Server Sizing..was really easy Part-1

I hear this word very frequently "How do i size my server Hardware"- well folks that's the tricky one!!... Not to forget , Sizing for Virtual Hosts depends on lots of other factors so we will talk about that later :).. lets talk about standalone servers as of now.


some guidelines before we deep dive into this topic 

• correctly proposition CPU & RAM - You may find people sizing single CPU with 96GB of RAM
• Prefer high density CPUs to save on Hosting Cost sometimes Licensing cost and at the same time you have multiple cores on single socket - (AMD Processor are really good if you are looking for high density CPU cores on single socket - it can go up 16 Cores single Socket , isn't that Amazing!!) 
• Always look for cache size
• Form Factor is another Point to consider
• Always look for Flash Based Raid Controllers instead of Battery Based
• Ensure you have sufficient expansion slots to scale out if needed in future.
• Ensure you take KVM license with Virtual Media support else you will be in problem if you are doing remote installation. Vendor would generally give you basic license which allows OOB (out of Box) access.
• Budget (Most important)

Alright!!! - After all above take a look at following points as well

so what Next i should do :-

• Understand Application architecture
• If your application is CPU or Memory Intensive
• How Many Disk IOPS you need
• Kind of Raid Level you need for OS and Data Drives
• Whether the application is web Based or Client/Server Architecture Based
• What will be the peak hour Network usage

Now, you may ask how to get all this information ? Well.. Most of it would be available with application vendors.

Now lets talk about what can enable you to properly size the hardware whether you have above information or Not.

• for Microsoft Apps (Exchange/SQL/AD/SharePoint etc) - you can get Microsoft Sizing tool on web or its Bundled with application package.
• Oracle/DB2 - There are again sizing tools available on respective vendor website.
• For SAP instances :- This is the tricky one.. SAP provides QuickSizer tool to size Hardware for SAP instances - (Not freely available you need to be SAP partner and provide all project details before they allow you to use QuickSizer)

Apart from all above :- Most of the Hardware Vendors would provide you tools to do sizing. HP/Dell/Cisco/IBM - They all have sizing tools available on their respective sites and the good part is that, these tools are intelligent enough to understand application Architecture. Download some of them from following link and keep them handy.. :)

• http://h71019.www7.hp.com/ActiveAnswers/Secure/71110-0-0-0-121.html

• http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/alliances/en/sizing?c=us&l=en&cs=555

• https://www-304.ibm.com/partnerworld/wps/sizing/sizingguides.jsp

Hope this was informative....wait for Part-2

Cheers!!

Pankaj