Barb GoldwormAnne Skamarock

Blade Servers andVirtualization

Transforming Enterprise Computing While Cutting Costs

Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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Blade Servers and Virtualization

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Barb GoldwormAnne Skamarock

Blade Servers andVirtualization

Transforming Enterprise Computing While Cutting Costs

Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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Blade Servers and Virtualization: Transforming Enterprise Computing While Cutting Costs

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.10475 Crosspoint BoulevardIndianapolis, IN 46256www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-0-471-78395-4

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Goldworm, Barb, 1958–Blade servers and virtualization : transforming enterprise computing while cutting costs / Barb Goldworm,Anne Skamarock.

p. cm.Includes bibliographical references.ISBN-13: 978-0-471-78395-4 (cloth)ISBN-10: 0-471-78395-1 (cloth)1. Virtual computer systems. 2. Web servers. I. Skamarock, Anne. II. Title. QA76.9.V5G65 2007005.4@@sp3—dc22

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www.wiley.com

I dedicate this book to my family, Karen and Zee, and my sister-in-law,Cindy, and her family, for their love and support and incredible patience

as I disappeared for so many late nights, early mornings, and longweekends; to my father, who gave me a love of math, science, and logic;

and to my mother, who gave me a love of language.

Barb Goldworm

I dedicate this book to my family, Bill, Evan, and Ethan, for their love,support, and patience; to my parents and brother for continuing to

remind me I can do anything I put my mind to; and to my high-schoolEnglish teacher, Mr. Harris, whose lessons I still hear every time I write.

Anne C. Skamarock

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Barb Goldworm has spent 30 years in the computer industry, in various tech-nical, marketing, sales, senior management, and industry analyst positionswith IBM, Novell, StorageTek, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), andmultiple successful start-ups. She is the founder and president of Focus Con-sulting (www.focusonsystems.com), a research, analysis, and consulting firmfocused on systems and storage. A frequent speaker at industry events world-wide, Barb created and chaired the Networked Storage Segment of Net-World+Interop, has been one of the top-three-ranked analyst/knowledgeexpert speakers at Storage Networking World, and is a regular featuredspeaker for webcast providers including TechTarget and Ziff-Davis. Barb haspublished extensively, including regular columns for NetworkWorld, Computer-World, and TechTarget, as well as numerous business and technical whitepapers and articles on systems, storage and storage networking, and enter-prise management. Barb can be reached at bgoldworm@focusonsystems.com.

Anne Skamarock has spent nearly 30 years in high-tech fields in various posi-tions, including end user, systems administrator, scientific programmer, NFSsoftware engineer, backup and recovery software engineer, technical sales,marketing, and product management, and industry analyst with SRI Interna-tional, Sun Microsystems, Solbourne Computer, StorageTek, and EnterpriseManagement Associates (EMA). In addition to working with Focus Consult-ing, Anne is also founder and president of Skamarock Consulting, a technol-ogy, marketing, and research firm focused on systems and storage. While atEMA, she co-wrote Storage Solutions: A Buyer’s Guide and wrote the weekly“Storage in the Enterprise” NetworkWorld online newsletter. Anne can bereached at askamarock@focusonsystems.com.

About the Authors

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Acquisitions EditorCarol Long

Development EditorKelly Dobbs Henthorne

Technical EditorsCraig A. NewellSchley Stauffer Andrew Kutz

Production EditorSarah Groff-Palermo

Copy EditorCandace English

Editorial ManagerMary Beth Wakefield

Production ManagerTim Tate

Vice President and Executive Group PublisherRichard Swadley

Vice President and Executive PublisherJoseph B. Wikert

Book DesignerMaureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

ProofreaderRachel Gunn

IndexerTed Laux

Anniversary Logo DesignRichard Pacifico

Credits

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Acknowledgements xix

Introduction xxi

Part I Technology Evolution 1

Chapter 1 Blades and Virtualization — Building Blocks for Next-Generation Data Centers 3What Are Blades? 3

Server Blades and PC Blades 4Storage and Network Blades 5Why Blades? 5

What Is Virtualization? 6Why Virtualization? 6Why Virtualization and Blades? 6

Conclusion 7

Chapter 2 Evolution of Computing Technology — Setting the Stage 9Recurring Themes 9

Bigger, Better, Faster, Cheaper 9Miniaturization 10Decentralization and Recentralization 10

Eras of Evolution 11The Mainframe Era 11

Multiprocessing 13Mainframe Operating Systems 13

The Personal Computer and Workstation Era 14The Client/Server Communications Era 16

Mainframe Client/Server Evolution 16Local Area Network Client/Server Evolution 17

The Internet Era 18The Consolidation Era 18

Contents

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The Evolution of Technologies 19Storage 19Clustering 21Grid/Utility Computing 22Rack Servers 23Server Operating Systems 24

Windows 24UNIX 25

Conclusion 25

Chapter 3 Evolution of Blade and Virtualization Technologies 27Timelines 27

History of Blade Server Systems 29Before They Were Called Blades (pre-1999) 29Innovators and Early Adopters (1999–2001) 30Impact of the Internet Bubble (2001–2002) 30Niche Adopters (2003–2004) 31Mainstream Re-emergence (2004–2006) 31

Origins of Virtualization 32History of Server Virtualization 33

Market Adoption 34Blade Server Systems 34Virtualization 36

Blade System Usage 36Web Services 36HPCC and Application Servers 37Database Servers 37Storage 38Usage Evolution 38Data Center in a Box 39

Firewall/VPN Blades 39Load-Balancing Blades 39Ruggedized Portable Computing 39

Benefits of Blades and Virtualization 40Space 40Consolidation and Centralization 41Simplification and Manageability 42ROI and TCO 43

Reduced Infrastructure Cost 43Time to Return 43Reduced Operational Cost 44Reduced Serviceability Cost 44

Conclusion 44

Part II A Closer Look 45

Chapter 4 Blade Architecture 47Blade System Components 48

Chassis 48

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Server Blades 52I/O Modules 53Management Modules 53Other Shared Modules 54

Conclusion 54

Chapter 5 PC Blades 57PC Blade Architecture 57

KVM User-Port Solutions 60Thin Client Solutions 61

Dedicated or Dynamic PC Blades? 62Conclusion 63

Chapter 6 Networking and Related Technologies 65Networking Concepts 66

Requirements for Networks 66Error-Free Delivery 66High-Speed Movement 67Flexibility in Quality of Service 67Flexible Media and Signals 67Pathway Virtualization 67High Availability 68

Types of Networks 68System-to-System Communication Networks:

LAN, MAN, WAN 68System-to-Storage Networks: DAS, NAS, SAN 69Interprocessor Communication Networks:

BAN, PAN, CAN 70Common Protocols 70

Ethernet 70Ethernet in Blade Server Systems 71

Fibre Channel 72Fibre Channel Components 74Fibre Channel in Blade Server Systems 74

InfiniBand 75Why a New I/O Interconnect? 75Features and Advantages of InfiniBand 75InfiniBand Architecture and Components 76InfiniBand in Blade Server Systems 78

RDMA 79Conclusion 81

Chapter 7 Blades and Storage 83I/O Architectures and Buses 83Blades and Storage Connections 85Storage Options with Blade Servers 86

Onboard Storage 86

Contents xi

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External Storage 87Network Attached Storage (NAS) 87Storage Area Network (SAN) 87

Storage Implementation Considerations 89Disk or No Disk 89

Cooling and Power 89Reliability and Maintainability 89Management and Provisioning 90

SAS or SATA 90SAN or NAS 91iSCSI or FC SAN 91

Conclusion 92

Chapter 8 Virtualization 93Definitions 94

Aggregation 94Disaggregation/Server Virtualization 94Storage Virtualization 94Network Virtualization 95I/O Virtualization on Blades 95

Server Virtualization Implementations 95Emulation 96Paravirtualization/Enlightened Operating Systems 96Partitioning 96OS Virtualization 97Hosted Approach 97Hypervisor/Bare Metal Approach 98Virtualization Hardware-Assist 98

Managing Virtual Server Environments 100Resource Monitoring and Management 100Moving Running VMs 100Migration Utilities 101Virtual SMP 101Virtual Clustering 101Policy-Based Management 101

Virtual Desktops and Applications 102Virtual Desktops 102Application Virtualization 102

Conclusion 103

Chapter 9 Clustering and Blades 105Short History of Clustering 106Clustering Concepts 107

Multiple Computing Nodes 107Interconnect/Network 108Data and Storage Access 108Clustering Software 108

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Types of Clustering Solutions 109High-Availability Clusters 109Load Balancing Clusters 110High-Performance Computing (HPC) Clusters 111Grid Clusters 113

Other Forms of Multiprocessing with Blades 114Conclusion 114

Chapter 10 Managing Blade Systems 115State of Systems Management and Blades 115Management Model 117

Fault Management 118Configuration Management 118Accounting Management 118Performance Management 119Security Management 119

CIM and Blade Server Systems 119Physical versus Logical 120

Blades and CIM 120Provisioning and Bare Metal 121In-Band versus Out-of-Band Management 122

In-Band Management 122Out-of-Band Management 122

Baseboard Management Controllers 122Management Service Processors (Management Modules) 123Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) 123

Shared Management Resources in Blade Systems 123KVMs 123KVM over IP 124Virtual Media 124Management Software 124Virtual Machine Management 124Aggregation Management 125Blade Management Tools 125

Conclusion 127

Chapter 11 Industry Organizations and Related Standards 129Blade-Specific Work 129

Blade Systems Alliance 130PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group 130Blade.org 130

General Standards Organizations 131Distributed Management Task Force 131

DMTF Standards 132Common Information Model 132

Open Grid Forum 132Internet Engineering Task Force 133

Contents xiii

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International Telecommunication Union 133Organization for the Advancement of Structured

Information Standards 133Storage Networking Industry Association 134

What’s Missing in Standards 134Conclusion 134

Part III Hardware, Facilities, and Software Considerations 137

Chapter 12 Assessing Your Needs — Blade System Hardware Considerations 139Blade System Considerations 139CPU Considerations 140Memory 142I/O 143Storage 145Conclusion 147

Chapter 13 Power and Cooling 149Power and Cooling Improvements 151

Server Consolidation and Virtualization 151Blade System Cooling Features 151

Chip Features (Multicore and Power Management) 151Blade Server and Chassis Features 152

Data Center/Facilities Planning 153Hot Aisle/Cold Aisle 153Bypass Airflow 154Ceilings and Floors 155Supplemental Cooling 156Physical Location 156

Additional Power Issues 157Insufficient Power 157Power Supply Features 157DC Power 158

Conclusion 158

Chapter 14 System Software Considerations 159Virtualization 159

System Requirements in a Virtualized Environment 160Applications in a Virtualized Environment 161Choosing a Virtualization Architecture 163

Management Tools 165Provisioning/Change Control 166Resource Management 167

Clustering 168High Availability Clustering 168High Performance Computing Clusters 170Resource Pools 171

Licensing 172Conclusion 173

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Part IV Solutions 175

Chapter 15 Differentiating and Selecting Products 177Blade System Selection 178

Blade System Vendors 178Blade Features Matrix 178

Virtualization Software Selection 198Server Virtualization Software Vendors 198Virtualization-Features Matrix 198

Conclusion 201

Chapter 16 Key Vendor and Product Analysis 211Blade Server Systems 212

IBM 212Creating a Blade Ecosystem 212Long-Term Compatibility with Broad Options 213Focus on Better Performance for Less Space,

Power, and Cooling 214Automating Virtualization Management 215Final Analysis 215

HP 216Third-Generation Architecture 216Virtualization Enhancements 217Final Analysis 218

Dell 218Best at Commodity Servers 218Final Analysis 220

Egenera 220A Different Architectural Approach 220An Innovative, Emerging Company 223Final Analysis 223

Rackable Systems 223Blade Hybrid 224Customized Solutions 225Final Analysis 225

Verari Systems 225Everything on a Blade 225Virtualization and Clustering 227Vertical Cooling Technology 227Final Analysis 228

PANTA Systems 228Architected for Speed 228Interesting Business Model 230Final Analysis 230

Hitachi 230Mainframe-Class Virtualization 230Scalability 231Centralized Management 232Final Analysis 232

Contents xv

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Sun 232Racks Plus 232Transparent Management 233Virtualization 234Final Analysis 234

Virtualization Software 234VMware 234

Management as Differentiator 235Final Analysis 236

SWsoft 236Performance and Manageability 236Final Analysis 237

Microsoft 237Both Hosted and Hypervisor Approaches 238Managing MS Virtualization 238Final Analysis 239

XenSource 239The World According to Xen 240Virtualization Management 240Final Analysis 240

Virtual Iron 241Stack It Up 241Strong Partnerships 241Final Analysis 241

Complementary Software 242PlateSpin 242

The Power of Conversion Tools 242Workload-Utilization Tools 243Final Analysis 243

Symantec (Veritas) 243Clustering for High Availability 243Directing Applications 244Final Analysis 244

PolyServe 244Share-Everything Data Model 244Final Analysis 245

Conclusion 245

Chapter 17 Case Studies 247Case Study — Service Provider: Software as a Service 247

At a Glance 247Organization 248Drivers 248Implementation 248

Evaluation Process 248Results 249Environment 249

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Benefits 250Lessons Learned 250

Case Study — U.S. Government Installation 251At a Glance 251Organization 251Drivers 251Implementation 252

Evaluation Process 252Results 252Environment 253

Benefits 253Lessons Learned 253

Case Study — Managed Service Provider: Virtualized Utility Services 255

At a Glance 255Organization 255Drivers 255Implementation 255

Evaluation Process 256Results 256Environment 256

Benefits 256Lessons Learned 256

Case Study — Large University in Australia 257At a Glance 257Organization 257Drivers 257Implementation 257

Evaluation Process 257Results 258Environment 258

Benefits 258Lessons Learned 258

Case Study — Academic Clinical Research Organization 259At a Glance 259Organization 259Drivers 259Implementation 260

Evaluation 260Results 260Environment 260

Benefits 261Lessons Learned 261

Case Study — Concrete Accessories Manufacturer 262At a Glance 262Organization 263

Contents xvii

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Drivers 263Implementation 263

Evaluation 263Results 263Environment 264

Benefits 264Lessons Learned 264

Case Study — Pharmaceutical Company 264At a Glance 264Organization 265Drivers 265Implementation 265

Evaluation 265Results 266Environment 266

Benefits 267Lessons Learned 267

Conclusion 268

Chapter 18 A Look into the Future 269Bigger, Better, Faster, Cheaper 269Hardware 270

Chips 270Memory 271I/O 271Power and Cooling 272Chassis 272

Virtualization and Management 272Ubiquitous Hypervisors? 273Managing Virtual Environments 273Enlightened Operating Systems 274

Conclusion 274

Appendix A Vendor and Product Information 275

Appendix B Standards and Specifications 331

Glossary 263

Bibliography 357

Index 361

xviii Contents

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So many people helped to make this book what it is; it is difficult to name themall. First, I want to thank Anne Skamarock for her collaboration, partnership,and long hours in researching, analyzing, debating, and co-writing this bookand for helping me to keep my sanity throughout the project. Without Anne,this book would have been possible, but not nearly as good and certainly notas much fun. Second, I want to thank Winston Bumpus at Dell, because whenI was deciding whether or not to say yes to Wiley and write this book, his sageanswer was “Oh, go do it,” and he convinced me I would be glad when it wasdone (and he offered his help and support). Thanks also for his great work onthe management and standards issues and chapters and for connecting mewith Prakash and other helpful people at Dell. Finally, thanks to ElliotMarkowitz at Ziff-Davis and Russ Vines for connecting the folks at Wiley withme and suggesting I do this book. —Barb

Foremost, I thank my co-author, Barb Goldworm, for convincing me to helpher write this book—I’ve never had so much fun writing before. Her goodhumor, her passion to get it right, and her ability to laugh under stress got usover some of the tough hurdles. I also thank Joan Wrabetz for giving me thefinal push I needed to go through with this project and for being a constantsource of information and inspiration to me. —Anne

Thanks also from both of us to Andrew Kutz for his help in technical editingfrom a server-virtualization-implementation point of view and to CraigNewell for his help in technical editing from a blade-systems-implementationpoint of view. Both of them added strong insights and helpful additions, not tomention incredibly quick turnaround times, despite their day jobs.

Acknowledgements

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Thanks to the following people, without whom this book would be missingkey information: Prakash Ramkrishna at Dell for his help early in the project,giving both a historical perspective and a deeper look into the reasons behindblade architecture and management design points; Howie Goldstein for hisexpertise and written contribution on the networking chapter. Scott Rose atPANTA Systems (formerly at Veritas), who supplied us with valuable infor-mation about clustering technologies; Lance Levanthal for his work in orga-nizing the Server Blade Summit and in helping us find key people to sharetheir perspectives (and also for being around longer than we have, if onlyslightly); Michael Krieger at Ziff-Davis for his insight into the pre-history ofblades, as well as his humorous perspective on this industry; Chris Hipp forhis war stories and perspective on the official birth of blades; and Kelly Quinnat IDC for sharing IDC’s statistics and perspectives, as well as her ownthoughts on the blade market.

Thanks also to the folks at Wiley: Carol Long, our acquisitions editor, forhelping to explain the process of doing the book and making it seem like theright thing to do; and Kelly Henthorne, our development editor, for her atten-tion to detail and her patience in ensuring the quality of this book.

Finally, to the many product managers, architects, PR and AR staff (internaland external), executives, and IT managers from all the companies covered inthis book, for their time, effort, and patience in providing us with the informa-tion we needed, and for all their work in delivering and implementing inter-esting and innovative solutions, including the following: Dell, Egenera, HP,Hitachi, IBM, Microsoft, PANTA, PlateSpin, PolyServe, Rackable, Sun, SWsoft,Symantec, Verari, Virtual Iron, VMware, Xen, and numerous IT user organiza-tions. It was a pleasure working with them, and we gratefully thank them all.

xx Acknowledgments

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Technology changes over the last 30 years have come in many shapes andsizes. Some have dramatically altered the face of computing, while others werea flash in the pan. This book focuses on two technologies (one mostly hard-ware and one mostly software) that are rapidly becoming key building blocksfor the next generation of data centers. Blade servers and virtualization, work-ing together, provide the flexibility, high availability, and manageability toenable utility computing, where computing resources are provisioned asneeded to deliver services on demand to users anywhere, anytime.

Blade server systems offer a highly modular, prewired, ultrahigh-densityform factor for servers in the data center. With a design that allows sharedredundant components such as power and cooling, network switches, and man-agement modules, blade servers help reduce the number of components in thedata center, as well as significantly increase the computing power per footprint.

Virtualization also offers both space savings and a reduction in the numberof physical components by allowing multiple servers to be consolidated as vir-tual servers onto a single physical server. Virtualization eliminates the prob-lem of large numbers of highly underutilized servers, and the space,management, power, and cooling that they require.

Both of these technologies are available in many forms from a variety of ven-dors, including major systems and software vendors as well as a number ofinnovative start-ups. Both have been successfully implemented in user environ-ments ranging from small-medium businesses (SMB) to some of the largestenterprise data centers in the world.

This book provides an overview of the benefits of these technologies, anarchitectural view of each, an analysis of the major offerings, user case studies,and considerations and tips for selecting and implementing products. We

Introduction

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hope you enjoy the book and that it makes your journey into implementingthese technologies a smoother ride.

Who This Book Is For

This book is intended for those responsible for a variety of phases of evaluatingand implementing blade server systems and server virtualization technologies.These phases include assessing your needs and evaluating the benefits of thesetechnologies; analyzing the approaches and architectures of various alterna-tives; comparing and contrasting different vendor solutions; planning andpreparing the data center for implementation; understanding trade-offs, pit-falls, and other considerations; and finally going into production.

About This Book

To help you find the information appropriate for the phase you are in, thisbook is divided into four major parts, plus the appendices.

Part I: Technology Evolution — Covers a brief history of related computingtechnologies, discussing a number of recurring themes. It then provides amore detailed history and timeline for blades and virtualization and their evo-lution since 2001 and discuses blades and virtualization as significant evolu-tionary steps, outlining the benefits they offer.

Part II: A Closer Look — Examines the architectures and specific features ofblade server systems and their components, as well as the various types of vir-tualization and architectures/features. It also discusses related issues such asclustering, management, and pertinent standards.

Part III: Hardware, Facilities, and Software Considerations — Offers ques-tions to think about when implementing blade solutions and virtualization,including blade hardware considerations, system software considerations(focusing on virtualization), and data center facilities planning (power andcooling).

Part IV: Solutions — Presents a matrix-based approach for applying decisioncriteria in differentiating products. This section includes a blade server systemmatrix and a server virtualization matrix, with available products assessed as of2006. It also offers an analysis of available blade and virtualization solutions anddiscusses user case studies, with production implementations of blades and vir-tualization together. Finally, it offers a glimpse into the future of blade systemand virtualization technologies.

Appendix A: Vendor and Product Information — Information in thisappendix was provided directly by the blade and virtualization vendors togive an overview of their relevant product offerings and market focus.

xxii Introduction

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Appendix B: Specifications and Standards — Relevant management andother standards and specifications are outlined along with online resources formore-detailed information.

Glossary — Quick-reference definitions of blade-server-system and virtual-ization terminology.

We hope you find these sections helpful as you decide whether and/or how touse these technologies to your best advantage. We also hope you find the bookaccurate, but we know that we are not perfect, and that mistakes do happen. Ifyou find errors in the book or you have questions that remain unanswered,please let us know. We will attempt to make corrections available online atwww.focusonsystems.com, and hopefully prevent others from sharing your frus-tration, while improving the quality of our information.

Introduction xxiii

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Technology Evolution

PA R T

I

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3

Over the past 40 years, tremendous advances in the size, speed, costs, usability,and management of computer technology have been made. From the mainframeera of the 1970s, through the PC and workstation era, the client/server era, andthe Internet era of the 1980s and 1990s, and now to the current consolidation era,computing has changed. As a result, the world had been transformed.

Many of these changes have occurred through a slow evolution; however,some technology advancements caused major paradigm shifts both within ITand in business operations. The commoditization of the PC, for example, cre-ated a paradigm shift in computing that is still evident today. The populariza-tion of the Internet provides another example. The most recent evolutionarystep in computing has been the introduction of blades and virtualization.

Today blades and virtualization, as complementary technologies, promiseto be the catalysts for the next revolution in computing. Blades and virtualiza-tion are key enablers of true utility computing, an environment in which com-ponents are added (provisioned) when they are needed, where they are needed,and only for as long as they are needed — to give control back to businesses.

What Are Blades?

Blades are a new form factor for computer technology, which packages ultra-high density components including servers, storage, and communications

Blades and Virtualization —Building Blocks for Next-Generation Data Centers

C H A P T E R

1

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interfaces in a prewired chassis with shared components such as power, cool-ing, and networking. In contrast to the traditional horizontal positioning withina rack (rack-mounted servers), blades are typically (though not always)installed vertically in a blade chassis, like books in a bookshelf.

In addition to the high density, prewiring, and shared components, animportant differentiator between blades and conventional servers is the incor-poration of remote out-of-band manageability as an integral part of each blade“device.” This is fundamentally different from conventional servers (rack-mount or stand-alone) where systems management has been designed as anadd-on capability.

The blade approach shown in Figure 1.1 offers considerable space savingsover rack-mounted (1U) servers. For example, 60 blade servers can fit in thesame physical space as 42 rack-mounted servers.

Figure 1.1: Example of blades in a chassisSource: IBM

Server Blades and PC BladesMost of the buzz about blades has focused on blade servers as an upgradedalternative to rack-mounted server farms. When one is implementing bladetechnology, blade servers are generally the starting point. However, there areother types of blades.

4 Part I ■ Technology Evolution

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