POWER SOLUTIONS

SYSTEMS MANAGEMENTbuild times listed in Figure 4—but it also helped ensure thata failed network connection would not cause the installationto hang. If the file copy failed, the Altiris consolewould indicate the failure without starting the applicationinstallation.Once a job begins executing, build status is indicatedin real time on the Altiris console. Administrators are notrequired to be physically present at any servers. Jobs can beconfigured to send an e-mail message or call into other messagingsystems for problem notifications or status updates.Administrators can view the console to determine whenserver deployments are complete, and they can remotelycontrol servers to verify manually that servers are readyfor production. To further reduce manual verification times,Altiris server deployment jobs can be configured to automaticallyrun customer-defined test scripts as a final task.These scripts can be used to exercise a server or validateits configuration. Altiris utilities can be called within customerscripts to send custom status messages to the Altirisconsole and build logs.In this study, once the initial server build was completedas described in Figure 1, the 25-server deployment usingAltiris Deployment Solution was launched with only a few secondsof administrative time, and all 25 servers were ready for productionabout four hours later—without additional involvement by theadministrator. As tested by KeyLabs, a Server Build 1 deployment to25 Dell PowerEdge 2650 servers using Altiris Deployment Solutionreduced administrative time by approximately 90 percent whencompared with the manual installation method (see Figure 5).Improved deployment efficiency withAltiris Deployment SolutionThe KeyLabs study described in this article, commissioned jointlyby Altiris and Dell, verified that Altiris Deployment Solution caneffectively reduce server provisioning time. In addition, advancedAdministrative time (hours)180160140120100806040200Manual deploymentDSA CDAltiris Deployment Solution1 25 50 100Number of servers deployedFigure 3. Comparing administrative time for three types of server deployment usingServer Build 2 (Linux environment)Altiris Deployment Solution*Manual Dell OpenManageinstallation Server Assistant CD Administrative time Total build timeServer build (hours:minutes) (hours:minutes) (hours:minutes) (hours:minutes)Server Build 1 2:28 2:06 0:05 1:35Server Build 2 1:43 1:35 0:05 1:15* This method also required an initial setup time of 6 hours and 45 minutes to install Altiris Deployment Solution andcreate Server Build 1 and Server Build 2.Altiris features such as pre-provisioning and blade server rip-andreplacecan further extend the time-savings enabled by AltirisDeployment Solution. By automating the server build process,Altiris Deployment Solution streamlines the installation and configurationof Dell servers—significantly enhancing the efficiencyof routine systems management tasks and freeing administratorsto support business-critical applications.Altiris Deployment Solution*Manual Dell OpenManage Total build timeinstallation Server Assistant CD Administrative time for all 25 serversServer build (hours:minutes) (hours:minutes) (hours:minutes) (hours:minutes)Server Build 1 41:15 26:15 0:05 4:15Server Build 2 30:25 16:32 0:05 3:55* This method also required an initial setup time of 6 hours and 45 minutes to install Altiris Deployment Solution andcreate Server Build 1 and Server Build 2.Figure 5. Comparing administrative deployment time for 25 Dell PowerEdge 2650 serversTodd Mitchell is the Dell alliance technical director at Altiris. He hasworked with numerous Altiris customers to support Dell-specific implementationsand management needs. Todd has a bachelor’s degree fromBrigham Young University.Landon Hale manages Dell’s relationship with Altiris within the Dell GlobalAlliances team. Previously, he worked in various product marketing, sales,and sales management roles at Dell and at Sea-Land Service. Landon hasa B.A. in Political Science from Carleton College and an M.B.A. from theMarshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.FOR MORE INFORMATIONDeployment Comparison for Dell PowerEdge Servers:www.dell.com/downloads/global/solutions/Deployment%20Comparison%20for%20Dell%20PowerEdge%20Servers.pdfwww.dell.com/powersolutions Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, August 2005. Copyright © 2005 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. DELL POWER SOLUTIONS 45