SQL Server 2000 Consolidation: a business case

(totaling 12 GB RAM and 12 CPUs) can be consolidated onto a single HP Integrity server with the
same 12 GB of RAM but only four CPUs. This removes two servers and eight CPUs from the data
center and also frees up eight SQL Server licenses, which can save tens of thousands of dollars and
fund the new hardware. Companies facing such a challenge can rely on HP Integrity servers to
consolidate many legacy SQL instances onto a single server.
A possible HP Integrity server solution for ConsolidateMe.com can be configured as shown in the
following figure. Each application is deployed on its own SQL Server instance, resulting in a single
high-performing hardware server with multiple SQL Server instances.
Figure 3. ConsolidateMe.com—a 64-bit server solution
Figure 3 depicts the new, consolidated hardware for ConsolidateMe.com. The applications have
been split onto multiple SQL Server instances but share the same physical server, an HP Integrity
Superdome. With 64-bit processing, up to 128 CPUs and up to 1 TB of RAM can coexist in one
server. This means that organizations such as ConsolidateMe.com can provide the desired level of
functionality and service by using Itanium-based HP Integrity servers and consolidating several
database servers on a single machine. More importantly, the proposed architecture has the ability to
efficiently scale up over a long period of time. This provides a better return on the hardware
investment over the life of the equipment.
To extend the example further, let’s make the situation at ConsolidateMe.com a bit more complicated.
For instance, suppose that the inventory application is mission-critical and requires 24x7 uptime. The
architecture proposed above could potentially create a single point of failure (SPOF), which is not
recommended for critical applications. Inventory will need to be put on a separate server that is
clustered. With more applications that require 24x7 uptime, creating specifications for the hardware
on the consolidated platform can become complicated. Using an effective, step-by-step process to
consolidate a complex environment such as this makes the entire experience a much smoother and
result-oriented one. Such a process is discussed in the next section.
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