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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Choosing a Datacenter compute model

Compute models refer to infrastructures with which the IT department or datacenter chooses to render ,deliver, or deploy a particular service.
 Certain services/applications may be right candidates for central management or central distribution while others are just better managed locally,also existent in modern computing  is a hybrid of the two. Needless to say the various subtypes of these models.

MODERN COMPUTE MODELS

1.TERMINAL SERVERS
In this model,the client is merely a display and input device. All computation is
done centrally on the server, and all data is stored in a data center.
Nothing is executed or persistent on the client. Usually, Remote
Display Protocol (RDP) or Independent Computing Architecture*
(ICA*) is used to push an image of the server-based application
to a terminal viewer on the client.

2.VIRTUAL DESKTOP INFRASTRUCTURE
As with Terminal Services, all computation and storage are centralized,
with application images pushed over the network to the client
via Remote Display Protocol (RDP) or other display protocols. The
major difference is that VDI can offer each user their own complete
virtual machine and customized desktop, including the OS, applications,
and settings.

3.BLADE PCs
Much like server  blades,Blade PCs repartition the PC, leaving basic display, keyboard, and
mouse functions on the client, and putting the processor, chipset,
and graphics silicon on a small card (blade) mounted in a rack on a
central unit. OS, application, and data storage are centralized in a
storage array.
Unlike server blades, PC blades are built from standard desktop or
mobile processors and chipsets. The central unit, which supports many
individual blades, is secured in a data center or other IT-controlled
space. In some cases, remote display and I/O is handled by dedicated,
proprietary connections rather than using RDP over the data network.



4.OS Image Streaming or Remote OS Boot
At startup, the client is essentially “bare metal,” with no OS Image
installed locally. The OS Image is streamed to the client over the
network, where it executes locally using the client’s own CPU and
graphics. Application data is stored in a data center. The client is
usually a PC with no hard drive, which uses RAM exclusively

 5.APPLICATION VIRTUALIZATION
The client OS is locally installed, but applications are streamed
on demand from the server to the client, where they are
executed locally.
Although the terms “streaming” and “application virtualization” are
often used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. Streaming
refers to the delivery model of sending the software over the
network for execution on the client. Streamed software can be
installed in the client OS locally or, in most cases, it is virtualized.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN SELECTING THE RIGHT MODEL
 The factors listed below should be quantified per model, making trade-offs where necessary and contrasted to determine the optimal model for every unique service need.

Performance
Security
Manageability
Mobility
Disaster recovery
Infrastructure cost
User customization
Remote network access
Remote access

Reference: Principled technologies white paper titled "Understanding alternative compute models" 

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Time for a NAP

As a kid, i used to be cajoled to take naps(or Siesta,as my mum called it) in the afternoons.Now as a System engineer/administrator i still need NAP, for my networks and the computers in my networks to meet certain compliance requirements for a healthy network.Did i hear u ask how?


 NAP, as i know it now, stands for Network Access Protection.NAP is a new set of operating system components in Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Service Pack 3 that provides a platform for system health validated access to private networks. The NAP platform provides an integrated way of validating the health state of a network client that is attempting to connect to or communicate on a network and limiting the access of the network client until the health policy requirements have been met. 

To control access to network resources,based on requesting computers health status,the following functionalities need to be put in place:

·         Health state validation  Determines whether the computers are compliant with health policy requirements.
·         Network access limitation  Limits access for noncompliant computers.
·         Automatic remediation  Provides necessary updates to allow a noncompliant computer to become compliant without user intervention.
·         Ongoing compliance  Automatically updates compliant computers so that they adhere to ongoing changes in health policy requirements.
Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Service Pack 3 provide the following NAP enforcement methods:
·         Internet Protocol security (IPsec) enforcement for IPsec-protected communications
·         802.1X enforcement for IEEE 802.1X-authenticated connections
·         Virtual Private Network (VPN) enforcement for remote access VPN connections
·         Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) enforcement for DHCP-based address configuration
·         Terminal Server (TS) Gateway connections.

NAP COMPONENTS 
Network access protection client-server architecture is depicted in the image below:
   
 
·         NAP clients  Computers that support the NAP platform for system health-validated network access or communication.
·         NAP enforcement points(VPN servers,DHCP servers,Network access devices)  Computers or network access devices that provide access to a resource and that use NAP or can be used with NAP to require the evaluation of a NAP client’s health state and provide restricted network access or communication. NAP enforcement points use a Network Policy Server (NPS) that is acting as a NAP health policy server to evaluate the health state of NAP clients, whether network access or communication is allowed, and the set of remediation actions that a noncompliant NAP client must perform. Examples of NAP enforcement points are the following:
·         Health Registration Authority (HRA)  A computer running Windows Server 2008 and Internet Information Services (IIS) that obtains health certificates from a certification authority (CA) for compliant computers.

·         NAP health policy servers  Computers running Windows Server 2008 and the NPS service that store health requirement policies and provide health state validation for NAP. NPS is the replacement for the Internet Authentication Service (IAS), the Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) server and proxy provided with Windows Server 2003. NPS can also act as an authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) server for network access. When acting as a AAA server or NAP health policy server, NPS is typically run on a separate server for centralized configuration of network access and health requirement policies, as Figure 1 shows. The NPS service is also run on Windows Server 2008-based NAP enforcement points that do not have a built-in RADIUS client, such as an HRA or DHCP server. However, in these configurations, the NPS service is acting as a RADIUS proxy to exchange RADIUS messages with a NAP health policy server.
·         Health requirement servers  Computers that provide current system health state for NAP health policy servers. For example, a health requirement server for an antivirus program tracks the latest version of the antivirus signature file.
·         Active Directory® Domain Service  The Windows directory service that stores account credentials and properties and Group Policy settings. Although not required for health state validation, Active Directory is required for IPsec-protected communications, 802.1X-authenticated connections, and remote access VPN connections.
·         Restricted network (some people may choose to call this a DMZ network(Demilitarized zone) A separate logical or physical network that contains:
·         Remediation servers  Computers that contain health update resources that NAP clients can access to remediate their noncompliant state. Examples include antivirus signature distribution servers and software update servers.
·         NAP clients with limited access  Computers that are placed on the restricted network when they do not comply with health requirement policies.


HOW IT WORKS 

The NAP client uses the appropriate security or authentication protocol (SSL(Secure socket layer),PEAP(Protected extensible authentication protocol),(Extensible authentication protocol)EAP,(Point-to-point) protocol )PPP...) depending on the resource the client is trying to access to craete protected session to send its current system health state to the HRA and request a health certificate. The HRA also uses the appropriate protocol  to send remediation instructions (if the NAP client is noncompliant) or a health certificate to the NAP client(if compliant).

While the NAP client has unlimited access to the intranet, it accesses the remediation server to ensure that it remains compliant. For example, the NAP client periodically checks an antivirus server to ensure that it has the latest antivirus signature file or a software update server, such as Windows Update Services, to ensure that it has the latest operating system updates.
If the NAP client has limited access, it can communicate with the remediation server to become compliant, based on instructions from the NAP health policy server. For example, if during the health validation process the NAP health policy server determined that the NAP client does not have the most current antivirus signature file, the NAP health policy server instructs the NAP client to update its local signature file with the latest file that is stored on a specified antivirus server.
The HRA sends RADIUS(Remote authentication dial-in user service) messages to the NAP health policy server that contain the NAP client's system health state. 
The NAP health policy server sends RADIUS messages to:
·         Indicate that the NAP client has unlimited access because it is compliant. Based on this response, the HRA obtains a health certificate and sends it to the NAP client.
·         Indicate that the NAP client has limited access until it performs a set of remediation functions. Based on this response, the HRA does not issue a health certificate to the NAP client.
Because the HRA in Windows Server 2008 does not have a built-in RADIUS client, it uses the NPS service as a RADIUS proxy to exchange RADIUS messages with the NAP health policy server.

When performing network access validation for a NAP client, the NAP health policy server might have to contact a health requirement server to obtain information about the current requirements for system health. For example, the NAP health policy server might have to contact an antivirus server to check for the version of the latest signature file or to contact a software update server to obtain the date of the last set of operating system updates.

So whether you'r instructing your kids or doing your million Naira/dollar job of instructing your network,taking a NAP really does pay-off.  





  

Friday, September 3, 2010

...Now Lets talk Licensing

When was the last time you bought a harddiskdrive(HDD)? or even a memory module,usb disk , even a whole computer.you just payed cash and left the store.Its that simple when buying a piece of hardware. Whether you'r paying cash or sing a debit card, the point is that the entire value of that hardware is represented in that liquid value.Thats hardware for you.
Software on the other hand is intellectual property.you may purchase the disk/cd which contains a representation of that intellectual value but you can never really "PAY" for the intellectual value of the software, hence the purchase of LICENCES to install and use that software.A license bestows limited rights to use the software, but it also imposes restrictions and threatens serious penalties when license violations occur.you get a software,you purchase licenses according to the mode provided by the owner/proprietor.
But here's the thing, with the pace at which hardware has evolved and still keeps evolving,with the advent of virtualized application distribution,dual,quad cores processor, licensing seems to be a very dicey issue these days with the IT department, potentially leading to a myriad of legal issues in case of license violations(consequently leading to millions of Naira/Dollars to settle law suits) and Overspending in cases where licences purchased are not fully utilized.
Initiallly, software vendors sell license their software on a per CPU basis assuming that every PC has a single CPU.Then came the dual cores,and quad cores, then there was the argument as to if a computer having 4 processors could still be considered as a single PC, this extended to if the IC holding the processors would be considered as the CPU or the individual Processors( An argument whose conclusion is not far fetched, especially when A+ gurus are around)
Then came virtualization, then a CPU or group of CPU's could be shared by users spread out across a building, and in latter times spread across cities.Thus leading to situations where a company purchases 100 per CPU licenses, virtualizes the environment and ends up sharing 100 CPU's among 1000 users, technically breaching the license agreement.
But albeit, software vendors have included per user licensing which reduces the problem on their part but increases the need for better planning on the part of the purchasing IT department.
But software users are also seeing a spate of new license options or editions that accept varying levels of use—especially in virtual environments. For example, the Windows Server 2008 Enterprise license allows four virtualWindows Server instances
for free, but the four instances must run on the same host. By comparison,Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition is licensed per CPU and per host server but is
independent of the number of VMs running on the host. It may be considerably more cost-effective to deploy the Datacenter Edition rather than the Enterprise or Standard Editions.

These Licensing concerns and confusions can only be solved if the data center admins and the software proprietors work together to ensure a that the Software developer gets full reward for use of His intellectual property and also that the Company utilizing His solution optimizes its usage such as to maximize efficiency whilst minimizing cost.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

SHOPPING FOR PHYSICAL SERVERS

As an IT specialist, Choosing the right Server hardware that would service your clients,with high availability, fault tolerance,scalability, recovery...and all that good stuff is one of the hardest decisions you have to make. Most times for Us its a matter of trading off between choosing what's good for the company, what allows you the opportunity to research and learn new technologies and also choosing something that wouldn't be too expensive whilst ensuring good ROI(Return On Investment).
Server in their broadest of categories, like houses differ in shapes and sizes, a few notable ones are:

Small, floor-standing towers or rack-mounted 1U and 2U servers.
 Medium-sized, floor-standing towers or larger rack-mounted servers.
 Blade centers and blade servers.
 Large floor-standing servers, includingmainframes.
 Specialized fault-tolerant, rugged and embedded processing or real-time
servers.

 Virtual servers or virtualmachines (VMs) running on physical servers.
Cloud servers (essentially a VMservice offering).


Functionally, servers could be further classified as follows:


TIER 0:
•Mission critical
• Business cannot function without
• Time sensitive
• Highly available
• Low RTO & RPO
•Must be secure
• Time ismoney
• Downtime is a lost opportunity




TIER 1:
• Business essential
• Some impact to business
• Good availability
• Low to medium RTO and RPO
• Some downtime can be tolerated



TIER 2:
• Business important
• Little impact to business
• Some delay OK
• Basic availability
•Medium RTO/RPO
• Downtime is tolerated



TIER 3:
• Business optional
•Minimal disruption
• Delay tolerable
• Some availability
• High RTO/RPO


These means of classification still barely scratch the surface of the store of servers available in the IT market.Physical server manufacturers such as Apple Inc., Cisco Systems Inc. (Unified Computing Systems), Dell Inc., EMC (Vblock), Fujitsu, NEC Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM, Oracle Corp./Sun, Silicon  Graphics International Corp.and SuperMicro Computer Inc. are represented by a mix of direct sales, direct touch markets and technical support, as well as channel value-added resellers (VARs) and solution providers tha tbundle their applications with different hardware offerings.So we can see that today's IT infrastructure department have their jobs picked out for them whether they are designing a new server infrastructure from scratch or integrating/consolidating a new server into an existing infrastucture.

three steps are key in making the decision as to what physical server  to buy:

MUST KNOW YOUR NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS
what kind of services are to be hosted on the server?what are the virtualization /cloud needs? what are the storage needs? what are the availability needs to meet service level agreements(SLAs)? what are the existing Failover/clustering solutions(if any..)?amount of physical space available in the data center? what are your forecasts for growth requirements?

UNDERSTAND YOUR OPTIONS
consider the server categories and tiers talked about earlier.whether it be blade servers or just plain old rack servers or mainframes.talk about processors  if you'r buying a single socket,single core,single threaded processor then you know that that computer will at best execute one instruction in a cycle,single socket,dual core-2 instructions,dual socket,quad core-8 instructions then you start to wrap your head around 32-bit and 64-bit machines.talk about memory,Main memory or RAM, also known as dynamic RAM(DRAM) chips, is
packaged in different ways, with a common form being dual inline memory modules. DRAMmemory access
speed is referred to in terms of older DDR2 (667MHz) or newer DDR3 (1333MHz). RAMmain memory on a server is the fastest form of memory, second only to internal processor or chip-based registers—L1, L2 or local memory. In general, more memory is better; however, the speed of the memory is also very important.



Take a look at what functionality is built into the server or provided on server blades for general-purpose
networking along with attachment of disk storage. What is there in terms of 10 Gb Ethernet (10 GbE), and how many ports as well as 3G (3Gb) or 6G (6Gb) Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) for disk storage attachment
(internal or external), along with serial, video and USB ports? Also look at expansion capabilities for additional mezzanine cards for blade servers, or PCI-E cards for networking, storage and other peripherals.
PCI SIGMulti-Root IO Virtualization (MR-IOV), a relatively new and emerging feature for servers, enables
advanced connectivity, including adapter sharing.MR-IOV will enable multiple, physically separate adjacent
servers to share a PCI-E adapter card, allowing the virtualization of servers that otherwise could not be
consolidated.MR-IOV can also boost scaling capabilities beyond normal physical limits in high-density servers by placing adapter cards in shared external expansion slots.


FINALLY,PUT IT ALL TOGETHER RIGHT
simple, install the softwares that would optimize your server hardware.(e.g don't plan to install 32-bit software on your 64-bit machine)
Know your requirements,know your wants, stay within budget whilst ensuring high ROI. Have fun Buying!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

TIPS FOR MANAGING YOUR COMPUTER HARDWARE

Ever entered into an examination hall ill? you have all the right answers to the questions,you want to elaborate, illustrate, exemplify, ...  but you just dont have the energy. Thats analogous to having the right software,  that has passed every available benchmark, but is being run on  poorly managed hardware.the following tips would keep your hardware happy with your software:

1. Keep  a dust-free PC environment. dust particles that get into the system unit(what non computer proffessionals would call C.P.U) totally mess up the entire heating-cooling-heating-cooling .. cycle of the system unit's design.Dust is also unfriendly and clogs up most of our input/output devices.In addition to keeping the environment dust free, you should vaccum-clean(BLOW-OUT) your system unit say once a year.

2. Computer Hardware are brought to life by electrical power. They are therefore rated to function withing certain electrical supply limits.Make sure you check Power ratings of purchased hardware before connecting them to AC power supply especially when the device was shipped in from another country.This would save you some time, money(MORE IMPORTANTLY), and quite frankly, save the environment some oxides of carbon.

3. Install proper device drivers for your hardware. Device drivers are what translates the instructions you issue via your application software or operating system to a language the device can understand.using an improper device driver is like visiting China to deliver a speech and taking an Italian speaking translator along to help you translate  your speech to your Chinese audience.

4. Keep a close eye on your hardware vendor for release of  firmware and BIOS updates.firmware updates to hardware are what ervice packs are to the Operating system.

5. Be Vigilant. Notice changes in behaviour of your hardware such as humming noises, over-heating, changes in tone,brightness or contrast(in the case of display hardware).Alert a proper engineer when noticed (especially when these behaviour are accompanied by loss of performance or quality of computer output.

After all said and done, your computer harware is still driven by software. Follow the tips in my 12th of july article, combine thpse with these 5 and your computer usage would be stressfree not to mention predictable.