On Wednesday, 01/24/2007 at 12:06 EST, "Edward M. Martin"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Yes you are very correct. I am running without any real
> monitoring tools now (for z/VM). I keep pushing. The upper Echelon are
> not pushing back as hard as they use to.
>
> Thank you for the info and insight.
In general, a z/VM system that is moving from Proof of Concept, or pilot,
to production often involves some considerations:
- Additional hardware
- Additional software (e.g. system management)
- Additional process (paperwork)
- Additional people to deal with the above
The hardware considerations are often only known by going through sizing
exercises, and that means understanding your workload. While all Linux
kernels may be similar, the applications they support and their usage
patterns are not. So the performance management suite comes into play
early.
And the system that previously sat in a dusty corner minding its own
business is all of a sudden front-and-center on the IT stage. I hesitate
to say it, but the paranoid Security Weenies will find you ("and your
little dog, too!"). Do you have proper resource and user management
processes? Do you have tools to implement those processes? Can you
demonstrate that you are using Due Diligence to protect the system and the
information it contains? Can you (and do you) monitor the system for
intrusion attempts? How do you react to those?
Performance. Security. What else?
- Health checking (monitoring)
- Disaster recovery (backup, archive)
- Automation (as a way to control personnel costs)
- Tooling for change management
(I've probably missed a major activity, but you get the idea.)
Naturally, your choice of software can be shaped by politics, too. If
your management software needs to integrate into the infrastructure
already present in the enterprise, you may have to make different choices.
"Be sure to look both ways before crossing the street!" mother said. It
was good advice then, it's good advice now.
It may seem overwhelming, but it really isn't. Even the capital outlay
for the additional software will pale in comparison to the cost savings
you hope to realize by using System z. But it is VITAL to have an
understanding that the decision to deploy Linux on System z in a
production environment is but the *first* step in a multi-step process.
This is why Linux is "free as in speech, NOT as in beer." Nothing we do
in IT is free.
Alan Altmark
z/VM Development
IBM Endicott
