Engagement Options

Strategic Server Architecture Development & Optimization

Increasing power demands and space limitations in the data center have begun to transition server virtualization technologies from luxuries to necessities. Server virtualization provides a path toward server consolidation that results in significant power and space savings, while also offering high availability and system portability. Today, vendors are building hardware and software platforms that can deliver virtualization solutions at near-native performance. To get the most out of virtualization technologies, keep in mind that the answer to every consolidation or availability problem may not be a single virtualization technology, but instead a combination of complementary solutions.

Burton Group’s Strategic Server Architecture Development and Optimization helps organizations modernize their server architecture by leveraging virtualization technologies. The approach starts with profiling the current business and technical requirements, constraints, and assumptions. In the context of the current environment and industry best practices, Burton Group develops the end state target architecture based on IT server virtualization reference architecture. The reference architecture details the following components:

Management Single server (non-mission critical) Development/test Production

This approach ensures that the organizations rapidly review and analyze feasible scenarios with their advantages and disadvantages to agree upon the right target architecture. Once the ideal server virtualization scenarios have been identified, Burton Group works with the client to build a practical migration plan based on all identified technical and operational risks including:

• Backup and recovery complexity
• Performance degradation
• Physical server hardware incompatibility
• Storage area network (SAN) incompatibility

Approach

We accomplish this assessment by working collaboratively with your server architecture team. After project kick-off, we will electronically survey up to 10 key stakeholders drawn from cross-functional groups including IT, Security, Architecture, Data Center, Network Operations Centers, and other Line of Business executives concerned with server virtualization. We also review the relevant server platforms and architecture documents maintained by your organization in order to get a quick yet thorough understanding of your server deployment strategy.

After receiving the completed surveys and reviewing your documentation, Burton Group consultants will review the survey responses with your team and correlate this information with your documented server deployment strategy. Following the on-site meeting, Burton Group will provide you with a written baseline environment and requirement-analysis report. Following the development of the target architecture, including principles, technical positions, and templates, Burton Group will provide you with a target architecture report. Finally, Burton Group will conduct a detailed gap analysis and submit a final report, which outlines a series of tactical and strategic recommendations, organized in a roadmap, to migrate to the target architecture with minimum impact on business users. As would be expected, Burton Group’s recommendations are based on industry best practices, technological capabilities, your organization's unique requirements, and other specific findings of the assessment.

Duration

The duration of the engagement is typically between 6-12 weeks.

To start this engagement, please contact Homan Farahmand at 905.952.0966.