Veritas Provisioning Manager

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Veritas Provisioning Manager

• Technical Presentation

2
Agenda

• Challenges in Data Center Operations
• Improving Operational Practices
• Data Center Automation - Opportunities for
  Application
• Veritas Provisioning Manager
• Applying Server Build Automation
• Summary and Recommendations

3
The Expanding Datacenter
Storage
Databases AuthenticationApplications
Applications
Switches
LOB Production Subnets
Development, Test, QA Subnets
LOB Production Subnets
4
Trends In IT Architecture

• Number of Servers is growing
• Scale out Linux/Windows more servers
• Scale up partitioning more instances
• Definition of an Application is changing
• Multi-tiered applications ? SOA greater
  complexity
• More business critical applications greater
  risk
• Server virtualization emerging
• Across all server platforms more OS instances
• Moving into production greater exposure
• Shared storage is ubiquitous
• SAN/FC attached database servers more
  dependencies
• NAS/iSCSI attached middle tiers and web more
  dependencies and complexity

Environment is more distributed
Environment is more complex
Environment is more dynamic
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Operational Consequences and Challenges

• Reactive
• Extemporized processes
• Ad-hoc builds and configurations
• Balkanized groups
• System, network, application, directory
  administrators
• Application code from many development teams
• Every group has a tool
• Jumpstart, Kickstart, NIM
• Scripts and more scripts and

• High error rates
• No baseline for support

• Everything takes longer
• SLAs missed

• Hard to maintain
• Impossible to integrate
• Hidden tribal knowledge

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Why Automate Server Build, Rebuild, and
Configuration?

• Major source of costs, delays, errors, outages
• Unmanageable environments
• Frequent out-of-band changes drift
• Time and personnel sinks
• A process to implement
• Create standard system definitions and templates
• Capture best practices of application install and
  configuration
• Define approved processes for server build,
  migration, and changes
• Mandate out-of-band changes use standard
  practices and tools
• Implement these processes and practices as
  point-and-click
• Take single-system operations to multi-system
  operations

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Automating a Process
OS Install / Config
hours
Automated Provisioning and Configuration
Handoff
days
Network Config
hours
Handoff
days
Database Install / Conf
hours
Handoff
days
Application(s)
hours
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Scaling Automating a Process
Automated Provisioning and Configuration
x20
WEEKS
MINUTES
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Agenda

• Challenges in Data Center Operations
• Improving Operational Practices
• Data Center Automation - Opportunities for
  Application
• Veritas Provisioning Manager
• Applying Server Build Automation
• Summary and Recommendations

10
VPM Functional Summary
INSTALL/CONFIGURE ADDTL. APPLICATIONS
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Core Functions

• Image-based deployment
• Image/snapshot unattended installs
• Personalization and configuration
• Package/model-based deployment and configuration
• Applications, firmware, BIOS, device operations
• Models provide mechanism for custom configuration
  
• Automate process of deployment and configuration
  of servers
• Opscripts, jobs
• Automated rule-based deployment
• Integrated VLANs operation

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VPM How It Works
VPM Master Server
Managed Servers

• Solaris
• Windows
• Red Hat Linux

Web UI
VPM Agents

• Bare metal agent (AOS)
• OS Agent (ITAP)
• Windows, Red Hat, SUSE, Solaris, AIX

Repositories
Database

• CIFS
• NFS

• Embedded, or
• Oracle 9i, 10g

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Key VPM Characteristics

• Based on standard network protocols
• No separate DHCP, tftp, or OS vendor servers
  required
• Single web-based UI for all platforms
• Bare-metal RAM OS (Active OS, Linux kernel for
  x86, Solaris for SPARC, AIX for Power) for
  snapshot/image save/deploy/compress and bare
  metal operation
• ITAP agent for personalization, package
  deployment, server comparisons
• Packages can do anything a command line or shell
  can do.
• Plus parameterization (variables), file/registry
  edits, constraints
• Distributed repositories for speed and
  scalability
• Fine-grained role-based administration
• Automatic rule-driven and best-fit provisioning

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Why Image-based Provisioning

• Image snapshots
• Typically 15-20 minutes
• AOS (Active OS) is an architecture-specific
  RAM-resident OS
• AOS understands volumes and file system
• File, smart-sector, sector-mode
• AOS creates correct geometry, applies to new
  disk(s)
• Volume, partition, filesystem information
• Personalization customizes image for new
  environment
• Each OS instructed to scan and reconfigure
  devices (implementation is OS-specific)
• Hostname, IP address, other required network
  information
• AOS takes a snapshot in multiple layers
• Incremental snapshots
• Fast, efficient, complete, portable across
  systems

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VPM Software Packages and Models

• Software deployment and configuration
• Complements image snapshots
• Powerful basis for extensible automation
• Package construct contains software, scripts,
  data,
• Model contains variable or parameterized
  information for installation instance
• Attached to package

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Provisioning Manager Software Packages and Models

• Uses for package and models
• Install, uninstall and modify software, patches,
  any arbitrary entity
• Repeat a common system management task
• Issue any CLI commands or scripts
• Perform any of the above on multiple servers
  simultaneously
• A software package may contain
• CLI command, CLI script, executables, files
• Anything you can think of
• Attached Models
• Models define parameters (variables) for software
  packages
• Pre configuration commands (e.g. purge
  directories)
• Parameters (typed and checked - INT, float,
  string, IP address, password, directory etc)
• Can be mandatory, defaulted, prompted
• Post configuration commands (e.g. start dependent
  programs)
• Object modification (Any file, test files,
  XML,INI, INF, IIS DB, and registry)
• Replaces manual edits and errors

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Provisioning Manager Leveraging Automation
Console

• Operations needs to install and reconfigure three
  application packages on fifty servers

Web Server
Provisioning Manager
Servers
Repositories
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Provisioning Manager Start Processes
Console

• Operator uses browser UI to select three software
  packages, then select fifty servers, clicks
  Start

Web Server
Provisioning Manager
Servers
Repositories
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Provisioning Manager Parallel Execution Begins
Console

• VPM automatically assembles task list and begins
  process on fifty systems

Web Server
CMD Deploy Packages XYZ
Provisioning Manager
Servers
Repositories
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Provisioning Manager Unattended Management
Console

• To fifty servers, in parallel
• READ packages XYZ
• Perform edits
• Perform configuration
• Perform commands

Web Server
Provisioning Manager
SW
SW
SW
SW
Servers
Repositories
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Capturing Processes in VPM

• OpScripts and jobs
• GUI created sequence of commands
• Created by architect or administrator, used by
  operators
• No coding or scripting!!
• Can be auto-triggered
• Date and time
• A VPM Event (Like Start Up Server Successful or
  New Server Auto-discovered)
• An SNMP Trap
• Combine with provisioning policies

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VPM Major Components
Web Browser
Web-based Console
Logic
VPM Server
Database
Repository
Execution and Logging
Repository
ITAP Agent
ITAP Agent
ITAP Agent
Managed Assets
Switches
SPARC (Solaris)
x86 (Windows/Linux)
PowerPC (AIX)
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Agenda

• Challenges in Data Center Operations
• Improving Operational Practices
• Data Center Automation - Opportunities for
  Application
• Veritas Provisioning Manager
• Applying Server Build Automation
• Summary and Recommendations

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Test and Development Operations

• Problem
• Constantly changing software configurations
• Systems need to built and rebuilt continually
• High sysadmin requirements to meet needs
• Manual operation leads to high error rates
• Lack of responsiveness impacts productivity
• VPM functions
• Fast, simple, automated build and rebuild
• Reduces admin workload for standardized tasks
• Reduces errors and improves supportability
• Increases developer productivity

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VPM in Disaster Recovery Repurposing Operations

• Problem
• Full replicated DR site is expensive
• Building DR failover on-the-fly is slow and
  unreliable
• VPM function
• Re-use your Test/Dev resources for DR.
• Document and capture your best deployment
  practices, then on demand
• Snapshot current Test/Development suite
• Deploy base production snapshots
• Use VPM restore, SAN or NAS for application
  install
• Attach to SAN, NAS, replicated mirrors, etc for
  volatile data
• Go
• Many designs / scenarios are possible
• Avoid replicated hardware suite costs
• Improve response time and SLAs
• Reduce errors and improve supportability

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Operational Challenges in Redeploying
Applications and Servers

• Problem
• Moving applications from server to server is
  tedious, slow, error prone
• Migration of data centers or deployment of new
  servers magnifies problem
• Almost impossible to ensure ALL characteristics
  of an application are captured and replicated
• VPM function
• Pick up a snapshot and drop it on a different /
  new platform
• Imaging technology platform personalization
  parameter-based customization simple and
  complete re-deployment
• Imaging is dramatically faster than
  script/media-based alternatives
• Accuracy and completeness of migration
• Reduce errors and improve supportability

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Deploying or Reconfiguring Large Numbers of
Applications

• Problem
• What if you have 200 SAP applications you need
  to keep updating?
• Or constantly changing content that needs to be
  pushed to a hundred servers?
• Slow, unresponsive, error prone, consumes
  resources
• VPM function
• Standardization and automation of deployment
• Speed deployment, cut errors, reduce costs,
  improve supportability, improve responsiveness,
  meet SLA goals

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More examples

• Create standardized golden server build and
  push to subsidiary sites
• Known characteristics supportable
• Simple deployment time saved
• Rebuild 20 servers with X OS Y patches Z
  applications
• Select and go
• QA engineer needs to test
• OS version A, Service Pack B, Database C,
  Application D
• Selects free asset, relevant snapshots and
  packages, click go
• Test needs to run destructive test of
  multi-tiered application
• Snapshot all servers
• Run tests
• Restore snapshots
• Minimal hands-on

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Summary

• Current server build and configuration is
• Too complex, resource-intensive, slow,
  error-prone, no control / audit
• Process, practice, tools exist to remediate
  server build and configuration problems
• Examine process and practice, formally document
  them
• Applicable VPM capabilities
• Image-based provisioning for speed and accuracy
• Software packages and models for flexibility and
  customization
• Opscripts and jobs for capture of best practices
  as process
• Integrated VLAN control for single-step
  provisioning

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Recommendations

• Implement simple snapshot provisioning and
  reprovisioning
• VPM uniquely suited for quick implementation
• Begin embedding processes in VPM operations
• Architect specifies process
• System administrator puts process in VPM using
  GUI tools
• Operator uses VPM in day-to-day operation
• The Result
• Fast, low-overhead, efficient server build and
  configuration
• Fixes the problem you have, not the theory
• Avoids the overhead and failures of lifecycle
  management

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Practical Centralized Automation
One Interface to All Platforms
Simple to Implement
Automated Provisioning
Fast and Accurate
Flexible and Extensible
No Additional Specialized Servers Required
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Thank you