CEXEC applies its experience with physical, logical, and rational consolidation strategies when providing server and data consolidation services and solutions.  In our solutions and services, CEXEC examines physical consolidation and the co-location of common services at centralized primary and secondary facilities, resulting in a reduction of facilities for common services.  With this approach, facility sprawl is prevented and operational efficiencies achieved.  CEXEC then examines logical consolidation analysis.  Elements of our logical consolidation design strategy are: 

• Standardizing Network Operating Systems (NOS):  with fewer operating systems, support complexities are minimized
• Standardizing Hardware Platforms: with fewer hardware platforms, diversified experience and sparing needs are minimized
• Standardized Support Model:  with a standardized support and staffing model, fewer staff are needed to manage, operate, administer and maintain the consolidated facilities.

As part of CEXEC’s methodology, rational consolidation strategies are examined.  CEXEC often proposes to combine common service servers to operate on fewer hardware platforms with high reliability and availability features.  These hardware platforms consist of powerful servers combined in common service functions with similar configurations, providing a highly reliable solution with redundant features to include multiple power supplies and Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) storage configurations for both Directly Attached Storage (DAS) and Storage Area Network (SAN) elements.  This rationalization strategy significantly reduces the number of servers utilized for common services through a rationalized architecture. 

With this approach and solution the hardware platforms and architecture may be easily scaled to support more users and increased data storage requirements.  When the number of users increases past user thresholds for server types and functions, additional servers may be added to the consolidated architecture to support the larger user base. 

The result of physical, logical, and rational consolidation is a consolidated common services server, centralized enterprise storage management, and physically consolidated application services architecture.  Upon completing this initial phase of consolidation, a strategy of consolidating application services will be initiated.  This involves the detailed discovery and analysis of the existing application service environment, a functional and organizational examination of application services, and the development of a standardization of application services within the environment.  The consolidation of application services is considerably more complex than the standardization of common services. 

CEXEC often proposes to house support staff at, or in close proximity to, the consolidated sites when using a common service server consolidation approach.  Additionally, since there are fewer boxes to operate and manage, the number of support staff can be reduced.  For example, if the number of common service servers were reduced by 50%, the number of staff required to support those servers will most likely be reduced by 50% as well.  Even greater efficiencies can be achieved through the logical consolidation efforts.  In the initial phase of consolidation, common services are consolidated prior to the consolidation of unique application services.  

Enterprise Storage Management (ESM) is part of the CEXEC proposed solution.  It provides a scalable, centrally managed storage facility.  Servers will control user access to a centralized consolidated storage management system at consolidate facilities.  SANs are used to handle the data storage capacity requirements while providing a high performance and reliable solution to storage management requirements.  The SAN solution is highly scalable to handle future capacity and expansion needs. 

CEXEC's proposed solutions incorporate Continuity Of Operations Planning (COOP) and functionality.  The COOP sites are configured with identical hardware and software, and since they will be functional in performing site operations, they will be considered hot, and minimal effort will be involved with activating the site during a test or an actual COOP scenario. Through this consolidation approach CEXEC will satisfy business application processing needs with a more effective and efficient operating environment in which the overall Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is minimized and the Return on Investment (ROI) is maximized.