even consolidate data centers.
Cost of a $2500 Server (3 Year Life)
| Category | Yearly | Life Time |
| Acquisition | ||
| Server hardware | $833 | $2,500 |
| Other hardware | $67 | $200 1) |
| Software (operating system, other) | $167 | $500 1) |
| Maintenance & Administration | ||
| Initial set-up | $33 | $100 1) |
| Support contracts | $300 | $900 1) |
| In-house labor | $300 | $900 1) |
| Facilities | ||
| Power & cooling | $400 2) | $1,200 |
| Floor space | $500 3) | $1,500 |
| Site operations | $400 3) | $1,200 |
| Total | $3,000 | $9,000 |
1) Will vary
2) 400W at full load, $0.10/kwh
3) Tier II data center at 55% utilization (single path power/cooling, n+ redundancy)
Librato Load Manager™ for Container Virtualization
Librato Load Manager is an easy-to-deploy container virtualization solution that groups applications into resource containers and manages access to physical resources such as CPU, memory, storage I/O and network bandwidth. With multiple containers on the same server running a single operating system (OS) instance, Librato enables increased server utilization and consolidation.
Librato’s Approach: Server Consolidation without Compromises
Hardware or server virtualization has become such a valuable tool for server consolidation projects that two have become almost synonymous. With advanced capabilities like live migration, server virtualization brings many benefits. However, a period of rapid growth and implementation has also uncovered several challenges.
Librato enables safe consolidation of multiple, diverse applications without the challenges of server virtualization:
- Consolidate diverse applications with near native performance: Server virtualization is not suited for all applications1. According to Gartner, I/O intensive applications like production databases or compute intensive applications like those in grid environments are not good targets for server virtualization because of performance penalties.
Librato Load Manager is extremely light-weight with less than 1% performance overhead – whether applications are I/O or CPU bound. Each Librato container is guaranteed a specified amount of physical resources. This ensures performance isolation where no application can adversely affect the performance of other applications on the same server. - Maximize utilization of existing servers without changing your infrastructure: Virtualizing servers usually requires changes in networking, storage, and security infrastructure as well as data protection and disaster recovery solutions. In addition, some virtualization solutions support specific server, storage, and networking configurations per their compatibility matrices. This means leveraging existing servers isn’t always an option.
Librato seamlessly integrates into your existing data center infrastructure and existing servers. In addition, Librato Load Manager does not require any changes to the applications – not even a recompile or re-linking process. Another key difference, particularly for Linux environments, is Librato Load Manager does not modify the Linux kernel. All this allows you to protect your investments in your IT infrastructure and extend the useful life of your existing servers. - Avoid virtual server overload: While server virtualization helps to reduce the number of physical servers, the number of virtual machines or servers often remains the same due to the continued practice of the one application per server model. In some cases, the ease of provisioning a new virtual server results in an increased number of virtual machines to manage. This means the number of OS instances you must manage remain the same if not higher.
Librato enables you to reduce the number of physical servers and OS instances you need to manage. By hosting multiple containers on a single server running a single OS instance, Librato containers enable you to realize the full cost savings of server consolidation – those cost savings associated with OS licenses, maintenance contracts, and system administration. - Easy to install, configure and deploy for quick ROI: Changes in infrastructure required for virtualization solutions also impact implementation time, especially in production environments.
Librato does not require changes in the existing infrastructure such as storage and networking. There is no need to reinstall or reconfigure the OS or applications. In a matter of hours, Librato containers can be installed and configured to monitor how applications utilize system resources.
You can gain precise understanding of both desired and actual resource usage to begin planning which applications are best to run on the same server. Once this phase is completed, you can dynamically set resource allocation policies without any changes to the applications. This non-disruptive approach allows Librato container virtualization technology to be easily deployed in production environments.
Librato delivers a safe, easy, fast way to realize the benefits of server consolidation regardless of application workloads.
1 Gartner, “Server Workloads: What Not to Virtualize,” G00156214, March 26, 2008: 1