IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 32

Tech Corner

Programming,
systems
operations
and more

No Comparison
The System z virtualization
environment provides far
lower TCA than
its Intel alternative
By John Thomas and Vic Leith

Editor’s note: Mainframe
Evangelist Roberto Calderon
and zChampion Jon Nolting
contributed to this article.

22
32

MARCH/APRIL 2013

M

ost IT centers recognize that virtualization improves hardware utilization and administrative
efficiency, and lowers overall costs.

Choosing the right virtualization
platform can lead to high consolidation
ratios while maintaining acceptably
performing guests. Conversely, choosing
the wrong one can lead to either poorly
utilized hardware or underperforming
guests. It isn’t enough to cram as many
guests onto a host as possible; those
guests must also run well enough to
meet their service-level agreements
(SLAs). Business-critical or priority
guests must be allocated the resources
they need when they need them.
Hypervisors that can efficiently divert
resources from noncritical or donor
guests to priority ones, when necessary,
can provide high consolidation ratios
without missing priority-guest SLAs.
In other words, virtualization
platforms must efficiently differentiate
between high-priority and low-priority
workloads running together. The
capability to mix workloads while
maintaining SLAs enables maximum
utilization of the computing resources
provided by the hosting platform. An
incapability to do this may require
using separate platforms for high- and
low-priority workloads, increasing cost
and complexity.

ibmsystemsmag.com/mainframe

This article summarizes findings
from IBM researchers comparing
workload management mechanisms in
virtualized environments.

Test Environment
Each hypervisor tested by IBM
hosted multiple guests—some designated as higher priority and others
as lower priority. Data was taken for
three scenarios:

1
2
3

Priority guests under load.
No donor load.
Donor guests under load.
No priority guest load.
Both priority and donor guests
under load.

Priority Guest Workload
Priority guests ran a transactional
workload. The test used a simple
banking application based on
IBM WebSphere* Application Server
(WAS) to simulate transactional
workload. The WAS application was
backed by a DB2* database. Each
priority guest included its own WAS
V8.5 and DB2 V10.1 instance. Data
taken from guest testing included the



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IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013

Table of Contents
Editor's Desk: Virtual Argument Over Cloud
IBM Perspective: The Perfect IT Combination
Data Display: IBM Mainframe: A Leader in Energy Efficiency
Trends: Batch Modernization Redefines Application Development
IT Today: Running Highly Stacked Workloads on System z Can Greatly Reduce Cost Per Unit of Work
Cover Story: Breaking Through Complexity: IBM Entry Cloud Configuration for SAP Solutions bring simplicity and efficiency
Feature: Reach Cloud's Potential: Build your IT environment with IBM zEnterprise and SmartCloud
Tech Corner: System z Virtualization Environment Provides Far Lower TCA Than Its Intel Alternative
Solutions: CA Database Management Solutions for DB2 for z/OS, and CA Mainframe Chorus; Attachmate Reflection 2011 R3; PerfTechPro for z/OS; Compuware APM for Mainframe
Advertisers Index
Stop Run
Reference Point - Global Events, Education, Resources for Mainframe
Special Report: Mobile Mainframe
2013 Mainframe Buyer's Guide Index
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Intro
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Cover1
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Cover2
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 1
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Table of Contents
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 3
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 4
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 5
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Editor's Desk: Virtual Argument Over Cloud
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 7
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - IBM Perspective: The Perfect IT Combination
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 9
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Data Display: IBM Mainframe: A Leader in Energy Efficiency
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 11
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Trends: Batch Modernization Redefines Application Development
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 13
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 14
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 15
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - IT Today: Running Highly Stacked Workloads on System z Can Greatly Reduce Cost Per Unit of Work
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 17
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 18
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 19
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Cover Story: Breaking Through Complexity: IBM Entry Cloud Configuration for SAP Solutions bring simplicity and efficiency
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 21
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 22
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 23
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 24
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 25
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Feature: Reach Cloud's Potential: Build your IT environment with IBM zEnterprise and SmartCloud
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 27
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 28
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - BB1
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - BB2
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 29
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 30
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 31
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Tech Corner: System z Virtualization Environment Provides Far Lower TCA Than Its Intel Alternative
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 33
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 34
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 35
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 36
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 37
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Solutions: CA Database Management Solutions for DB2 for z/OS, and CA Mainframe Chorus; Attachmate Reflection 2011 R3; PerfTechPro for z/OS; Compuware APM for Mainframe
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Advertisers Index
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Stop Run
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Cover3
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Cover4
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Reference Point - Global Events, Education, Resources for Mainframe
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - RF2
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - Special Report: Mobile Mainframe
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - MS2
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - MS3
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - MS4
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - MS5
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - MS6
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - MS7
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - MS8
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - 2013 Mainframe Buyer's Guide Index
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - BG2
IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - BG3
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