A Data Center Management Application: A Feasibility Study
Table
of Contents
Summary
This document will discuss the feasibility of developing a new web-based database application system at Benevolent Environment United Overseer of Petroleum (BEUOP) to better manage a multi-million dollar data center that services the needs of over 18,000 users located in over 25 states in the U.S., who are connected to a world-wide digital business infrastructure that functions 24 hours a day, 365 days a day. This is the feasibility study that is part of the system development life cycle process for this proposed system (Curtis, et al, 2000).
Background
During summer of 2001, after over eight years of having a de-centralized facility, in which no single individual or organization was responsible for the condition and management of BEUOP’s Neverville Data Center, a decision was made to re-centralize the management of the facility, appoint a data center manager, Mr. Mark Pyatetsky, to manage the facility and its inventory. Since this change in the management of the facility, Mr. Pyatetsky has done an excellent job of managing the facility and its inventory, and kept his supervisors happy with sound management practices and timely reporting.
Method
of Study
The methods of study involved in creating this feasibility study were interviews with the data center manager, as well as the site managers who supervise him, Nancy Scott and Larry Shortt. In addition, research regarding the professional management of data centers was done via a professional handbook of data center management (Snevely, 2000) and a website dedicated to the data center management career path (McMullen, 2003). See the References section for additional information.
Present
System
The present “system” is a simple Microsoft Access database with three tables to track the inventory and the decommissioned servers associated with the data center. These are the Server_List table, the Decommissioned_Servers table, and the Non_Server_Equipment table. There also are a few screen forms that are basically “views” of the Server_List table, and some queries that have been used to rapidly collect data for various ad hoc reports as well as quarterly reports. This MS Access database that is frequently updated by Mr. Pyatetsky, presently resides on the company laptop assigned to him, and it is routinely copied to a shared directory on one of the big file servers on the LAN at Neverville. Note that the reports from this system are usually in the form of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, which are e-mailed to the staff members and management that requests these reports. See Figure 1 for a diagram of the present system.
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Figure
1
Drawbacks of the present system include:
· not being centrally accessible via the intranet
· not secure
· all requests for reports must go through the data center manager
· leaving the users with an unnecessary sense of dependence on the data center manager
Proposed
System
The proposed system will solve all the problems that are inherent in the present system, while creating new opportunities for enhanced capabilities and features, as well as greater capacity for user satisfaction. The proposed system will utilize the existing infrastructure, including the LAN / WAN assets, as well the use of an MS SQL Server database server and a web server.
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Figure
2
Recommendation
The proposed system is strongly recommended as a replacement for the present system of managing the Neverville Data Center on the basis of a force field analysis that was conducted. See Figure 3 for this analysis diagram (Mind Tools, 2003).
Advantages of the system include:
· being centrally accessible via the intranet
· secure
· all requests for reports available via the web to authorized users
· giving users sense of self-reliance
· new features and capabilities, such as activity tracking and faster, and automated reporting capabilities.
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Figure
3
Development
Plan
The preliminary development plan to develop this new data center is shown in the table below, with general steps named, along with the expected length of time, cost, and team members who should be assigned. This plan is subject to change, and will evolve into something more accurate and reliable after the analysis is completed.
|
Data Center Management
Application Development Plan |
||||
|
Phase |
Task(s) |
Length of Time |
Cost |
Who? |
|
System Analysis |
Analyze needs and determine requirements; produce
a Requirements Specification |
7 days |
$7000 |
Staff System Analyst working with the Users and
the Data Center Manager |
|
System Design |
Create a Detailed System Design including designs
for web forms, menus, database tables, and any other system components |
5 days |
$5000 |
System Architect |
|
Implementation |
Coding and web form development, as well
development of reports and the database migration to SQL Server |
10 days |
$14,000 |
Web Developer, Programmer, and a Database
Administrator |
|
Phase |
Task(s) |
Length
of Time |
Cost |
Who? |
|
Testing |
Test all forms, menus, queries, reports, database
updates, etc. |
10 days |
$10,000 |
Users and Testers |
|
Training |
Develop training guides. Training users on the system, ensuring that each
person who uses the system can get real the reports that they need. |
2 days |
$2,000 |
Trainers and Users. |
|
Release the System in Production |
Announce the release of the system and give all
authorized users access. Have a
luncheon to celebrate the release. |
1 day |
$2,000 |
Users, System Analyst, System Architect, Web
DeveloperProgrammer, Trainers,
Testers, Database Administrator |
|
Schedule periodic system reviews to identify
upgrade needs |
Every six months, review the needs to upgrade the
system. If necessary, gather needs
and start this development process all over again. |
2 days |
$2000 |
System Analyst and Users |
Total estimated costs for this development project are shown below:
|
Phase |
Length of Time (in days) |
Estimated Cost |
|
System Analysis |
7 |
$7,000 |
|
System Design |
5 |
$5,000 |
|
Implementation |
10 |
$14,000 |
|
Testing |
10 |
$10,000 |
|
Training |
2 |
$2,000 |
|
Release the System in Production |
1 |
$2,000 |
|
Schedule periodic system reviews to identify upgrade
needs |
2 |
$2,000 |
|
Totals |
37 days |
$42,000 |
Conclusion
Now, more than ever, it is essential to manage the Neverville Data Center centrally, efficiently, and in a manner that rapidly serves the needs of the users of this data. There are simply too many critical business decisions that depend on the information technology assets in this data center for them not to be under a centralized management application that can easily report the status of assets to authorized users. This proposed application can deliver on these promises, while providing the peace of mind that the data about the IT assets in this data center will be secure, available, and usable, in whatever format the users themselves specify.
References
Curtis, G., Hoffer, J. A., George, J. F., and Valacich, J. S. (2000). Introduction to Business Systems Analysis. (UoP Edition). Pearson Custom Publishing: Boston.
Lewin, K. (2000). Change Management – Force Field Analysis. [Electronic version]. Retrieved on August 22, 2003 at
http://www.accel-team.com/techniques/force_field_analysis.html
McMullen, B. (Director) (2003). Institute of Data Center Professionals located on the web at http://www.idcp.org.
Mind Tools. (2003). Force Field Analysis. [Electronic version]. Retrieved on August 22, 2003 at http://www.mindtools.com/forcefld.html.
Page-Jones, M. (1988). The Practical Guide to Structured Systems Design, Second Edition. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Snevely, R. (2002). Enterprise Data Center Design and Methodology. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ.