The decision to move to Capacity on Demand (Metering) is not an easy one, nor one that can be made using traditional techniques. First and foremost, the decision is based on system usage (MIP Months or some other type of Power/Time measure) and not just on system power. This requires a thorough understanding of the current and future processing requirements. After implementation, the requirements of the contract must be measured and managed for the period of the contract. These new requirements will challenge any product that is focused on monitoring.
RG Solutions® is not just a Capacity Management tool, but also a product that understands the metering of systems. For example, the Unisys Libra systems (MCP) have an inbuilt metering system that is the basis of all system processing. This metering algorithm is not straight forward, but the vendor does provide APIs for the retrieval of the meter information. Unfortunately, this information does not allow for independent usage auditing nor for the meter allocations to specific workloads. RG Solutions® does not use these APIs, but rather calculates the metering values independently. This allows for independent auditing and extensive allocation of meter usage to the individual workloads that are running on the system. For specific solutions like ITI’s Premiere banking software, this allows for the application of costs to the individual components that are running on the system.
The Metering concept (whether used on the actual system or not) is available for all processing within RG Solutions®. Metering is inherent in RG Solutions®, and this methodology allows for actual comparison of dissimilar systems as well as the implementation of Capacity Management programs based on business models.
Key Business Values
- Independent meter usage calculation for auditing requirements.
- Cost and usage information for workloads, operational processing (online, batch, etc.), Virtual Appliances, etc.
- Reporting of Native meter amounts (i.e. MIP Months) if available as well as Standard Usage values (common to all systems).
- Standard Usage ratings that are based on the actual systems. Allows for the comparison of systems/processing, workload analysis, and consolidation of Virtual Appliances (even if they are from different systems).
New Paradigm
The decision to use Capacity on Demand may be the easiest part of a new environment. Vendors have declared that Capacity Planning is no longer required. This may be true, but with Metering, the management of usage becomes business critical. Usage amounts must be monitored to ensure that contracted amounts will last for the duration of the contract. The price of non-surveillance is high and will include real monetary costs that could be substantial.
The New Paradigm is bounded by a new set of constraints. The system environments provided by vendors like Unisys not only allow for the unbridled usage of the system as in the past, but may also allow for the system to change processing power (possibly on the fly). It is like purchasing a generator for a business. When you own the generator, you can use all the power you wish without any real additional costs or ramifications. Now imagine a generator that you manage as before, but now you must pay for what is used. Further, the generator can be reconfigured to deliver more power when needed, at the discretion of the generator's operator. This is a whole new paradigm.
Like any usage based resource, how and when the resource is used is up to the customer. Previously it was not as important to control the resource usage. However, the New Paradigm encourages indiscriminate use and lax control could cost you up to an additional 20% (or more) in charges per month.
Business Benefits
RG Solutions® provides the information that you need for intelligent measurement of your system(s). You will understand what is your meter usage and costs, know how the usage and costs are being allocated, and understand what is required to control the costs. RG Solutions® not only provides metering information, but forms a means for an independent verification (auditing) of the metering charges. In fact, some customers have chosen RG Solutions® as the only product for measuring and reporting the metered use of their systems. Just some of the realized benefits include:
- Independent measures of metered usage.
- Quota (budget) based measures based on the expected life cycle of the system(s). These values are reported in both Native (vendor specific) and Standard (common for all) measures.
- Allocation of metered use to workloads (services), operational processing (batch, online, query, etc.), Virtual Appliances, etc.
- Common usage reporting for any system whether the system supports metering or not.
Technical Benefits
RG Solutions® enables a metering process that will take little time and can be performed by a junior person. Using the inherent metering model for its processing, RG Solutions® provides a simplified processing model that allows for the measurement of several systems – even if they are of different types or speeds. Just some of the benefits that will be realized include:
- Independent validation of vendor meter usage reports.
- Business integrated usage planning based on an easily understood metering model.
- Meter measurement and reporting based on a “business like” budget process that incorporates system lifecycle expectations.
- Understanding the Who, What, Where and When of IT computing.
