Server Imaging
14 Pages 3531 Words
Abstract
Amalgamated Online, Inc. is a large multi-media company that has approximately 15,000 servers deployed throughout the enterprise. Currently, the configuration and deployment of a server is handled through several vendors. In order to save money, Amalgamated Online decided to investigate handling the service in-house. A cross-functional team was formed to determine the requirements and scope of the project. After the requirements were defined, a feasibility study was performed. The study determined that Amalgamated would save at least 8,000,000 dollars a year by handling configurations internally, so the project moved forward.
During the design phase it was determined that using a Red Hat Linux server to deploy the images would be the best solution. An internal team call Platform Engineering Services was formed to handle the configurations, maintenance, and support after the integration.
Server Imaging Project
Amalgamated Online, Inc. has approximately 15,000 servers spread across the enterprise. The server operating systems vary between Microsoftfs Windows NT or Windows 2000, Sun Solaris Unix, Red Hat Linux and Hewlett Packard (HP) Unix. Amalgamated Online handles the Microsoft products with their in-house Information Technology (IT) staff. They have contracts with Sun, Red Hat and HP to setup, install, configure, migrate and replace the servers across the enterprise running their respective Operating Systems (OS).
Each vendor has six Field Engineers (FE) working their respective contracts. Each vendor charges Amalgamated Online approximately $300 per hour for each engineer. The contract terms are based on an anticipated annual Level Of Effort (LOE) of 2,080 hours per FE. With an annual expense of $11,232,000 cumulative for the three contracts, Amalgamated Online decided to find a more cost effective and efficient method for maintaining and replacing their servers. Additionally, Amalgamated Online w...