Five tips for server updates

Each data center regularly updates servers and important hardware. Enterprise devices are updated to improve the stability of the data center, upgrade the corresponding functions, and ultimately achieve the goal of saving money.

The traditional server update cycle is about once every five years, but over the past decade, due to the development of new technologies, the speed of server update has been accelerated. What is the current server update cycle? The answer may not be simple, but there are many important factors that urge the server to update.

Search for new server features and functions

When your existing server reaches the update cycle, it is difficult or even impossible to delay the update. I remember that a few years ago, Intel TV and AMD V both integrated virtualization technology into the CPU, so the virtualization servers (VMS) using these CPUs were significantly improved in terms of performance.

The advancement of virtualization technology is not solely on the processor side. It plays an important role in the virtual environment of the server because the virtual machine is essentially a disk image residing in the server memory. More memory means a higher level of integration. The stability of memory will affect the overall stability of all virtual machines on the server. Therefore, the memory function may include improvements to the error correction code memory, which can extend the multi-bit errors on a single memory device across the entire memory device pool. When a memory device cannot be recovered, the added idle memory can be allocated to additional memory devices in a timely manner, and the fault tolerance memory for cross-device ing and replication of memory content is similar to RAID 1.

In the future, server functions may include support for new chipset, more memory types, faster I/O, and higher bus speed.

Evaluate the economics of system leasing or leasing

Many enterprises have their own servers, and there are many leasing forms available for the Organization to choose from. They also allow the organization to obtain more powerful hardware facilities and switch the fund-raising fee to the operating fee. In addition, server vendors provide two payment modes for eligible businesses, such as installment payment.

Enterprises may hesitate to speed up the server hardware update cycle because they are reluctant to invest money frequently. In addition, enterprises do not want to frequently process replaced hardware devices based on frequent hardware updates. Traditional lease servers can reduce the capital burden of enterprises and solve the problems of old hardware disposal.

Search for additional server computing power

Server virtualization drives the design of processors and the development of computing capabilities. Integration projects and desktop virtualization can benefit from the server update cycle when investment permits higher levels of integration. For example, Intel E7-2803 servers have 6 cores and 12 threads of Xeon processors, but the next generation of Intel E7-8870 servers have 10 cores and 20 threads of processor. When a new generation of servers with two or four processor sockets are obtained, the computing capability will be further improved.

Consider system distribution and cooling Improvement

Because new servers provide more capacity in a smaller space, solving space congestion or heat dissipation problems in the data center will speed up server technology updates. For example, the computing power of your 4U rack server may provide the same effect on a 1U rack server.

Therefore, a new server with a small footprint and larger capacity allows the Data Center Administrator to re-allocate server hardware across racks. This can improve the cooling air flow mode and reduce the "hot spot" of equipment. If you are deploying a cooling device to reduce the operating temperature of your data center, we recommend that you use a cooling device that meets the current US heating, cooling, and air conditioning Engineer (ASHRAE) standards to reduce cooling costs. In addition, eliminating hot spots can improve system stability and reduce downtime and service interruption.

Find power return on investment

As the cost of data center operation accounts for the majority of power costs, effectively reducing power costs will have a beneficial impact on the company's financial situation. Considering the effect of server integration, the old server system is replaced by a server with powerful update performance. Enterprises only use a small part of the system to perform the same computing workload. Less physical servers require less total power-cost savings that an enterprise can see every month. Moving to the next generation server can save enough cost to pay for technical updates.

Handling replacement devices is one of the disadvantages of update technology. Fortunately, virtualization abstracts the workload from the underlying hardware and largely overcomes the dependency of traditional hardware. This provides additional options for old devices. For example, old devices can be redistributed for testing and development, moved to a working group or department to undertake computing tasks, or distributed to branches and remote data, and continue to run as backup servers. These options allow devices to run longer in the enterprise.