Grid Computing and Server Virtualization

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Grid Computing and Server Virtualization
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What are the Key Drivers?

• Increased demand for computing power to
• Collect and Share Data
• Analyze Information and Intelligence
• Importance of Infrastructure Consolidation
• Justice and Public Safety Projects should meet
  performance measures
• Projects should demonstrate effective planning
  and successful implementation with limited
  resources

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Grid Computing in a Few Words

• Grid Computing applies the resources of many
  computers to resolve a single problem.

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Virtualization in a Few Words

• Virtualization is dividing one server into
  multiple isolated environments

Virtual Machine N
Virtual Machine 1
Virtual Machine 2
Virtual Machine 3
. . .
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How are they Related?

• Grid Computing and Server Virtualization both
  require virtual pooling of information technology
  resources
• Both concepts have common characteristics
• Application abstraction
• Dynamic invocation
• Information isolation

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A Common Scenario

• Using one server for more than one purpose by
• Running multiple instances of an operating system
  
• Leveraging a grid of virtualized servers
• Fulfills a set of requirements defined by one or
  more organizations.

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Grid Computing in More Detail

• Grids can be defined as systems that coordinate
  resources that are not subject to centralized
  control and reside in different domains.
• Grids employ a standard, open, general-purpose
  protocol and interface.
• The grid computing concept is utilized to deliver
  nontrivial qualities of service.

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Grid Computing Core Capabilities

• As defined by the Open Grid Forum the set of core
  capabilities of grid computing are
• Infrastructure services
• Execution management services
• Data and information services
• Resource management services
• Security services

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Virtualization in More Detail

• Virtualization represents the foundation of grid
  computing.
• Server virtualization involves
• Carving servers into partitions
• Recasting physical resources into logical
  divisions.
• Each partition acts as an independent entity
• Each partition is assigned its own operating
  system applications.

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Virtualization Primer
Parent VM
VM Worker Processes
VM Service
User Mode
Applications
Applications
Core Operating System
Virtual Service Provider
Kernel Mode
Virtual Service Provider
Virtual Service Provider
Virtual Service Bus
Virtual Device Provider
Hardware Partition Abstraction Layer
Virtual Storage
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Application in Justice and Public Safety

• Justice information systems are mission critical
  and require high availability.
• Grid computing and server virtualization provide
  additional flexibility.
• Aid in reducing costs while increasing
  infrastructure agility and manageability.

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What Does it Take to Implement?

• Selecting and deploying solutions for
  partitioning and isolation of virtual machines.
• Encapsulation is critical
• To increase the mobility of virtual machines
  across existing servers.
• The key to success
• Developing a strategy for effective management of
  all components of the resulting environment.

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Strategic Benefits

• Brings together resources in a dynamic and
  geographically distributed way.
• Increased computational activity and
  productivity.
• Increased server management flexibility and
  infrastructure agility.
• Effective sharing of investment in processing
  power.
• Potential for reducing hardware and software
  costs.

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Some Thoughts on Risks

• Concepts are still new and standards are
  currently in development.
• Implementation adds additional complexity in
  infrastructure and software
• Effective strategies to mitigate risks are to
• Start implementation with non-critical
  applications.
• Deploy in development and testing environments
  first.
• Security and Privacy are important considerations.

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Virtualization Case Studies

• Chautauqua County
• The Solution
• The county created two computing environments
  based on Dell hardware. It migrated its RMS
  system to these environments and created a
  scalable, virtualized server environment
  utilizing VMware Server software.
• The Benefits
• Increased reliability flexibility and scalability
• Cost savings of 60
• Accelerated new application deployment by 99.7
• Accelerated time to provide new services from one
  month to two hours

• Bowdoin College
• The Solution
• Faced with the challenge to double the size of
  its 500-square-foot data center, a project with
  a 2 million price tag, the college system
  administration staff decided to take a different
  route and to implement virtual technology.
• The Benefits
• Saved floor space and reduced significantly the
  investment in new servers.
• Running and maintaining 46 instead of the
  estimated 101 servers.
• Reduced power and cooling requirements.
• Reduced additional backup costs

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Grid Computing Case Studies

• Public TRUST
• The Solution
• The need for scalable platform to support
  emerging products prompted Public TRUST to
  upgrade to a grid environment and to shift its
  CRM and warehouse systems onto Oracle Real
  Applications Clusters 10g on Linux servers.
• The Benefits
• Promoted flexibility in use and cost of computing
  power
• Improved application reliability due to access to
  easily swappable blade server hardware in a grid
  environment
• Enabled faster completion of substantial
  processing tasks

• The Sommer Group
• The Solution
• Leveraging Fujitsu Siemens Computers strategy,
  the Sommer Group adopted an innovative
  information technology approach. The strategy
  involved the use of virtualization and automation
  based on Oracles grid technology for incremental
  ERP system migration, including the entire system
  environment.
• The Benefits
• Consolidated server landscape a single server
  pool for both production and testing environments
• Significant reduction in operating and
  maintenance expense
• Dynamic allocation of resources for optimal
  service quality
• Future-safe investment since the grid platform
  can be flexibly scaled with industry-standard
  technology

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Available Products - I

• The Globus Toolkit
• IBM Grid Solution for Data Intensive Computing
• IBM Grid and Grow Express
• HP Storage Works Grid
• Oracle VM Driver
• Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Grid Control
• Sun Grid Engine 5.3
• Sun Management Center
• Microsoft Virtual Server

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Available Products - II

• VMWare Server, VMWare Workstation
• VMWare High Availability
• VMWare Consolidated Backup
• VMWare VMotion
• VMWare Virtual Center
• VMWare Converter
• VMWare Capacity Planner
• Xen Hypervisor
• SWSoft Virtuozzo

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Links to More Information

• What is the Grid? A three point Checklist
• http//www-fp.mcs.anl.gov/foster/Articles/WhatIsT
  heGrid.pdf
• The Open Grid Services Architecture, Version 1.0
• http//www.ogf.org/documents/GFD.30.pdf
• What are the Benefits of Grid Computing?
• http//www.ccr.buffalo.edu/documents/gridcomputing
  _audiocast.pdf
•  Server Virtualization Goes Mainstream
• www.forrester.com/go?docid38634
•  Pragmatic Approaches to Server Virtualization
• www.forrester.com/go?docid38751
•  The Open Grid Forum
• http//www.ogf.org
•  The Global Grid Forum
• http//www.ggf.org
•  The Globus Alliance
• http//www.globus.org

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Thank You!

• Iveta Topalova
• Analysts International
• 408-501-3705
• itopalova_at_analysts.com