Extracting Resource Allocation Data for Chargeback in a HP Virtual Server Environment for HP Integrity Servers
An additional area of complexity is the IT service itself. To deploy email, a data warehouse, order
entry, and any of the myriad typical IT services requires many components and layers that all have
hardware, software, human capital, services, support, and datacenter costs. Figure 2 depicts the
many types of resources which can contribute to the cost of IT providing a service to a business unit.
The server platform VSE layer discussed in this paper is just one of many about which IT might gather
information for chargeback.
Business Unit
Service
Resources
Layers
• Front end
• Middle tier
•Back end
HW
•Servers
•Storage
•Networks
Human
• Operations
• Service / Support
•Planning
•…
Financing
• Capital Expense
• Lease
•….
SW
•System
• Middleware
• Application
• Management
•…
Data Center
• Power
• Cooling
• Floor space
•…
Focus of whitepaper
Figure 2 Service implementation components
Chargeback and budget forecasting
Some IT organizations gather data about users and resources but use it for future budgeting rather
than for charging for past usage. In these cases, IT generally looks at data over the past fiscal year in
order to provide user organizations with a figure that is cross-charged to them by IT. The data
collected is largely the same as the case where IT wants regularly charge for past usage, and the
tools and techniques described in this paper can be used for this budget forecasting purpose as well.
Chargeback policy impact on data collection needs
Along with the complexity of the IT service and chargeback solution, there are also many policy
decisions to be made. These policy decisions determine which VSE parameters are necessary.
Although it is outside the scope of this paper to describe all possible policy decisions in chargeback,
the following three considerations help explain the parameter choices under discussion.
Server Inventory Information
The first consideration is whether information about the physical server inventory is necessary. An end
bill to a business unit does not necessarily require a list of the specific physical assets that were used
to provide the service for which they are being charged. On the other hand, IT might find this data
necessary if they choose to allocate the costs of all physical assets to the pool of users. In addition, IT
might this information beneficial from the standpoint of accounting, budgeting, and future
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