CA Unicenter Advanced Systems Management

Reference Code: TA001292IMT Publication Date: July 2007 Author: Roy Illsley

CA – CA Unicenter® Advanced Systems Management r11 Published 07/2007

© Butler Group. This Technology Audit is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied Page 1

BUTLER GROUP VIEW

ABSTRACT

CA Unicenter® Advanced System Management (CA Unicenter ASM) is a management tool that enables a single-user interface to be used to manage a wide variety of virtual, physical, and clustered platforms and technologies. CA Unicenter ASM effectively normalises the operational duties so that users do not require specific platform or technology knowledge to manage them. CA Unicenter ASM’s approach to virtual platform management is to ensure that maximum utilisation of existing hardware is achieved. Currently, CA Unicenter ASM does not provide blade centre management capability, or support Xen virtualisation; however, the range of supported platforms and technologies is constantly being expanded. CA Unicenter ASM would suit any organisation that wants to manage a heterogeneous data centre from a single management console.

KEY FINDINGS

Single UI for all technologies that it manages.

Ability to automate administration tasks.

Operates at the Virtual Machine level.

Dynamically allocates system resources.

Does not support management of blade centres.

Does not support Xen virtualisation; however, this is planned for a future release.

Operates on a wide range of platforms and technologies.

Provides a complete management solution along with the CA Unicenter NSM product.

LOOK AHEAD

CA is committed to developing the capabilities of its systems management umbrella product CA Unicenter NSM, which is a core component of its Dynamic and Virtual Systems Management solution. The modular and open design of CA Unicenter NSM is consistent with CA’s approach to the wider Enterprise IT Management (EITM) philosophy.

TECHNOLOGY AUDIT

CA Unicenter® Advanced Systems Management r11.1 CA

TECHNOLOGY AUDIT



FUNCTIONALITY

The pressure on data centre managers and CIOs is increasing to extract more value from the existing hardware infrastructure and to reduce the operating costs. CIOs are also looking at methods of being able to respond to business change quickly and more effectively. Traditionally, data centres present the computing resources to users in ways dictated by implementation, location, department, or vendor, for example, they consider how organisations deploy systems such as finance, HR, and supply chain. Each system is operated as a discrete entity running on its own hardware platform that has been sized to accommodate that department’s predicted growth.

However, with applications and business functions operating cyclical-business processes, such as month-end reporting in the finance department or the weekly payroll executed in HR, systems have been sized according to peak demand profiles. The major issue with this traditional silo approach is that the resources over-provisioned to cope with peak demand cannot be dynamically allocated to other systems. Consider the typical situation in most organisations where production, development, and test environments are used. Currently if any of these environments are under-utilised then the spare resources cannot be made available to the other environments that may have a demand for more computing resources.

Server virtualisation enables the application view of computing resources to be separated from the underlying implemented infrastructure view. To achieve this software is used to create a virtualisation layer; this virtualisation layer enables the host platform to execute as multiple virtual systems. Each system can run either its own copy of a different operating system, or allows multiple versions of the same operation system, but more importantly, it supports the pooling of resources (processor, disks, memory, and IO) across a server-based on policy rules defined by the organisation.

Product Analysis

The demands placed upon data centres require that they are not only seen as cost effective, reducing IT support as well as IT development and deployment costs, but that they can also scale to meet the business demands in terms of supporting the volume of business activity, and that they provide the foundation of technology that can be used to change the organisation.

Therefore, the challenge is on three levels, firstly, to reduce the costs by focusing on increasing the utilisations figures and hence reducing power consumption, and reducing man-power costs associated with managing the technology; secondly, to increase the ability of the data centre to meet the volume of business activity in a timeframe that is considered appropriate; thirdly, to deliver an infrastructure that helps change the organisation to deliver added-value.

Central to enabling organisations to obtain maximum value from the investment in its infrastructure is the ability to manage and control both the physical and virtual worlds that are being used to increase utilisation figures, improve agility, and reduce labour costs associated with running large data centres.

CA Unicenter ASM is a tool that removes the need for IT staff to have detailed knowledge of the multitude of different systems, such as IBM LPAR, Microsoft clusters, and VMware’s ESX server. It presents via a single visualisation layer, enabling a complete view of the typical heterogeneous data centre. CA Unicenter ASM currently offers the broadest range of technology support available, however, it does not address all the technologies; its main weakness is its lack of support for blades. This area is one where the management capabilities are lagging the technology, and it is Butler Group’s opinion, that this is acting as a brake on the wider adoption in production deployments of technologies such as virtualisation.

TECHNOLOGY AUDIT



CA Unicenter ASM’s value proposition is two fold; firstly it removes the need for employees to be familiar with the detail of specific technologies. Secondly, it provides the ability to automatically manage the estate if the customer chooses to. Both of these address the cost base of the data centre – the labour costs – which according to Datamonitor account for 70% of an IT budget.

Although CA Unicenter ASM offers a broad range of support for other technologies, it is still expanding and CA has adopted a position of providing support based on the customer demand, and the technologies installed For example, it will provide Xen hypervisor support, as well as Windows Server Virtualisation support in a future release, expected to be CY08.

Butler Group considers that CA Unicenter ASM meets the needs of many customers, but that it must expand the range of technologies and platforms that can be managed from its single-control centre, if it is to retain its leadership position in the systems and infrastructure management space.

Product Operation

CA Unicenter ASM is the combination of three previously separate tools from CA that have now been enhanced and integrated under a single UI. At the heart of the CA Unicenter ASM solution is the System Command Centre (SCC), see Figure 1, which shows a typical user view. CA Unicenter ASM employs a comprehensive role-based security model so that administrators can be restricted in what they can see and do on systems. However, this security requires setting up in the CA Unicenter ASM module and does not as yet use existing Active Directory (AD) or LDAPs deployed in an organisation. The role-based security can be integrated into the CA Identity and Access Management module; CA has stated that it intends to review the use of AD as a source for the role-based security, but adds that client integration is possible but it does not work out-of-the-box.

Figure 1: CA Unicenter ASM System Command Center

Source: CA D A T A M O N I T O R

TECHNOLOGY AUDIT



ClusCluster Management

CA Unicenter ASM has a comprehensive capability to manage a wide range of clustering solutions and presents these via its SCC, but it uses the language of the technology where applicable. The single UI operates on a ‘right-mouse click’ to reveal the commands that can be executed on the cluster. Butler Group considers this simplification of the various clustering technologies as an advantage for organisations: it removes the need for specialist teams responsible for the different solutions deployed in an organisation; it also dramatically reduces the learning curve of new employees.

Dynamic Resource Brokering

CA Unicenter ASM uses a policy engine to help it control and manage resources dynamically. Organisations define their requirements and the CA Unicenter ASM tool will take the action needed to maintain these resources so that service levels are achieved. To ensure conflicting resource demands do not create a ‘thrashing’ scenario – where two different processes are demanding additional resources and the action of satisfying one causes the other to experience reduced responses – CA Unicenter ASM uses in-built logic to ensure it can meet the demands based on the policy rules defined, or alerts the console for human intervention. Butler Group believes this approach will appeal to organisations that have an inherent mis-trust of automatic resource allocation. CA Unicenter ASM can also be set to operate in either ‘monitor’ mode,where all action is referred to an operator, or ‘manage’ mode where it uses the policy rules to automatically take action. These settings can be applied to the individual system so that IT managers can retain control of those systems where dynamic resource allocation would create other more complex issues.

Virtualised Server Management

CA Unicenter ASM is restricted to VMware ESX server v2.0 and Microsoft Virtual Server in terms of its management capabilities, although CA will extend support for other virtualisation solutions as the product matures. CA Unicenter ASM is not trying to replace VMware’s Virtual Center, and does not provide physical-to-virtual migration, rather it is designed to be complementary, and simplifies the administration and management of the physical and virtual machines. The approach taken by CA Unicenter ASM to how it manages the way it increases server utilisation figures, from the typical 10% pre virtualisation, differs from that of VMware. CA optimises and maximises the physical server before considering movement of virtual machines between physical servers, which leads to utilisation figures of 80%-90%, as apposed to 60%-70% using the VMware approach. Butler Group believes the CA approach has some inherent advantages in terms of cost – requiring fewer physical servers. It may appear that this approach leaves little head-room to deploy new solutions as demand increases. However, CA Unicenter ASM also works cohesively with tools such as VMware, which enables organisations to perform live migration when needed to address additional increases in demand for business services.

Product Emphasis

CA Unicenter ASM is focused on providing the ability for IT departments to employ a single management tool to manage its entire data centre, irrespective of the platform or technology used. CA, as a platform neutral vendor, offers a complete management capability so that organisations with heterogeneous data centres can use a single tool for management.

CA is not alone in providing its management tool with the ability to manage both the physical and virtual world. Its strength is the breadth of platforms and technologies that it can manage from a single console. The nirvana for IT departments is to have a single console, however, we believe that this is still some way off, but CA Unicenter ASM represents a significant step towards this goal.

TECHNOLOGY AUDIT



DEPLOYMENT

CA Unicenter ASM has been designed to simplify management of complex multi-vendor virtual and cluster environments, thereby improving operational efficiency. Out-of-the-box, CA Unicenter ASM monitors and manages dynamic, virtual, and clustered environments. Organisations that only have clustered servers today and are looking to move towards virtualisation in the future can choose to only utilise the cluster management capabilities. According to CA, a typical deployment should take about two hours and can be performed by in-house IT systems staff with no special training.

Typically, support is provided ‘offsite’ from the client by CA’s dedicated support organisation. Support may be engaged by raising a problem ticket, which may be done electronically via the Web, or via the telephone. Clients may also search a problem database for resolutions to their issues. CA’s support organisation follows a well-established prioritisation and escalation procedure for client problem tickets. It also has a dedicated development services team that may be placed on site if the priority and complexity of a problem is agreed to require it. Additionally, some clients contractually have permanent on-site support, and CA is currently running a project to investigate and expand various “premium support” offerings that will deliver additional at-cost support services.

CA Unicenter ASM currently operates on the following platforms and technologies:

• Microsoft Virtual Servers.

• Microsoft Cluster Servers.

• VMware ESX and GSX.

• IBM pSeries LPAR capable eServers (P4 and P5).

• IBM HACMP.

• VERITAS Cluster Servers (Sun Solaris, Linux, and Windows).

• HP MC/ServiceGuard.

• Red Hat Linux Advanced and Enterprise Server cluster.

• SunFire High/Mid Range servers.

• Sun Cluster.

CA Unicenter NSM is a prerequisite for CA Unicenter ASM. CA Unicenter ASM leverages the management capabilities found in CA Unicenter NSM and extends its capabilities to virtualised and clustered-server configurations. CA Unicenter NSM and CA Unicenter ASM bring CA Virtual Platform Management to server environments.

PRODUCT STRATEGY

CA has traditionally been focused on the Fortune 2000 companies, as it believes this represents the group most likely to deploy its comprehensive management tools. However, with CA Unicenter ASM it has produced a product that has appeal to the SMB sector; this sector is the most likely to implement virtualisation in production environments if the management tools are available to extract maximum value. Butler Group believes that the marketing and packaging of CA Unicenter ASM will be key to penetration into this sector.

TECHNOLOGY AUDIT



CA operates a mixed approach in its route to market, with the approach depending largely on customer requirements and the size of the organisation. For the large global Fortune 2000 companies, CA will assume full responsibility, but for other organisations, the partner channel is a more appropriate route, allowing the partner to offer its expertise in market or geographic segments. For smaller organisations the channel is the preferred route.

CA Unicenter ASM follows a “Manager/Managed Resource” pricing model. The manager component is a flat price, while each resource being managed (e.g. a CPU) is at an additional variable cost. Annual maintenance and support is at 20% of the licensing cost and is included in the first year costs of the software. This entitles the customer to full support for the software, and also upgrades, at no additional cost to future releases during the time of the contract.

CA is planning to increase the breath of technologies and platforms that CA Unicenter ASM can support, and has identified Xen virtualisation as a potential next candidate. CA also recognises that it is weak in the management of blade centres and is actively considering adding this to CA Unicenter ASM’s capabilities. However, no definitive time frames or commitments have been made by CA, as r11.1 has only just been released.

Currently, CA offers the widest breadth of platforms and technologies capable of being managed from a single UI including clustered servers, and CA’s advantage is that it is a software company and as such, it is hardware agnostic, unlike most of its competitors in this space that are both software and hardware vendors. Butler Group believes that a large market exists for any vendor that can provide the nirvana of a single lens through which the entire data centre can be managed and controlled. However, this we believe is some way off as proprietary APIs and incompatible technologies make the production of such a solution too complex and costly to develop. Butler Group believes that CA has taken a step towards demonstrating the advantages for both hardware vendors and technology vendors alike in working towards this objective, and we believe that as customer demand increases, more vendors will follow CA’s lead.

COMPANY PROFILE

CA, Inc. (NYSE:CA), positions itself as one of the world’s largest management software companies. It delivers software and services across operations, security, storage, life cycle, and service management, to help organisations optimise the performance, reliability, and efficiency of their enterprise IT environments. Founded in 1976, CA is headquartered in Islandia, N.Y., has 15,000+ employees, operates in more than 100 countries, and has achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification.

Revenues and operating income for the last three fiscal years were as follows:

Table 1: Financial Details

Year ending 31 March 2007 2006 2005 (Restated)Revenue (US$ Million) 3,943 3,772 3,603Change on Previous Year (%) 5 5.36 8.13Total Net Income/(Loss) (US$ Million) 118 159 24 Source: CA D A T A M O N I T O R

TECHNOLOGY AUDIT



CA has a stated policy to enhance and protect its clients’ IT investments by integrating a wide range of systems in heterogeneous environments. To maintain this stance it has a wide range of partnerships with technology vendors, systems integrators, and IT consultancies. Please refer to the list of CA partners:

Figure 2: List of CA Partners


CA currently serves 99% of the Fortune 1000 companies across every major industry worldwide.

SUMMARY

CA Unicenter ASM provides an organisation with the ability to generate savings by reducing the number of employees needed with specific skills to run an organisation’s data centre. However, because it does not cover every platform or technology the maximum saving is only possible for those that execute systems currently supported. CA is leading this single management console philosophy, which is breaking the vendor lock-in that many customers find when they deploy a technology and then want to extract value through management.

TECHNOLOGY AUDIT



CA Unicenter ASM, by using a single UI that removes the need for employees to be experts in the systems being managed, and also by use of its dynamic resourcing capabilities that automate many of the labour-intensive tasks associated with operating some of these technologies, offers organisations the ability to free up employees to work on more value-adding duties. Butler Group considers CA Unicenter ASM as a leader in the single-management capability space for virtualised environments, but it needs to continue to expand the platforms and technologies support to maintain this position.

Table 2: Contact Details

CA World HQ One CA Plaza Islandia NY 11749 USA Tel: +1 631 342 6000 Fax: +1 631 342 4854 www.ca.com

CA EMEA HQ Ditton Park Riding Court Road, Datchet Slough Berkshire, SL3 9LL UK Tel: +44 (0)1753 577733 Fax: +44 (0)1753 825464 www.ca.com


Headquarters Europa House, 184 Ferensway, Hull, East Yorkshire, HU1 3UT, UK Tel: +44 (0)1482 586149 Fax: +44 (0)1482 323577

Butler Direct Pty Ltd. Level 46, Citigroup Building, 2 Park Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia Tel: + 61 (02) 8705 6960 Fax: + 61 (02) 8705 6961

Butler Group 245 Fifth Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10016, USA Tel: +1 212 652 5302 Fax: +1 212 202 4684

Important Notice

This report contains data and information up-to-date and correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of preparation. The data and information comes from a variety of sources outside our direct control, therefore Butler Direct Limited cannot give any guarantees relating to the content of this report. Ultimate responsibility for all interpretations of, and use of, data, information and commentary in this report remains with you. Butler Direct Limited will not be liable for any interpretations or decisions made by you.

For more information on Butler Group’s Subscription Services please contact one of the local offices above.

Documents

CA Unicenter Advanced Systems Management