The ES7000 enterprise server from Unisys has changed the scope of Microsoft Windows implementations, enabling companies to consolidate multiple Windows servers onto one data centre platform. Instead of wasting resources and skills maintaining multiple systems, the ES7000 allows companies to effectively manage their data centre from a single console without having to write off their existing management solutions.
"The ES7000 is more than the sum of its parts, however," says Bernard Donnelly, consulting services manager at Unisys Africa. "Central to the functionality these servers provide is an integrated suite of systems management applications targeted at data centre operations: Unisys Server Sentinel. Sentinel can dramatically enhance the manageability, availability and performance of a Windows environment while reducing the total cost of operations."
The software simplifies systems management, automates corrective and preventative measures to avoid system failure and increases the reliability, scalability and performance of ES7000 servers. Administration is made simple through Sentinel`s Web-based navigation screen that uses natural language to direct users to descriptive, task-oriented functions.
"Sentinel is designed to address the most pressing issues facing IT organisations today: extending the system`s health monitoring and self-healing capabilities, while reducing the amount of human management required and improving the overall performance and resiliency of the server," Donnelly adds.
Spanning your IT infrastructure
There are three separate management layers in the average organisation`s IT infrastructure, each traditionally served by different applications. The lowest layer is the platform hardware and operating system; in the middle is the application layer; and at the top is the enterprise layer, which includes networks and heterogeneous systems.
Server Sentinel is not simply another management tool focusing on one particular layer, it spans all three layers. It manages the ES7000 hardware and software platform at the hardware and operating system management layer; while providing interfaces to both the application and enterprise management layers.
"Sentinel is not an all-or-nothing solution," Donnelly explains. "The software provides interfaces with third-party enterprise management systems including Tivoli NetView, HP OpenView and CA Unicenter."
In addition, management information is consolidated in an ES7000 server to enable the system administrator to easily view configuration and status information via a Web-based interface. Many systems management functions can be performed on one or more servers by simply dragging and dropping from the management console.
Self-healing included as standard
"One of the best features of Server Sentinel is that it enables the ES7000 to take action as the result of soft or hard failures automatically, allowing the system to continue operating without human intervention," notes Donnelly. "Automatic re-configuration of hardware, re-initialisation or reboot of the operating environment or restarting of operating system services are all possible self-healing actions."
It also provides for remote management. An administrator can access and complete all normal operations on one or more ES7000 servers from a PC in the data centre, in another office or even at home.
To ensure ES7000 customers obtain the best service from their investment with the minimum of input, Server Sentinel also supports remote diagnostic capabilities in which Unisys technical service experts can analyse problems remotely on an ES7000 server. An engineer can then begin working on a reported problem immediately, using the tools and expertise available at the Unisys Support Centre.
Server Sentinel takes Windows servers from standalone boxes requiring attention and, using technology Unisys initially developed for proprietary mainframe computing, delivers the high level of reliability and manageability necessary to meet the needs of enterprise-class systems. Server Sentinel delivers the speed, strength and simplicity required from data centre systems, along with the flexibility needed to meet the numerous challenges facing IT today.
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Unisys is a worldwide information technology services and solutions company. Our people combine expertise in consulting, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure and server technology with precision thinking and relentless execution to help clients, in more than 100 countries, quickly and efficiently achieve competitive advantage. For more information, visit www.unisys.co.za.
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