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EXPRESS COMPUTERS
SERVERS
Application load determines server choice
While servers are getting commoditized, MBs are using both
Windows and UNIX servers for their business applications. By
Varun Aggarwal
Need
has driven most of the innovations in the world and the same
is the case with computers. The initial hiccups with
computers in the 1970s were their humongous size and limited
functionality. Though they needed more power for cooling
than that required for perhaps an entire shopping mall, they
often did not bring about any value addition for the owner.
Times changed and engineers around the world tried hard to
make this machine more ‘usable’ for their owner.
While, the usability of computers took a shape of necessity
for most of us, the ‘need’ has grown to reliability.
Reliability often translated to high costs—this lead to
further innovation in the ‘not-so reliable’ x86 platform,
making the inexpensive platform almost as reliable as UNIX.
Now that x86 stated to intrude into the UNIX space, the
vendors also started targeting the x86 customers with easy
to configure and manage and relatively inexpensive server
boxes—giving ample choice to MBs while making their pick for
a server.
Growing acceptance of Windows and UNIX servers
As desktops, notebooks and printers become a standard in the
mid-segment market, the MBs are now focusing on
core-applications that can bring efficiency in their
business operations as well speed-up their time to market as
they expand in an economy which is expected to grow
marginally slower in 2008-09. Therefore, to run their
core-business application they are heavily dependent on
servers, which is why it is rated as the second most
important technology after desktop, printers and
connectivity. From manufacturing to retail, construction to
BFSI, servers are everywhere. According to our survey, 91%
of the 194 respondents had some or the other kind of server
deployments.
Growing awareness about technology is leading to various MBs
investing into technologies other than the basic desktops,
printers and networking. Servers are also becoming a
standard component present in every medium enterprise—what
is notable here is that unlike the SBs that are investing in
mostly Windows-based servers, MBs are investing into
different server technologies. The survey indicates that
while Windows servers are still leading in this segment,
there is also considerable demand for UNIX and Linux
servers. Out of 194 respondents, 79% confirmed that they are
using Windows servers while there were still 38% using
Linux. Even the UNIX users were not all that less with 25%
respondents confirming UNIX deployments in their
organizations.
An analysis of the Rank-1 spending areas for current and
next 12 months, indicate that at present desktops dominate
the pie at 48%, followed by laptops (14%) and servers (5%).
However, in the next 12 months there is anticipated to be a
shift in trends; the share of servers, networking and other
advanced applications like storage and security is likely to
rise at the expense of desktop (a drop from 48% to 41%).
Over two-thirds of MBs contacted said that they are keen to
open new branches to increase geographical coverage and
cater to a newer and larger customer base. The BFSI and IT/
ITES verticals, in particular, expect above-average growth.
The increasing number of branches would lead to a rise in
connectivity, networking and server deployments.
According to the survey MBs are planning to spend on an
average of Rs 6.4 lakh in the current fiscal on server
technologies.
Business applications determine server platform
As per our observation, server OSs (Windows, Linux and UNIX)
may not be competing with each other in the MB segment.
Companies often go for a mix of server technologies in order
to support different applications. While, Windows server is
popular amongst organizations relying on Microsoft’s
technologies, Linux is preferred amongst the open source
evangelists.
UNIX, meanwhile, is the platform by default choice for
running high-end or transaction-oriented applications. The
manufacturing industry vertical showed the highest level of
UNIX penetration with 28% of the respondents having UNIX
deployments [out of 194 respondents]. Kotak Wealth
Management uses both Windows as well as Linux servers. The
company has 15 servers across various locations. According
to Nagraj Poojari, Manager IT, Kotak Wealth Management,
“While we use the Windows server primarily as a mail server
for Microsoft Exchange, the Linux servers are outsourced to
a third-party vendor that carries the banking application
workload.”
Poojari explained that the decision for choosing the
platforms was which was better for the applications that
were required to run on that system. The company is now
planning to go for a NAS server to support its database
growth and would be shelling out Rs 25 lakh for the same.
Another example is of Intercontinental Consultancy and
Technocrats (ICT) Pvt Ltd, which is a company in the design
consultancy business. Intercontinental Consultants and
Technocrats Pvt. Ltd. has an employee strength of about
1,200 globally with over 375 employees and 350 personal
computers at its corporate headquarters at New Delhi. The
company believes in a multi-platform approach. It has both
Linux and Windows servers depending on the applications that
are running.
D. Vasudevan, Senior Vice President and Head, Information
Technology Services, Intercontinental Consultants and
Technocrats Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are using Windows Server
2003 for Networking Services. We are also using applications
like Wireshark for Network troubleshooting. For hosted
application, we have our Web site on Linux. We are also
hosting Intranet (ICT Internal Employee Web site) for
corporate news and information.”
“We have mixed use of operating systems that are both
Microsoft Windows as well as Linux. Microsoft SQL Server
continues to be the popular database for our applications.
We use open source for mail server (Sendmail) and Web server
applications. For database and mail servers, we use Windows
XP and SQL Microsoft outlook enterprise,” he added.
Try server virtualization to increase efficiency
As most MBs have ambitions of becoming bigger players, the
role of technology will be crucial as they try to scale up
while reducing costs. A server is the building block of a
data center. Hence MBs should look to save money and enhance
production by consolidating workloads onto more powerful yet
energy-efficient servers that can bring down the cost of
operating a data center.
Virtualization has engendered a good level of confidence
amongst CIOs and data center architects. Virtualization
technologies separate software from hardware letting users
eliminate multiple physical servers and get the processing
power that they need from fewer boxes.
There are various benefits while implementing virtualization
solutions over servers, but some of the benefits of
virtualization are multiple operating systems that can run
simultaneously on the same processor. Each independent
virtual machine functions as a self-contained computer.
Apart from this, in a virtualized server, workloads are
decoupled from hardware.
Vertical-wise view
The respondents from the Utilities/ Transportation/ Real
Estate/ Construction industry vertical showed the least
interest in centralizing their applications, with only 88%
having deployed servers. Even in the current fiscal, only
74% of the respondents from this vertical are planning to
invest in servers.
With low server adoption it’s usually assumed that the
preferred platform would be Windows for its simplicity and
the wide array of applications available on the Windows
platform. However, this sector is also one of the biggest
adopter of Linux, with 33% of the respondents adopting Linux
servers and 20% planning to invest in it in the current
fiscal. Surprisingly, 22% of the respondents also confirmed
UNIX deployments in this sector and 19% planning to invest
in UNIX this year. [Refer graph]
The
percentage figures represent planned technology penetration
/usage within MBs. These numbers may add up to more than
100% since a particular respondent may plan to invest on
multiple technologies. Base = 189
The whole/ retail industry vertical, which was the least IT
savvy sector in the small business survey, came out to be
the most IT savvy in the MB survey. Interestingly, while 96%
of the respondents from this industry vertical had invested
in servers, about 54% of them had invested in a Linux
platform. Here, the mail server was the most common
application where we saw Linux server deployment.
Jaipur Rugs that deployed both Linux and Windows servers
uses the former as a mail server, while the latter is used
for running its ERP application. Talking about the criterion
for choosing the servers, Yogesh Chaudhary, Director, Jaipur
Rugs said, “While purchasing a server, I think the first
criteria is the requirement and the applications we want to
run on the server and then we decide what kind of server we
want. Brand is the second thing, so we choose only top
brands since reliability in servers is a key. All the other
parameters like scalability, possible configurations, costs
etc come next.”
Linux adoption was found to be surprisingly low in the
IT/ITES sector. While 82% of the respondents are using
Windows servers, only 25% had deployed Linux servers. In
2008-09, Windows servers will be the favorite investment
area as 71% of the respondents from this vertical are
planning to invest in the same, while only 25% showed
interest in Linux deployments.
For Comnet Vision, an IT/ ITES company based in New Delhi,
most of the software used in the organization is home
grown—be it an MIS application or even ERP. According to P.K.
Sharma, Proprietor, Comnet Vision, the choice of server at
Comnet vision is Windows that handles the workload of their
office automation system and their customized ERP
application along with other applications.
Moving from being a SB to a MB, the use of IT shows
significant improvement in the manufacturing sector. With
95% server deployment, the manufacturing sector is serious
about server deployments. Yet, in many organizations, the
use of technology is limited. Though most of them do have a
server deployment, they are not high on the usage of
servers.
Bihar Sponge Iron Ltd has deployed two Windows servers that
support the company’s ERP along with a small number of
desktops clients [15 units]. Susheel Kumar Bachheti,
Assistant Manager, EDP, Bihar Sponge Iron Ltd said, “We
wanted to keep it simple and as we do not have a large IT
setup we decided to deploy two assembled Windows servers.
The skill-set on Windows platform is readily available and
cheaper than proprietary platforms.”
What we saw in the SB survey was that the 36% of the BFSI
sector respondents had deployed Linux. In the MB it’s a
different trend. There is a higher interest in the UNIX
platform here compared to the SBs but the Linux deployment
is only 29%. 26% of the respondents had UNIX deployments
while 33% were planning one in the next 12 months out of the
189 respondents. [Refer graph]
Last but not the least, the Professional/ other services
sector is also moving in the right direction with 94% of the
respondents having deployed servers and 73% planning
investments in the server space. Among the respondents, 76%
had deployed Windows. Not very far behind was the Linux
platform which was adopted by 45% of the respondents. In
terms of UNIX deployment, there were 24% respondents who had
already deployed it and another 30% planning to invest in it
this year.
Advantages of Linux
There are several advantages to using Linux. These include:
cost of the Linux OS and the license fee. There are no
bothersome site licenses or End User License Agreements to
deal with, and no do-not-redistribute-or-modify agreements
to sign. The only expenses involved are those of hardware
and maintenance.
Linux machines are not only robust but they are also
flexible. One can easily customize it to suit his needs as
opposed to proprietary software which are built to address
vertical needs and not individual requirements. It reduces
costs significantly, not just the initial cost but also that
of maintenance.
The way ahead
For IT managers building centers with large number of
servers, the performance-per-watt criterion is critical. In
the recent past, the number of servers is increasing with
every quarter be it for new applications, high availability
or disaster recovery and business continuity. This has a
direct impact on energy consumption per square foot in a
data center and has a noticeable impact on a data center’s
TCO.
Using energy-efficient servers is just another way to bring
down the running cost of a data center. A typical x86 server
consumes between 30 and 40% of its maximum power when it’s
idle, so running systems with light workloads wastes power.
Increasing the average utilization of servers can yield
significant benefits in overall operational efficiency.
Additionally there are many MBs here who are expanding their
head-count on a quarterly basis and their IT heads are
seriously considering power consumption while deciding on
what servers to buy. The power envelope will be a big factor
in going for multi-core servers in the coming year as well.
Businesses are looking at multi-core to accelerate their
business and are building powerful servers within their data
centers to save on cost.
Let us simplify the reasons further in simpler terms. Adding
cores is the fastest way to boost performance. Improving
memory technology can add 5 to 10% to system performance,
and updating the processor architecture might provide an
additional 10% boost according to analysts. Doubling core
density within a processor can instantly add 50% or more in
performance without increasing the power envelope.
While, there is an overall high server deployment among MBs,
what needs to be focused on are the latest technologies such
as blades, virtualization and green IT where they can save a
significant portion of their money in power and cooling
while also increasing server utilization and reducing the
TCO.
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