Datasheet

THE PROCESS OF DESIGN
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The results of the assessment can, in some instances, verify or clarify the information pro-
vided during the information-gathering process of defi ning the functional requirements.
People are just people and are known to make mistakes or accidentally omit information.
By performing an assessment of the environment, you can verify that the applications you
were told were present are, in fact, present.
u The assessment provides useful information necessary to complete the technical facet of
the design. An assessment reveals the current types and confi gurations of the servers in
the environment, the current network confi gurations, and the current storage confi gura-
tions. All this information is crucial to putting together a new structure that will properly
interoperate with the existing structure. If the organization is currently using iSCSI, then
you know that implementing FC might create interoperability issues. Having this knowl-
edge through an assessment of the current environment helps you tailor the technical facet
of the design appropriately.
You can use a number of different tools or methods to assess the environment. If the
organization already has a robust management system in place, this management system
might have the inventory, confi guration, and performance information you need. If not,
you’ll have to start digging through the environment, gathering information from such
sources as:
u Active Directory
u LDAP directories
u Network-management tools
u Enterprise-wide logging solutions
u IP addressing documentation
u Network equipment confi gurations
u Server performance data
u Server confi guration data
You can imagine that in anything larger than most small environments, assessing the
existing environment manually like this can be time-consuming and potentially error-prone.
Fortunately, VMware and other vendors have released assessment tools that help gather this
information in an automated fashion, to save you time and help you avoid missing critical data.
Even the virtualization community has stepped up, providing scripts and other tools that gather
information about existing physical and/or virtual environments.
Examples of some these tools that have been created by vendors and community members
include:
u VMware Capacity Planner
u Various community-supplied health check scripts
u Novell PlateSpin Power Recon
u CiRBA
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