The Pros and Cons of Server Consolidation
By Alice LaPlante
One of the hottest prospects to address the high administrative, support and infrastructure costs of the data center is server consolidation. "In the long term, server consolidation is something you absolutely must do," says Tim Pacileo, executive consultant at Compass American Inc., a metrics-based IT consulting firm based in New York City.
However, along with consolidation's significant advantages, there are also significant challenges that may diminish its benefits. "The cost savings look great on paper," concedes Pacileo. "But once you consider all the factors, you understand that you might not realize all those savings right away."
Together At Last
Server consolidation involves gathering data and applications stored or running on two or more physical servers onto a single server. This reduces the number of physical machines required to meet all the processing and/or storage requirements of the data center. Some organizations take this concept a step further through virtualization, which makes a single physical server look like multiple logical servers. Either way, there are a number of ways in which consolidation reduces the data center's total cost of ownership (TCO):
- Lessened hardware requirements Because it's no longer necessary to purchase a new server for every application or business unit, you can cut the total number of machines. When each department has its own dedicated servers, these reductions can be dramatic.
- Minimized physical space Fewer servers mean less total space dedicated to your data center.
- Reduced energy costs Likewise, fewer physical servers in a reduced physical space means reduced energy required to heat and cool the facilities. As energy costs continue to escalate, cutting down on servers can result in significant (article continues)
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