Re: Database Server Consolidation

Patrick,

I'm in the position of having 50 instances to look after and most of them run on one box (about 35 at the last count !). It is an HP K420 with 2 Gb RAM and shed loads of FC60 discs, external discs, etc.

1. Advantages : None that I can think of !
2. Problems : If the server has a problem, then my 35 instances with many more user accounts have unexpected down time. Nightly backups can/will exceed tape storage. Everything competesd for resources - a long import on one instance does affect the whole machine. OS maintenance while the server is running 'normally' can affect performance. OFA compliance - what's that then. Not on this server !
3. Has anyone tried it ? Well, I didn't set it up originally, but I'm in the process of breaking it down !
4. What were the results ? Carnage !

Don't do it is what I would advise.
Why not ? There is and always will be far too many compromises made as far as tuning, file layout etc. There are only so many disc controllers that you can buy/fit to a server.
Granted we only have one major database (our source code for Uniface lives in its own database on its own server - another K420) and all the rest are developer test systems and/or 'bastardised' customer database copies (names & addresses changed to protect the innocent) so we don't really care all that much.
Our performance team have their own N class server and they have 3 instances on it - but only one at a time is running - and this server is OFA etc.

HTH. Norman.

Norman Dunbar		EMail:	NDunbar_at_LynxFinancialSystems.co.uk
Database/Unix administrator	Phone:	0113 289 6265
Lynx Financial Systems Ltd.	Fax:	0113 201 7265
			URL:	http://www.LynxFinancialSystems.com


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