8ock to tne Future.

The New lT lnrasLrucLure OpporLuniLy

2 8ack Lo Lhe FuLure: The New lT lnrasLrucLure OpporLuniLy
8ock to tne Future.
The New lT lnrasLrucLure OpporLuniLy
TabIe of Contents
2 ExecuLive Summary
J DisLribuLed CompuLing CreaLes ComplexiLy, Risk
J AlLernaLive DeskLops Raise New VulnerabiliLies
J CenLralized CompuLing wiLh a TwisL
Fxecutive Summary
As we look ouL inLo uLure o Lhe lT inrasLrucLure landscape, iL is becoming ever clearer LhaL we are rein-
venLing our pasL. The legacy o Lhe lT indusLry Look shape around Lhe concepLs o cenLralized compuLing,
in which Lhe compuLing inLelligence was warehoused in a consolidaLed ashion in daLa cenLers illed wiLh
mainrames, and Lhe user was relegaLed Lo Lhe large "green screen" enLry Lerminals where Lhe daLa was
enLered aL Lhe desk buL sLored back in Lhe daLa cenLer.
As Lhe Lechnology grew in capabiliLy and shrank in physical size and cosL, we enLered Lhe realm o disLrib-
uLed compuLing models. We added more inLelligence Lo Lhe worksLaLions, added sLorage capabiliLies and
pushed ouL Lhe applicaLions Lo end clienLs and allowed or Lhe daLa Lo be sLored in a disLribuLed manner.
This approach allowed or more auLonomy by workers and improved perormance o workers, uncLioning
wiLhin Lhe conines o Lheir capabiliLies on Lheir deskLop compuLers.
J 8ack Lo Lhe FuLure: The New lT lnrasLrucLure OpporLuniLy
Distributed Computing Creates CompIexity, kisk
This growLh in disLribuLed compuLing grew even more rapidly as
Lhe Lechnology allowed or mobile devices and enabled Lhe workers
Lo Lake Lheir work home, on Lhe road or wherever Lhey needed Lo
work. One can even argue now, LhaL as Lhe Lechnology conLinues Lo
evolve, we are enabling even more mobilizaLion o Lhe daLa Lhrough
Lhe advancemenLs o handheld devices and PDAs.
8uL wiLh Lhis reedom o Lhe disLribuLed model o compuLing comes
a price. FirsL, securiLy has become one o Lhe mosL imporLanL
issues wiLhin Lhe lT communiLy. Civen Lhe growLh o inormaLion
over Lhe lasL several decades, Lhe conLenL o Lhe daLa sLored on
Lhese disLribuLed devices has ar-reaching implicaLions i ever losL
or sLolen. Second, Lhe operaLional cosL or an lT sLa has grown
exponenLially as more and more disLribuLed devices move in Lo
Lhe lT inrasLrucLure. When a cusLomer o lT encounLers a problem
wiLhin a highly disLribuLed model, Lhe abiliLy Lo resolve LhaL
issue becomes ever more complex.
8oLh o Lhese issues have spawned many Lypes o soluLions Lo
address Lhe problem head on. We have seen subsLanLial growLh
in securiLy soLware and growLh in managemenL soLware. We
have even seen Lhe convergence o Lhese iLems as a means o
posiLioning our companies and ourselves as leaders in addressing
Lhe complexiLies o Lhe lT inrasLrucLure environmenL Loday.
ln addiLion Lo Lhe direcL aLLack on Lhe problem, Lhere are newer
Lechnologies emerging Lo address Lhese problems rom a dierenL
perspecLive. l would argue LhaL Lhese Lechnologies are acLually
moving Lhe lT indusLry back Lo our pasL in cenLralized lT.
AIternative Desktops kaise New VuInerabiIities
SecuriLy and operaLing expenses (OPEX) issues are driving Lhe need
Lo conLain compuLing capabiliLies in Lhe daLa cenLer as was done in
Lhe early years o lT. ALLempLing Lo address Lhis concepL is Lhe
growLh in alLernaLive deskLop compuLing. Companies are looking
or ways Lo proLecL Lhe inormaLion and reduce OPEX, while sLill
providing Lhe user experience LhaL socieLy has become accusLomed
Lo, wiLh Lhe advenL o disLribuLed compuLing. This is allowing or
many Lypes o Lechnologies Lo grow and Lo be evaluaLed in Lhe
markeLplace Loday, including:
* Thin ClienL
* FaL ClienL
* Diskless WorksLaLions
* VDl
All o Lhese hold some level o promise as Lhey address dierenL
concerns or Lhe markeL. We have seen some o Lhese approaches
Lry Lo make inroads over Lhe pasL several years-wiLh some success.
8uL, wiLh Lhe ever-public growLh o securiLy problems and OPEX
issues in Lhe Lruly disLribuLed model, we have Lo ask i Lhese
soluLions Lruly address Lhe enLire problem seL.
AnoLher paradigm gaining LracLion and addressing Lhese issues is
Lhe concepLs surrounding Web 2.0 and soLware as a service (SaaS).
Looking aL Lhe model LhaL Coogle has presenLed Lo Lhe markeL,
we see an approach LhaL allows or Lhe applicaLions and daLa Lo be
sLored behind in a daLa cenLer, wiLh access rom Lhe remoLe clienL.
This is really noLhing new concepLually, as Lhis was Lhe model in Lhe
early sLages o cenLralized compuLing.
lnLeresLingly enough, virLualizaLion is noL a new concepL eiLher.
VMware did noL creaLe virLualizaLion, as many would like Lo
believe, buL iL acLually adapLed Lhe Lechnology concepLs rom Lhe
mainrame world in order Lo address Lhe problem o underuLilized
compuLing resources.
One could argue LhaL wiLh Lhe rise o Lhese alLernaLive compuLing
models, readapLed compuLing archiLecLures such as Web 2.0 and
Lhe growLh o virLualizaLion are sLill noL helping Lhe OPEX issue buL
creaLing increased complexiLy, Lhus driving iL in Lhe wrong direcLion.
lL is Lhis ever-growing complexiLy in Lhe daLa cenLer LhaL AvocenL
helps lT adminisLraLors manage.
CentraIized Computing with a Twist
Consider whaL is happening in Lhe markeL. The markeL is beginning
Lo look aL driving compuLing power back behind Lhe glass inLo Lhe
daLa cenLer, virLualizing iL and exposing iL Lhrough alLernaLive
compuLing paradigms Lo users. This move alone is a relecLion
o Lhe AvocenL ocus on Lhe imporLance o managing boLh Lhe
daLa cenLer and Lhe clienL side-essenLially Lhe enLire specLrum o
communicaLions inrasLrucLure LhaL allows Lhe organizaLion Lo run.
LeL's sLarL by looking aL Lhe daLa cenLer. As more and more
compuLing power is required in Lhe daLa cenLer, more and more
physical issues arise, and cusLomers need Lo have Lhe proper Lools
Lo ensure operaLional eiciency. We are going Lo see conLinued and
increasing issues around:
* PowerjCooling ManagemenL
* RemoLe Access
* lnvenLory and AsseL ManagemenL
* Physical and Logical Planning and Modeling
* Server SoLware ManagemenL
* VisualizaLion
* ReporLing and AudiLing
* Physical and Logical SecuriLy
And yeL, as lT becomes cenLralized again, Lhere arises a new seL o
challenges Lo Lhe daLa cenLer:
* ClienL lmage ManagemenL
* User Proile ManagemenL
* ConnecLion 8rokering
* Shared lmage ManagemenL
Fmerson Network Power.
The global leader in enabling 8us|ness-Cr|t|co| Cont|nu|ty
7V
.
FmersonNetworkPower.com
AC Power
ConnecLiviLy
DC Power
Embedded CompuLing
Embedded Power
lnrasLrucLure ManagemenL & MoniLoring
OuLside PlanL
Power SwiLching & ConLrols
Precision Cooling
Racks & lnLegraLed CabineLs
Services
Surge ProLecLion
Emerson, 8usiness-CriLical ConLinuiLy and Emerson NeLwork Power are Lrademarks o Emerson ElecLric Co. or one o iLs ailiaLed companies. 2010 Emerson ElecLric Co.
0810-8FT-WP-EN
PundiLs can argue Lhough LhaL Lhe adopLion o a more cenLralized managemenL paradigm is someLhing LhaL may occur in Lhe uLure. lL no
doubL will occur; Lhe debaLe becomes when will iL occur. There are likely Lo be many new niche players aLLempLing Lo drive adopLion o Lhe
pseudo-new model sooner raLher Lhan laLer. ThaL's naLural, as Lheir exisLence will depend on early adopLion. OLher players will conLinue Lo
push Lhe disLribuLed model as iL is Lheir "cash cow," and iL is noL in Lheir inLeresL Lo allow cenLralizaLion Lo happen.
AvocenL has a conLrasLing view. As we look aL Loday's compuLing environmenL, Lhe realiLy is LhaL we will never shiL compleLely back Lo a ully
cenLralized model. lL will conLinue Lo be a biL o a hybrid. As AvocenL is ocused on lT managemenL in a heLerogeneous environmenL, we are
prepared wiLh Lhe required oundaLional experLise. WhaL will happen, however, is LhaL as heLerogeneiLy in Lhe lT inrasLrucLure occurs and
becomes more complicaLed, Lhere will be a broader need or a provider Lo undersLand Lhe physical and logical managemenL and securiLy
rom Lhe daLa cenLer ouL Lo Lhe clienL device. ThaL has been, and remains, Lhe AvocenL ocus.
Also, Lhe growLh o Lhis complexiLy is going Lo push, more and more, Lhe concepLs around lT Service ManagemenL (lTSM). The mixed
environmenL-rom virLualized servers Lo clienL devices LhaL could even be aLLached Lhrough Lhe lT cloud-is going Lo drive Lhe need or more
problem resoluLion based on lT service resoluLionjmanagemenL, versus a LradiLional problem-and-resoluLion process. This will conLinue
Lo drive Lhe imporLance o Lhe AvocenL process manager and helpdesk oerings rom Lhe clienL ocus o Loday, back Lhrough Lhe enLire lT
managemenL chain, including Lhe daLa cenLer's physical and logical managemenL paradigms.
Civen LhaL Lhe pasL is coming again, aL whaLever speed iL comes, AvocenL is posiLioned Lo deliver on a vision o lTSM in Lhe lT inrasLrucLure
o Lhe uLure, rom Lhe daLa cenLer ouL Lo Lhe deskLop.
About Fmerson Network Power
Emerson NeLwork Power, a business o Emerson (NYSE:EMR), is Lhe global leader in enabling 8usiness-CriLical ConLinuiLy rom grid Lo chip
or LelecommunicaLion neLworks, daLa cenLers, healLh care and indusLrial aciliLies. Emerson NeLwork Power provides innovaLive soluLions
and experLise in areas including AC and DC power and precision cooling sysLems, embedded compuLing and power, inLegraLed racks and
enclosures, power swiLching and conLrols, moniLoring and connecLiviLy. All soluLions are supporLed globally by local Emerson NeLwork
Power service Lechnicians. AperLure and AvocenL soluLions rom Emerson NeLwork Power simpliy daLa cenLer inrasLrucLure managemenL
by maximizing compuLing capaciLy and lowering cosLs while enabling Lhe daLa cenLer Lo operaLe aL peak perormance. For more inormaLion,
visiL www.AperLure.com, www.AvocenL.com or www.EmersonNeLworkPower.com.