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According to a Gartner, Inc. server consolidation poll, 66 percent of respondents either want to or have started a consolidation project.

Server consolidation helps improve the bottom line. However, there are other reasons why server consolidation is important to the data center:

• Better control
• Improved agility
• Better IT services

Server consolidation requires planning and analysis of end-user and application requirements as well as the server environment. Minimize the risks associated with server consolidation by understanding which servers are good candidates for consolidation and how combined applications and workloads will compete for resources, so service levels can be maintained.

Here are some questions IT should answer regarding its implementation efforts:

• What are the major drivers for consolidation in your organization?
• Are you satisfied with the progress of your consolidation efforts?
• What do you see as obstacles to the consolidation process?
• Would it help to have more accurate information to guide your consolidation efforts?
• Are you able to measure the success of your consolidation project?
• Are you considering virtualization?

Improving Odds for Success
TeamQuest lists the following items to improve an organization’s success when implementing a consolidation strategy:

Identify optimal consolidation candidates Get quick access to data on server utilization and workloads so you can increase the accuracy and speed of your consolidation projects.

Develop plan for consolidation Experiment with different application-server configurations to see how they will perform in a shared environment. Use this information to determine the optimal server configurations to support your multi-tiered workloads.

Validate your consolidation strategy Model and validate your consolidation plan under real-world scenarios in a virtual test bed that mimics your existing server environment, eliminating the need for expensive, complex, and resource-intensive validation in an actual test lab.

Track consolidation performance Utilize post-consolidation tracking mechanisms to evaluate whether your objectives were met in the areas of overall system activity, system activity by workload, process data, disk activity, and network and TCP statistics.

Manage your consolidated environment Continue to evaluate your server environment as you add new applications and new workloads. Ensure your initial consolidation efforts continue to deliver the desired ROI as you grow your business.

Record the Savings
Organizations must document and communicate their successes. Server consolidation can provide significant savings to the bottom line. According to the Gartner, Inc. survey, about 45 percent of respondents projected that server consolidation would reduce their overall IT budget anywhere from six to 15 percent.