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Comparing Microsoft Hyper-V Performance on Dell PowerEdge and HP ProLiant Servers
Virtualization has had a shape-shifting effect on IT infrastructures, enabling administrators to encapsulate live, running workloads in virtual machines and move them transparently across pooled resources without service interruption. Until recently, however, integration of storage area networks (SANs) and virtualization platforms was restricted to basic storage protocols, limiting the coordination and intelligent use of advanced SAN features in the virtualized environment. Lack of integration between the hypervisor and the underlying storage infrastructure has typically prevented virtualized servers from taking full advantage of the data protection, backup, and performance features of enterprise-class storage.
Virtualizing and consolidating physical server and storage resources into a cooperative pool of well-integrated resources that can be dynamically applied to virtual workloads are key capabilities of VMware Infrastructure, an example of a Virtual Data Center Operating System (VDC-OS). A VDC-OS can help address the need for flexibility, speed, resiliency, and efficiency by transforming the data center into an elastic, self-managing, self-healing, shared infrastructure.
Dell and VMware are further advancing these capabilities through a cooperative engineering initiative designed to integrate Dell EqualLogic PS Series Internet SCSI (iSCSI) SAN arrays and storage management technologies with VMware Infrastructure. Through this collaboration, new services based on VMware vStorage are being developed by VMware to tightly integrate advanced EqualLogic PS Series capabilities—including data protection through Dell EqualLogic Auto-Snapshot Manager/VMware Edition, disaster recovery through the VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM) Adapter, and fast and efficient data movement through SAN-accelerated VMware Storage vMotion technology—into the VMware Infrastructure environment. Ultimately, these benefits reach far beyond reductions in capital outlays and operating costs—affording fast, flexible IT response to keep pace with evolving business requirements.
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Unifying Communications
While IT organizations often struggle to do more with less, finance departments are traditionally wary of new technology investments. This is not the case, however, at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), a nonprofit organization of more than 330,000 members that sought to consolidate 250 Web and application servers onto a scalable server and storage infrastructure and improve online service availability.
This case study describes how the AICPA migrated an aging infrastructure of 250 stand-alone HP servers to just five Dell PowerEdge 6850 servers with Intel Xeon processors running VMware virtualization software, using PlateSpin software from Novell to accelerate the process. The organization also deployed Dell/EMC CX300 and Dell/EMC CX3-10c storage area networks (SANs) as well as Dell desktops and laptops—making them completely a Dell organization. To support new initiatives, the AICPA added a Dell PowerEdge M1000e modular blade enclosure with PowerEdge M600 and PowerEdge M605 blade servers. The AICPA was impressed with how easy the blade servers were to set up: Dell Deployment Services came to the site to verify that the systems were properly configured, but AICPA staff members were able to perform the installation themselves.
As a result of the migration, the AICPA reduced its hardware footprint by 98 percent and saved over US$3 million while reducing systems administration time by approximately 60 percent. Using VMware vMotion technology for load balancing and failover enables the AICPA to provide 99.999 percent uptime for its Web sites and accounting certification services. Thanks to its powerful, scalable, and compact Dell infrastructure, the AICPA can now take on new IT projects that it couldn’t have considered before, and is in prime position to continue to enhance the services it delivers to its members.
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Cost-Effective and Efficient Virtualization
Tora Trading Services is the recognized leader in electronic trading systems and liquidity access for Asia. Its TORA Compass trading platform is used by clients across Asia, the United States, and Europe, and accounts for more than 25 percent of the electronic trading flow on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Such demanding work and high availability require an efficient, scalable, and robust IT infrastructure. However, the company’s existing data centers could not meet these requirements because they depended on 1U and 2U servers that consumed significant power and management resources.
This case study describes how Tora worked with Dell Infrastructure Consulting Services to migrate its trading application to three Dell PowerEdge M1000e modular blade enclosures housing 33 PowerEdge M600 blade servers. These energy-efficient blade servers immediately reduced energy use by 30 percent, while design features such as high-flow/low-power fans, an ultra-efficient power supply, and optimized airflow help ensure Tora can operate the blades within a specified power envelope.
Simplified systems management features in these blade servers, such as the built-in Chassis Management Controller and Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC), enable Tora to deploy new server resources quickly and efficiently—helping reduce the time required for initial setup by up to 90 percent as well as reducing time required for common tasks such as performing remote shutdowns, taking power readings, and performing hardware configuration. Tora has also benefited from the density of the blade servers compared with 1U servers, reducing space requirements by 35 percent. These enable Tora to get the most out of its data center space in a cost-effective way—and the company is confident that its clients are benefiting from the most reliable and efficient technology available today.
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Accounting for the Future
While IT organizations often struggle to do more with less, finance departments are traditionally wary of new technology investments. This is not the case, however, at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), a nonprofit organization of more than 330,000 members that sought to consolidate 250 Web and application servers onto a scalable server and storage infrastructure and improve online service availability.
This case study describes how the AICPA migrated an aging infrastructure of 250 stand-alone HP servers to just five Dell PowerEdge 6850 servers with Intel Xeon processors running VMware virtualization software, using PlateSpin software from Novell to accelerate the process. The organization also deployed Dell/EMC CX300 and Dell/EMC CX3-10c storage area networks (SANs) as well as Dell desktops and laptops—making them completely a Dell organization. To support new initiatives, the AICPA added a Dell PowerEdge M1000e modular blade enclosure with PowerEdge M600 and PowerEdge M605 blade servers. The AICPA was impressed with how easy the blade servers were to set up: Dell Deployment Services came to the site to verify that the systems were properly configured, but AICPA staff members were able to perform the installation themselves.
As a result of the migration, the AICPA reduced its hardware footprint by 98 percent and saved over US$3 million while reducing systems administration time by approximately 60 percent. Using VMware vMotion technology for load balancing and failover enables the AICPA to provide 99.999 percent uptime for its Web sites and accounting certification services. Thanks to its powerful, scalable, and compact Dell infrastructure, the AICPA can now take on new IT projects that it couldn’t have considered before, and is in prime position to continue to enhance the services it delivers to its members.
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Blades Give Trading Application an Edge
Many enterprises today are running multiple operating systems in their data centers, challenging IT administrators to manage disparate systems while simultaneously working to make the most of IT investments as energy costs continue to rise. Data center hardware is often underutilized, and administrators are overburdened with the task of maintaining various operating systems on tight budgets. Administrators need solutions that allow them to adapt to changing business needs and manage systems effectively.
As a result of a joint effort between Dell and the interoperability partnership of Microsoft and Novell, enterprises can implement comprehensive virtualization solutions based on Dell PowerEdge servers running Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V virtualization and the Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 OS. Dell PowerEdge servers utilize multi-core processors designed to create scalable and efficient hardware platforms for virtualization solutions. Microsoft Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V and Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 work together seamlessly through application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable communication and assistance for key I/O paths between operating systems. Together, Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 on Dell PowerEdge servers offer a powerful virtualization solution designed to reduce the cost and complexity of managing heterogeneous environments while supporting flexible and robust interoperability, savings on hardware and energy costs, enhanced responsiveness and performance, and world-class combined support from Dell, Microsoft, and Novell.
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Getting Started with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V on Dell Servers
Microsoft® Hyper-V™ technology provides a simplified virtualization platform integrated directly into the Microsoft Windows Server® 2008 OS. This article provides an introduction to Hyper-V virtualization, discusses the overall architecture and underlying technologies, and offers guidance on best practices for deployment on Dell™ PowerEdge™ servers.
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Dell and Egenera Drive a New Path to Virtual Data Center Automation
The new Dell / PAN System combines Dell™ PowerEdge™ server technology with advanced Egenera® management software in a simplified system—providing a highly available, dynamic, flexible platform for next-generation data center virtualization.
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Boosting Data Center Throughput with Virtualization-Ready 10 Gigabit Ethernet
As virtualization becomes pervasive, increasing the number of high-bandwidth network ports is not always enough to meet the bandwidth needs of enterprise data centers. To help support the I/O requirements of multiple virtual machines in server consolidation and virtualization scenarios, Dell, Intel, and Cisco have teamed up to offer organizations a virtualization-tuned 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ direct attach solution.
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Running Microsoft Windows HPC Server 2008 on Dell PowerEdge Clusters
The Microsoft® Windows® HPC Server 2008 high-performance computing (HPC) platform is designed to simplify the deployment, configuration, and management of HPC clusters while also integrating multiple performance enhancements. Running this platform on clusters of Dell™ PowerEdge™ servers can provide a highly available, high-performance foundation for HPC applications.
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The Red Hat HPC Solution: Simplified High-Performance Linux Clusters
High-performance computing (HPC) cluster deployments can be complicated, time-consuming, and costly. The Red Hat® HPC Solution enables organizations to deploy enhanced systems quickly and run them efficiently, helping reduce the cost and complexity of their Linux® cluster deployments.
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Introducing the Dell PowerEdge M805 and PowerEdge M905 Blade Servers
Dell™ PowerEdge™ M805 and PowerEdge M905 full-height blade servers are designed to deliver outstanding performance in virtualized and database-intensive environments. Combining robust processing power, tremendous RAM capacity, and massive I/O throughput in a space- and energy-efficient, easy-to-deploy blade form factor, these blade servers help increase performance and reliability while helping simplify management.
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The Business of Success
Dell™ PowerEdge™ blade servers and Dell EqualLogic™ Internet SCSI (iSCSI) storage area network arrays help the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania quintuple computing power while simplifying management and reducing costs.
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Healthy IT Infrastructure
Dell™ PowerEdge™ blade and rack servers provide the foundation of a high-density virtualized infrastructure at ALERT Life Sciences Computing—supporting simplified management, high performance, and rapid deployment.
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Blades Shift Broker into High Gear
Dell™ PowerEdge™ blade servers help PT Ciptadana Capital support future expansion of its security trading service while reducing energy use, simplifying management, and optimizing limited data center space.
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Mortgage Lenders' Moment of Truth
A high-performance, energy-efficient solution based on Dell™ PowerEdge™ blade servers and a Dell EqualLogic™ PS Series Internet SCSI (iSCSI) storage area network array provides Optimal Blue with an anticipated 50 percent improvement in application response time.
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Re-creating the Big Bang
Powerful Dell™ PowerEdge™ blade servers deployed in just nine days provide high levels of performance and efficiency to help put a German research center on track for a major scientific breakthrough.
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Rethinking the Dell PERC 6 RAID Controller
The Dell™ PowerEdge™ Expandable RAID Controller (PERC) 6.1 firmware release introduces multiple features designed to enhance reliability, performance, and ease of use to help organizations meet the challenges of ongoing data growth.
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Making the News
Dell Precision™ mobile workstations and Dell™ PowerEdge™ servers help a media company maintain its competitiveness in the evolving news business, reducing the time needed to publish breaking stories by 50 percent.
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Box Office Gold
Dell™ PowerEdge™ M1000e modular blade enclosures helped Soho VFX deliver a Hollywood blockbuster on deadline—more than doubling the company’s processing capacity while helping reduce power consumption by 20 percent.
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High-Performance Supply Chain
Dell™ PowerEdge™ M1000e modular blade enclosures connected to a Dell/EMC CX3-20 storage area network helped supply chain provider YCH Group reduce data center floor space by 70 percent and power consumption by up to 45 percent compared with the previous solution.
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Building One of the World’s Largest Windows-Based HPC Clusters
When the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Holland Computing Center teamed up with Dell to build a high-performance computing (HPC) cluster, the result was a flexible dual-boot system of Dell™ PowerEdge™ servers with dual-core AMD Opteron™ processors—and one of the world’s largest and most powerful Microsoft® Windows® OS–based clusters.
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Scaling SunGard Higher Education Banner Software on Dell Hardware
For institutions of higher education, a scalable IT infrastructure can be critical. To demonstrate the scalability and performance of SunGard Higher Education’s Banner® software on Dell™ hardware, Dell collaborated with the State University of New York to build and test a proof-of-concept architecture designed to handle up to 175,000 students with sub-second response times.
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Automating Deployment with Microsoft Configuration Manager and the Dell Deployment Toolkit
Configuring servers in enterprise environments can be complex and time-consuming, often requiring complicated scripts. The integration of Microsoft® System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and the Dell OpenManage™ Deployment Toolkit helps simplify this process by providing easy-to-use graphical tools for the deployment of Dell™ PowerEdge™ servers.
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Deploying Microsoft SQL Server 2008 on Dell PowerEdge Servers
Tuning database servers can be key to simplifying operations and enhancing performance. Best practices based on real-world experience can help administrators successfully deploy and optimize the 64-bit version of the Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 database platform on Dell™ PowerEdge™ servers running the Microsoft Windows Server® 2008 Enterprise x64 Edition OS.
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Optimizing Network Infrastructures for Virtualization
To help meet the growing bandwidth demands of multi-core architectures and server virtualization, Dell, Intel, and VMware have collaborated to develop virtualization solutions built on Dell™ PowerEdge™ servers, Intel® Xeon® processors and 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapters, and VMware® ESX software. Utilizing Intel Virtual Machine Device Queues (VMDq) and VMware NetQueue technology, these solutions can enhance performance, increase flexibility, and simplify management in virtualized environments.
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