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Consolidate Databases using Microsoft SQL Server From many to few; learn how to use SQL Server to reduce your database footprint. Info-Tech Research Group ‹#› Introduction Although database consolidation has traditionally been thought of as a risky practice, recent improvements to SQL Server make it a reliable platform for consolidation. Organizations that are not yet consolidating are wasting resources. This Research Is Designed For: This Research Will Help You: Organizations of all sizes that are considering the costs Understand the benefits of database consolidation, and benefits of database consolidation onto SQL Server. Organizations looking to advance their database consolidation strategy into production environments. CIOs and data center managers looking to implement a comprehensive, phased consolidation process and to avoid common consolidation pitfalls. from cost reduction to performance benefits. Select the right consolidation model based on your organization’s needs and requirements. Dive deeper into major considerations for each stage of consolidation; including planning, piloting, testing, upgrades, and decommissioning of servers. Advice provided in this solution set is specific to consolidation on SQL Server. Although SQL Server is the most popular platform for consolidation, consolidation on another platform may be a more viable solution for your needs. If you are looking to consolidate on Oracle, please refer to Info-Tech’s solution set Assess Oracle’s Role in the Enterprise Database Strategy for Oracle-specific advice. Info-Tech Research Group ‹#› Executive Summary Understand the value of consolidation • The most common reason for consolidation is reducing TCO; however, there are plenty of other benefits to consolidation; including more centralized management, reduced data center space requirements, and improved performance. • Considering consolidation on SQL Server? You are not alone: o 34% of organizations surveyed have either consolidated or are in the process of consolidation. o Another 39% are planning to consolidate in the next 18 months. Create the consolidation strategy • Consolidation strategy is two-fold: Select your consolidation model based on criteria such as security, manageability, and high availability and choose your SQL Server edition. • Consolidation models include database, instance, and virtualization. o Info-Tech cautions against using the cloud for hosting databases. Revisit this option in 24-36 months. • Organizations choosing virtualization have the option of consolidating, stabilizing, and then virtualizing or taking a shortcut and jumping into the virtualization project right away. Info-Tech recommends the former approach. • Organizations have the option of consolidating on SQL Server 2008R2 or the recently released 2012 edition. Implement a phased consolidation process • The planning stage is key to a success process; thoroughly profile candidates for consolidation and prepare for consolidation-related risks to achieve higher satisfaction with database performance, availability, uptime, and security. • Follow Info-Tech’s detailed 5-step implementation model to ensure a successful consolidation process. Info-Tech Research Group ‹#› Understand the value of consolidation What’s in this Section: • Understand the major drivers of consolidation. • Recognize the features of recent SQL Server versions that facilitate stable consolidation. • Consider whether a phased or all-at-once approach is appropriate. • Start thinking about best practices and common pitfalls of Sections: Understand the value of consolidation Create the consolidation strategy Implement a phased consolidation process consolidation with Info-Tech’s case studies. Info-Tech Research Group ‹#› Organizations are wasting significant resources by running under-utilized servers Historically, hosting one SQL Server instance per server was the safest approach. Today, it only leads to an unnecessary number of servers. • Past problems isolating SQL Server database instances made hosting multiple databases on the same server a risky decision. Corruption in one instance often bled over into other instances. As a result, organizations often added a dedicated server for each application they were running, leading to database sprawl. 73% of organizations have consolidated already or plan to do so in the near future. If you choose to consolidate, you aren’t alone! • This resulted in unnecessary licensing costs, higher support and facility costs, and under-utilizing the existing architecture – including servers that often lie completely idle. • However, recent improvements in database technologies; including the ability to easily isolate instances, mean that organizations can safely consolidate on SQL Server as long as they follow a structured approach to ensure the process is done correctly. N = 82. Source: InfoTech Research Group Info-Tech Research Group ‹#› Consolidation benefits can be achieved in most situations regardless of organization size or location Consolidation is not just for the large. In fact, small organizations are most likely to be planning a consolidation in the near future and medium organizations are most likely to have already consolidated. Adoption levels are not significantly affected by an organization’s location. Info-Tech Research Group, n=47. It's a matter of degree. Any consolidation is better than it was before. Any time you can retire a dedicated server (whether end-of-life or not) is a win for the IT Department. Consolidation cuts down on power usage, system administrator effort, hardware support costs, etc. - IT manager, Healthcare Industry Info-Tech Research Group ‹#› Consolidation was once a risky practice, but with recent SQL Server improvements, this is no longer the case While pre-2008 versions of SQL Server may have been inappropriate for consolidation, 2008R2 and 2012 are suitable platforms for doing so. Use SQL Server 2008 R2 as the bare minimum for consolidation. If you are running an earlier version, consider consolidation as you upgrade to achieve even greater savings. Recent SQL releases contain the following improvements that make it a reliable solution for consolidation: Storage Security High Availability • Data compression enables more effective, lower cost storage with improved performance for large I/O workloads. Compression also reduces the cost of business continuity. • Backup compression reduces the size of the backup and the time to backup. Disk size is often reduced by 20-60%. Three levels of isolation: • Database: access to the database is controlled on a user-by-user basis. •Server: access to the instance is controlled by using logins. •Operating System: access to the OS is controlled by using Windows or Active Directory accounts. • Failover clustering offers either automatic or manual clustering with greater redundancy and control. Improvements make it easier to create and manage clusters. • Database mirroring ensures the database remains available at all times. Improvements include log stream compression, automatic suspect page recovery, and clients do not need to be reconfigured to access the mirrored database during failover. Info-Tech Research Group • Other important features include transparent data encryption (TDE) and SQL Server Audit . ‹#› Even a relatively conservative consolidation ratio, such as 2:1, will save organizations a lot in the long term SQL Server leads the market in terms of TCO, but even though each individual server is relatively inexpensive, the numbers add up quicky Even the most conservative of organizations are easily achieving a 2:1 or 3:1 consolidation ratio. The opportunity exists to achieve much higher ratios as well. This will create savings on licensing costs, power costs, maintenance costs, hardware costs, staff costs, and training costs. If your hardware budget allows, you can achieve a 100:1 reduction ratio! I did a theoretical calculation and purely from a performance capability standpoint, I could do an entire global consolidation (about 1200 instances) with only two physical machines. - Martijn van der Munnik, Technology Consultant Through consolidation and virtualization of our SQL Server databases we reduced our licensing expenses by 75%. For example: A mid-size organization is currently running 19 instances of SQL Server. Estimating that each instance of SQL Server has a 6-year TCO of $78 thousand, then the total cost of their set-up is is $1.4 million. - Technology Consultant If the organization was able to achieve even a 2:1 reduction ratio, it would be saving over $741 thousand dollars in the same 6 years. 6-Year TCO: 19 X $78K = $1.4M Info-Tech Research Group 6-year TCO: $659K Savings of $741K over 6 years ‹#› There are benefits to consolidation beyond simple cost savings Consolidation is an effective way to achieve the following organizational goals: • Creating a more effective use of space and hardware in the data center, as well as decreasing the environmental impact due to cooling and power usage. Improved management and standardization • Leading to more efficient management of the databases. • Increasing the ability to implement standard processes and procedures. • Increasing the horizontal integration of business units. Streamlined technical skills • Decreasing the need for multiple skill sets. • Streamlined knowledge requirements for end users. Info-Tech Research Group High Satisfaction with Databases Reduced data center space requirements Consolidation leads to higher organizational satisfaction with database infrastructures. Low No Database Consolidation Looked Into Database Consolidation Planning Database Consolidation In Process of Database Consolidation Database Consolidated Status of Database Consolidation N=67 Organizations that consolidated their databases reported higher satisfaction with the following: Performance Uptime Availability Security ‹#› Although it is possible to roll out the entire consolidation project at once, a phased approach is more successful Phased Approach All-At-Once Approach Organizations have two options for their consolidation project: 1) All-at-once approach: Organizations identify all the databases they wish to consolidate and complete the process in one round. Following the consolidation, they deal with any points of failure. 2) Phased approach: Organizations consolidate a small number of non-critical instances first, stabilize and monitor them, deal with any failure points, and then extend their consolidation to more complex, mission-critical databases. Info-Tech recommends taking a phased approach, if possible. This approach may take longer in the beginning, but will help minimize long-term problems and streamline the process for both IT and the business. Organizations that choose an all-at-once approach risk potential failure points affecting all of their databases, including mission-critical ones. Info-Tech Research Group ‹#› Keep the business informed about changes to business processes, but don’t let them control the consolidation project Consolidation doesn’t affect IT alone; make sure the process is transparent to the business as well. Consolidation does present some risks and the chance that business processes may be affected. Keep business stakeholders informed about any changes that affect them, and involve them in the testing of end results to ensure the overall success of your project. The owner of the process is always IT. The business should act as an advisor rather than a leader. Process Role of Business Role of IT Planning for consolidation-related risks Approve Conduct Gathering Business Requirements Provide a description of user-based needs Create an inventory of business requirements Planning for the pilot project Validate the decision Identify the databases that will be used during the pilot User Acceptance Testing Execute Determine the timelines and validate the results Don’t let the business dictate the consolidation process, the type of consolidation, or the database environment that you set up. Abstract what is running and what it is running on. Learn the business’s needs and create a solution around them. "Typically it is the business that pays for acquiring and installing the servers, and since they pay for them, they don't want to feel as though they are not getting what they've paid for. You must effectively communicate the benefits of consolidation to the business stakeholders. They need to be involved in the entire process and once it’s completed, they shouldn't feel like they've lost anything.“ - Cecil Newton, Director of Technology Services at San Francisco Health Plan Info-Tech Research Group ‹#› Info-Tech Research Group Helps IT Professionals To: Quickly get up to speed with new technologies Manage business expectations Justify IT spending and prove the value of IT Train IT staff and effectively manage an IT department Make the right technology purchasing decisions – fast Deliver critical IT projects, on time and within budget Sign up for free trial membership to get practical solutions for your IT challenges “Info-Tech helps me to be proactive instead of reactive – a cardinal rule in a stable and leading edge IT environment. • - ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co., LP Toll Free: 1-888-670-8889 Info-Tech Research Group www.infotech.com ‹#›