Council has cut server and power costs, improved system availability and our ability to recover from an IT disaster, and decreased the pressure on floor space through virtualisation and server consolidation.
Virtualisation is the ability to run multiple operating systems on a single server. The number of physical servers can therefore be reduced by consolidation.
Database administrator Ian Honeysett said Council has been able to stem the expansion of the number of physical servers and keep spending on servers to a minimum.
“We also want to reduce emissions, by reducing server power and cooling costs.” Ian said.
“One of the major Key Result Areas for my job is business continuity, minimising interruptions to IT services, and virtualisation will drastically reduce the time it takes to get computer systems up and running after any major IT disaster.”
Ian said tasks like server upgrades and patching are much easier since the consolidation.
The first phase of the project involved replacing a block of 14 servers with two high level Dell PE2950s. The old servers - a combination of Dell PE650 and PE2650 - were still operating effectively, but they were five years old and warranties were no longer available on the systems.
“There was enough budget to replace each server, but research found server consolidation was by far the best long term option,” he said.
Council's extensive server fleet runs 108 applications. Future plans around greening IT at Council include the use of virtualisation technologies out at the desk top.
For more information on Council's greenhouse gas abatement initiatives click here.
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