Get an integrated IT solution that not only tells you how well your File Servers are running, but how much they cost for Service Delivery to your business. The big concern is currently about “Green Computing” costs, but there are other substantial costs related to any File Server. Add in the need to perform Capacity Management and you easily see the requirement for several products.
Until now, no product has integrated the business cost of the File Server with the Server’s performance information. The result is an IT costing metric for the Server that is based on a Total Cost of Ownership model, and is totally transparent. This not only provides an understanding of the processing costs but allows for the comparison of processing within/between systems – even if the systems are of different types or architectures.
This simplified design allows for a low cost alternative to any monitoring program that is primarily being used for Capacity Management.
Key Business Values
- Measures IT for the Business. Contains the traditional information required for Capacity Management, but also includes the related business costs of the processing.
- Identifies the Operational File Server cost for different types of processing (i.e. batch, online, reporting, backups, etc.). With companion data, unit costs can be established for pricing models (i.e. cost per SQL, e-mail, etc.).
- Automatically calculates the “Green Costs” of the system based on local power rates. Cost amounts include the related infrastructure costs (i.e. cooling, etc.) as related to the Server.
- Cost and performance information for Usage, Demand, and Life Cycle evaluation.
Level 1 Costing
The File Servers provide the processing foundation for Level 1 of the Costing Maturity Model. This level is the best known and most understood as it is the traditional basis for Capacity Management. (It should be noted that most Capacity Management was and is still done on mainframes. Traditional mainframe processing is a combination of Level 1 and Level 2 processing). With the advent of cheaper hardware and open architectures (in the late 1990’s), Capacity Management skills were lost. These skills must now be reconstituted in a manner that integrates with the current popular frameworks (ITIL, COBIT, etc.). The skills may be gone but the requirements that need them are still there.
RG Solutions® has a long history in Capacity Management and its evolution has bridged the gap between business management and truly understanding IT. Current frameworks form a solid foundation for decisions pertaining to new applications or systems, but they lack measurement and cost related processes for the post decision (after installation) life cycle. The reason for this shortcoming is quite simple; the frameworks are based on “best practices”. For more than ten years, there has been little attention paid to the post implementation issues pertaining to critical IT assets, and there really has been no attempt to understand IT costs – EVER!
What It Does
For Level 1 processing, RG Solutions® uses the Resource Catalog to form the basis for its processing. (Please see Costing for more information about the Resource Catalog). For each system in the catalog, a corresponding “Repository” can be defined that will contain the data for the actual system. Using an “agent” based approach; the actual system information is collected and is automatically imported into each Repository on a daily basis.
The Repository information will consist of several types of data depending on the reporting requirements. The basic foundation of Repository data is the native performance information gathered from the actual system. As part of the RG Solutions® processing, a second hybrid layer of information is created from the native data. This layer provides transparent data structures containing cost and performance information that is platform neutral.
For File Servers, RG Solutions® first and foremost provides information that can be used for traditional Capacity Management. Native technical information is presented in a manner that is easy to navigate and understand. For the transparent information, an Operational and System Activity view of the processing provides cost and performance information related to the operations of the Server (i.e. online, batch, backups, reporting, etc.).
Business Benefits
RG Solutions® provides the opportunity for business management to have a more active role in IT decisions. Post implementation decisions are usually highly technical, and in the past these decisions were made by individuals who did not communicate well with business management. It was a highly complex process and the results were not structured for a business management mindset. RG Solutions® reduces the technical complexity and injects cost information for more business relevance. The following are just some of the benefits that can be realized using RG Solutions®:
- Business costs and Service Delivery data are integrated for a true understanding of the Service Delivery cost.
- Costs calculations are based on Total Cost of Ownership, standard accounting practices, and Activity Based Costing techniques.
- Costs are transparent and are not bound to a particular system. RG Solutions® uses a costing algorithm that allows calculated costs to be compared or transferred to different systems, even if they are different types.
- Cost information can be used for a Chargeback / Showback system. The resulting Chargeback / Showback process would be based on Total Cost of Ownership rather than annual budget recovery.
Technical Benefits
RG Solutions® enables a Capacity Management process that will take little time and can be performed by a junior person. RG Solutions® will provide the knowledge and skills required for the process. A wide range of reports are available on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, but some of the most valued reports contain the following:
- Operational cost and technical data related to the batch, online, intensive system activity, and other daily processing.
- Workload cost and technical data for aggregated groups of system activity. Workload information can be “supplemented” by companion data to extend the measured values.
- Usage and Demand Metrics allow for long term analysis and projection of future demand and costs.
- Life Cycle Metrics using information from the Resource Catalog and actual system processing can be used for Server evaluation and forecasting.
