IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2013 - (Page 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 http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/mainframe

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