modernizing sap environments with minimal downtime and risk
TRANSCRIPT
60 2013 Issue 04 | Dell.com/powersolutions
Features
Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2013 Issue 4. Copyright © 2013 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2013 Issue 4. Copyright © 2013 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Data center modernization helps
decision makers boost operational
flexibility, efficiency and cost-
effectiveness by integrating and
optimizing business applications, supporting
databases and IT infrastructure.1 As part of their
modernization plans, many organizations are
considering updating their SAP applications
and databases to take advantage of the latest
functionality and enhance business insights. At the
same time, migration from UNIX®-based systems
to x86-based servers running the Linux® OS helps
enterprises reduce costs to boost competitiveness.
However, interrupting normal operations for
an IT migration presents significant challenges.
Many SAP applications and databases are mission
critical and demand round-the-clock availability,
but traditional upgrades and migrations often
require prolonged downtime. Even an extra
hour or two of downtime may dramatically
reduce an organization’s productivity, disrupt
customer service and result in unacceptable
financial losses. Organizations need a way to
meet their goals and service-level agreements
(SLAs) without increasing costs and the risk of
downtime and data loss.
SAP and Dell are working together to help
enterprises move toward a modernized data
center — one that scales out easily and efficiently
and does not demand costly and frequent
disruptive upgrades — while maintaining high
availability of mission-critical systems.
Overcoming the challenge of maintaining
proprietary platforms
Many organizations have valuable assets in SAP
applications running on aging, proprietary systems
that have served them well for years. By upgrading
outdated SAP software, IT leaders can enhance
functionality for mobile users and effectively turn rapidly
growing volumes of data into actionable insight.
However, updating applications on
legacy UNIX-based systems can lead to high
maintenance and software licensing costs, which
intensify the pressure on already constrained
IT budgets. Moreover, organizations may have
difficulty introducing new business services on
maturing platforms.
Instead, IT decision makers can upgrade their
SAP applications and migrate critical SAP assets
to industry-standard x86-based systems running
open-source Linux. Replacing proprietary systems
with fewer, more energy-efficient x86-based Linux
servers helps reduce operating expenses and avoid
data center expansion costs. Besides heightening
efficiency, updated systems boost performance to
Moving enterprise applications to efficient, cost-effective platforms helps
organizations gain a competitive edge. Discover how Dell and SAP modernization
solutions help cut migration risk while avoiding costly, prolonged downtime.
By Karthik Konaparthi, Wendy Williams and Maggie Smith
Modernizing SAP environments with minimal downtime and risk
1 For more information about data center modernization, see “Taking a holistic approach to data center modernization,” by Vikram Belapurkar and Wendy Williams, in Dell Power Solutions, 2013 Issue 4, qrs.ly/hz3n8xp.
Dell.com/powersolutions | 2013 Issue 04 61
Features
Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2013 Issue 4. Copyright © 2013 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2013 Issue 4. Copyright © 2013 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
support additional application functionality
and intensified throughput workloads.
When moving to an x86-based system,
organizations also have the option of
updating their existing database platform
or taking the opportunity to migrate to
an alternative one. Overall, a migration
to an x86-based infrastructure and open-
source operating systems such as Linux
helps reduce operational costs for system
maintenance, software licensing, staffing
and energy usage.
Adopting an infrastructure well suited
for today’s SAP workloads
To be an optimal migration target, the
x86-based infrastructure should fully
support the SAP stack, from database to
application. Dell has developed a Dell
Active Infrastructure solution to meet the
needs of an SAP migration. Dell Active
Infrastructure converges servers, storage,
networking and infrastructure systems
management to streamline implementation
and management. (For more information,
see the sidebar, “A converged approach for
accelerating time to value.”)
Part of the Dell Active Infrastructure
portfolio is the Dell Active System line of
pre-engineered, pre-integrated systems that
help simplify the move from proprietary
systems to open, standards-based architecture.
Dell Active Systems are designed to provide
the following advantages:
• Exceptional business agility: Organizations
can rapidly respond to changing workload
and user demands with converged
infrastructure for SAP application
deployments as well as for private cloud
and virtualization implementations.
• Fast time to value: Dell Active Systems
dramatically help reduce the time
organizations spend on designing,
procuring, deploying, integrating and
testing for data center modernization.
• Outstanding IT efficiency: Organizations
can concentrate on rolling out and
managing applications rather than
setting up infrastructure. Field-tested
Dell server, storage, networking and
management technology helps limit
interoperability issues.
Migrating to Dell Active Infrastructure
also makes it easy for organizations to
leverage SAP® HANA® software for fast,
cost-effective access to data for analysis.
The Dell | SAP HANA solution combines
SAP HANA software, enterprise-class
Dell hardware and expert services that
enable business users to execute
analytics, performance management and
operations using optimized, in-memory
computing capabilities.2
Despite the promise of significant
business benefits, some organizations may
be skeptical based on previous experiences
of significant disruptions during the transition
to an updated SAP environment. Using
traditional approaches, they may have had
to shut down their business or stop offering
certain aspects of their services for several
hours or even days. Dell ZeroIMPACT
Migration Services for SAP applications are
designed to ensure the availability of mission-
critical SAP systems during the transition to
an updated IT environment.
2 For more information about the Dell | SAP HANA solution, see “Applying real-time analytics for agile business operations,” by Carey Dietert and Divyesh Vaidya, in Dell Power Solutions, 2012 Issue 4, qrs.ly/zo3n8xq.
Features
Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2013 Issue 4. Copyright © 2013 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.62 2013 Issue 04 | Dell.com/powersolutions
Features
Supporting continued productivity
through nondisruptive modernization
Dell ZeroIMPACT Migration Services enable
organizations to gain the full potential of
an updated platform while avoiding the
costly and prolonged planned outage
windows associated with traditional
approaches. (For more information, see
the sidebar, “At a glance: Dell ZeroIMPACT
Migration Services.”) Through this
program, organizations can nondisruptively
upgrade or change their OS and/or
database as part of an SAP modernization
project — for example, by moving from
one version of Oracle® Database to
another or from Oracle Database to the
Sybase® database.
During the ZeroIMPACT process, Dell
Services consultants start with an analysis
of an organization’s applications, processes
and users to understand required features and
functionalities before developing a specific
migration plan. The consultants then
work with the organization to manage
all aspects of SAP system upgrades and
migration, from planning and start-up to
functional development activities to the
go-live event and support.
To help confirm that the target platform
will perform as expected before beginning
a full migration project, Dell Services can
test the performance and functionality of
the planned target platform. With Dell Test
Harness Service for SAP, Dell consultants
export a sample of an organization’s current
SAP data to the cloud and run the workload
in both the existing and the planned
environment. The performance of both
platforms’ databases can then be compared
using Dell Foglight technology to help
validate the planned environment.
Embracing innovative technologies
Limitations of legacy systems and day-to-
day operating requirements can make it
difficult for organizations to adopt advanced
technologies, such as cloud computing
and virtualization, that drive business
opportunities. Modernization efforts open
up innovative technology avenues, leverage
new capabilities in updated applications
and consolidate infrastructure to better
A converged approach for accelerating time to valueWhen moving to a standards-based environment, organizations can take advantage
of the considerable benefits of converged infrastructure. Converged infrastructure
integrates multiple IT components to enhance the efficiency, agility and resiliency of the
IT organization. When these components — including servers, networking and storage —
are combined into a single solution, their collective resources can be pooled and shared
effectively. Converged infrastructure also enables organizations to simplify and centralize
the management of those resources to achieve significant cost savings.
Dell bases its Active Infrastructure converged solutions on open architecture,
flexible delivery models and unified support to help organizations achieve an
automated data center platform. Dell Active Infrastructure accelerates the delivery of
IT services with workload-optimized, pre-integrated systems. It also provides validated
reference architectures, template-based automation and end-to-end support.
The result is a converged infrastructure that enables organizations to maximize
efficiency, respond rapidly to changing business needs and deliver consistent, high-
quality IT services.
Part of the Dell Active Infrastructure family, the Dell Active System 800 is a pre-integrated, converged platform that enables easy-to-manage private clouds and business applications.
Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2013 Issue 4. Copyright © 2013 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Dell.com/powersolutions | 2013 Issue 04 63
Authors
Karthik Konaparthi is a marketing
manager in the Enterprise Solutions Group
at Dell and is currently focused on cloud
and big data solutions.
Wendy Williams is a marketing manager
for Dell Services. She is focused on
application services and has over 15 years
of experience marketing IT solutions,
including application modernization.
Maggie Smith is a senior marketing
manager at Dell. She is focused on
enterprise solutions for database and big
data applications and has over 30 years of
experience marketing technology products.
Learn more
Dell and SAP:
Dell.com/SAP
Dell converged infrastructure:
qrs.ly/ub3ogg2
Dell Services:
Dell.com/services
SAP modernization solutions from Dell:
manage growth. Moreover, migration to
an updated infrastructure helps lower total
cost of ownership.
Modernization solutions from Dell and
SAP enable organizations to move forward
with IT initiatives and process more data
on less hardware while freeing scarce IT
resources. Dell Active Infrastructure offers a
high-performance virtualized solution and
converged infrastructure that supports the SAP
solution stack. Additionally, Dell ZeroIMPACT
Migration Services for SAP applications
enable organizations to quickly move from
legacy environments to open, x86-based
infrastructure with minimal downtime for
continued end-user productivity.
At a glance: Dell ZeroIMPACT Migration ServicesTo aid organizations in their transition to contemporary
environments with minimal downtime, Dell provides ZeroIMPACT
Migration Services for SAP applications. Dell Services also offers
business-critical support, expertise and practical experience to
help eliminate the risks associated with migration.
The platform-agnostic ZeroIMPACT solution provides
replication for UNIX, Linux or Windows systems. The service
supports Oracle-to-Oracle and Oracle-to-SAP Sybase Adaptive
Server Enterprise (ASE) migrations. In addition, it supports
replication of all current SAP data types, including LONG columns,
large objects (LOB) and more.
During a ZeroIMPACT migration, the current production
system operates as usual, enabling users to interact with
the system and maintain business continuity throughout the
process (see figure). First, the new production system is
established with the updated SAP applications and preferred
database. Dell consultants then deploy Dell SharePlex
technology, which uses change data capture abilities to
track modifications to the current production database.
Next, the current production database is cloned on a staging
system while the current production system continues to run. Then,
the newly cloned database is imported from the staging system
to the new production system. Once the new production
system has been instantiated, SharePlex reconciles and syncs
any database changes made during the migration process to the
new production database. Then, users are switched to the new
production system.
Database replication using the Dell ZeroIMPACT migration approach
Current productionsystem (UNIX, Oracle)
Staging system(UNIX, Oracle)
Clone
New production system(Linux, Oracle or Sybase)
SharePlex
Expo
rt/impo
rt
Dell, Foglight and SharePlex are trademarks of Dell Inc.