IBM To Consolidate 3900 Servers To 30 Mainframes

In the most significant transformation of its worldwide data centres in a generation, IBM recently announced that it would consolidate 3,900 computer servers onto about 30 System z mainframes running the Linux operating system. The initiative is part of IBM’s Project Big Green. The company anticipates that the new server environment will consume approximately 80% less energy than the current set up and save more than $250 million over five years in energy, software and system support costs.

Sreenath Chary, country manager, System z, IBM India/South Asia shares all about Project Big Green and the transition to mainframes.

What is Project Big Green?

IBM launched this initiative as part of the global Intelligent Energy campaign, aimed at helping economies cope with the existing and impending energy crisis.

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“Project Big Green” is an initiative under one of the four pillars of IBM’s Intelligent Energy Campaign - IBM’s Application of Technology and Services for Energy Efficiency. It targets corporate data centres where energy constraints and high costs can limit growth. As part of this initiative IBM will create a global “green” team of over 1000 energy efficiency specialists from across the company, to offer “green” solutions comprising IBM’s hardware, software, services, research, and finance offerings.

How is the project helping IBM’s clients?

Businesses around the world are consuming extreme amounts of energy through their use of information technology, over 100 billion kilowatts per year globally, furthering today’s energy crisis. The fact is that the data centre energy crisis is inhibiting our clients’ business growth now and in the future.

IBM currently runs the world’s largest commercial technology infrastructure, with more than eight million square feet of data centres in six continents. The savings are substantial for an average 25,000 square foot data centre; clients should be able to achieve 42% energy savings. Based on the energy mix in the US, this savings equates to 7,439 tons of carbon emissions reduction per year. IBM expects this will also help save more than five billion kilowatt hours of energy per year, globally.

Project Big Green initiative will enable businesses to not only bring down their IT consumption cost, and ensure future growth, but also help them contribute to a larger issue.

Why did IBM choose System z for Project Big Green?

The IBM System z9 mainframe is the world’s most sophisticated business server, hence, the choice for Project Big Green. Unique among servers, the 64-bit mainframe was designed from the beginning to incorporate processors that handle a variety of specialised tasks.

Mainframes are also especially attractive given that cost and availability of energy which is a major concern for corporations and business across the world and IBM mainframes provide a way to reduce power and cooling costs and what better time than now.

How is IBM’s Global Asset Recovery Services team going about the whole transition?

IBM Global Asset Recovery Services will take back and properly dispose of these 3,900 systems. Newer units will be refurbished and resold through our sales force and partner network, while older systems will be harvested for parts or scrapped. Before they are sold or scrapped they will be scrubbed of sensitive data using a 1x disk wiping process (some owners may choose to engage IBM to perform a more sophisticated 3x disk wiping process in line with Department of Defense standards). Any unusable e-waste will be disposed of following environmentally compliant processes.

With such a significant change on the anvil, what is the estimated cost for IBM?

This is a $1 Billion annual investment IBM is making. Project Big Green is a true example of our cross IBM effort (HW, Services and Software) to come together to protect the environment and save our clients millions of dollars in energy costs.

It is our intention as the saying goes “To Eat Our Own Cooking” and we will follow the same roadmap. We believe we can save more than 5 billion kilowatts of energy per year in power and cooling requirements. In addition, following our roadmap will allow IBM to double the computing capacity of our own data centres within 3 years without increasing power consumption or our carbon footprint.

How do you see the mainframe culture shaping up in India?

There are about 10,000 mainframe footprints worldwide and about half of them are in the financial services sector, which includes insurance and other related businesses. As a result of the 10,000 footprints, IBM brings in billions of dollars in additional hardware, software and peripheral sales. Furthermore, in the market for servers that cost more than $250,000, the System z has been outgrowing the competition since the end of 2000.

Specifically in India, mainframes are especially attractive given that cost and availability of energy are major issues and IBM mainframes provide a way to reduce power and cooling costs.

Proof of our commitment to the mainframe market in India comes through in a variety of ways such as the delivery of a broad array of services from an IBM unit in Bangalore to help companies capitalise on the potential economic benefits of moving to the System z mainframe, the launch in early 2007 of the “business-class machines” in the mainframe segment in India.

We believe the mainframe culture will only grow and like anywhere, the future is looking bright In India as well.