SQL Server 2000 Consolidation: a business case

Table 6. Application profile grid—2-year growth
Subtopic Description
Application name
Expected growth in number of databases
Expected growth in data size
Expected growth in users
Time zones
Method of implementing high availability
Current performance
Performance data available?
Expected response times
Future features List features planned for the application, such as replication, linked
servers, or large bulk inserts
The information provided by the application profile grid will be helpful in designing the SQL Server
instance architecture for the consolidated environment—for example, whether the new architecture
will be a single-instance or multi-instance server, and whether any servers will be clustered.
The next step is to identify the databases and servers that are ideal candidates for consolidation.
Server utilization study—building the consolidation matrix
The consolidation matrix is the second part of server utilization study. This matrix helps the
consolidation group to place the servers in relatively homogeneous groups and to identify servers that
are ideal candidates for consolidation. Servers with light workloads and excellent performance can
be readily consolidated, while heavily loaded servers should not be consolidated without intervention
or upgrades.
The consolidation matrix combines groupings of servers, based upon factors such as data sensitivity
classification, capability, domain, and other business factors, with performance tier assignments for
each server. A sample consolidation matrix follows.
Table 7. A sample consolidation matrix
Sensitivity Domain Capability Lifecycle Clustered Failover Tier Server name
Secret dir.svc.consolidateme.com Finance Production No NULL 1 CMRDS1525
Secret dir.svc.consolidateme.com Finance Production No NULL 1 CMRDS1531
Secret dir.svc.consolidateme.com Finance Production No NULL 2 CMRDS1530
Highly
confidential
Qzmanagement Human
resources
Production No NULL 1 CMRDS1705
Highly
confidential
Qzmanagement Human
resources
Production Yes A/A NULL CMRDS1700
Highly
confidential
Qzmanagement Human
resources
Production Yes A/A 1 CMRDS1701
Unrestricted ConsolidateMe.com Business
architecture
Staging Yes A/A 1 CMRDS1401
Unrestricted ConsolidateMe.com Marketing and
communication
Staging No NULL 1 CMRDS1800
Multiple Webdev1 Multiple Production Yes A/A 1 CMRDS1571
NULL Webdev1 NULL Production Yes A/A 2 CMRDS1570
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