quantifying the value of flexpod converged infrastructure ... · the solution: flexpod, a cisco and...

©2017byTheEnterpriseStrategyGroup,Inc.AllRightsReserved.

ByAvivKaufmann,SeniorESGLabAnalystJanuary2017ThisESGEconomicValueValidationReportwascommissionedbyCiscoandNetAppandisdistributedunderlicensefromESG.

EnterpriseStrategyGroup|Gettingtothebiggertruth.™

ESGEconomicValueValidation

QuantifyingtheValueofFlexPodConvergedInfrastructurewithCiscoM4ServersandNetAppAll-FlashFAS(AFF)StorageArrays

EVVReport:QuantifyingtheValueofFlexPodConvergedInfrastructurewithCiscoM4ServersandNetAppAFFStorageArrays 2


Contents

ExecutiveSummary................................................................................................................................................................3

Challenges..............................................................................................................................................................................3

TheSolution:FlexPod,aCiscoandNetAppSolutionwithAllFlashFAS(AFF).......................................................................5

EconomicValueValidation(EVV)Process..............................................................................................................................6

EconomicValueOverview......................................................................................................................................................7

EconomicModelling...............................................................................................................................................................9

ESG’sFlexPodwithAFFEconomicValueModel.................................................................................................................9

Example:UsingtheEVMtoPredictSavingsforaModeledOrganization........................................................................11

ExpectedSavingsInaRefreshScenario...........................................................................................................................14

TheBiggerTruth...................................................................................................................................................................15



ExecutiveSummary

ESGwasengagedbyCiscoandNetApptoconductadetailedEconomicValueValidation(EVV)anddevelopaquantitativemodelexamininghowupgradingyourexistingconvergedinfrastructuretoFlexPodwithCiscoM4serversandAllFlashFAS(AFF)storagecanbenefitanorganizationoverathree-yearperiod.TheanalysisisdesignedtohelpITorganizationsdeterminethefullyburdenedcostsandbenefitsofFlexPodwithM4ServersandAFFcomparedwitha“presentmodeofoperation”(PMO)basedonpreviousgenerationconvergedarchitectureswithM2Serversandtraditionalstoragesystemswithamixofsolid-statedrives(SSDs)andharddiskdrives(HDDs).ThisanalysiswasbuiltuponESG’sevaluationofFlexPod,CiscoServers,andAFF,in-depthinterviewswithtechnicalstakeholdersatCiscoandNetApp,existingAFFandFlexPodend-userinterviewsandcasestudies,ESG’squalitativeandquantitativemarketresearchwithITdecisionmakers,andESG’sgeneralfamiliaritywiththestorageindustryandtechnologies.ThisanalysisisdesignedtoprovideprospectivecustomerswithacomprehensivepictureofthepotentialdirectandindirectcostandbenefitdriverstheyshouldtakeintoaccountwhenconsideringupgradingtheirexistinginfrastructuretoFlexPodwithM4ServersandAFFstoragearrays.

Asdiscussedinthefollowingpages,upgradingyourFlexPodinfrastructuretothelatestservertechnologyandAFFofferstheopportunityfororganizationstosignificantlylowerbothcapitalandoperationalexpenses,whileprovidinglowlatencyandpeaceofmindtostorageadministratorswhenconsolidatingmixedworkloads.ESG’sanalysisofamodeledusecaseforatypicalFlexPodwithAFFrefreshresultedinanattractive53%ROIandapaybackperiodofundersixmonthswhenreplacingapreviousgenerationconvergedinfrastructurebasedonatraditionalstoragesystemwithamixofSSDsandHDDs.ESG’sanalysisshowsthatitmakesgoodeconomicsensefororganizationswithmixedworkloadrequirementstoconsiderreplacingtheirexistingconvergedinfrastructureorupgradingtheirpreviousgenerationFlexPod.AllcustomerswillbenefitfromtheperformanceanddensitybenefitsofthelatestM4CiscoServerscombinedwiththeintegrateddataservices,scalability,flexibility,andeaseofusebenefitsthataremadepossiblethroughanAFFdeployment.ThesebenefitsarefurtherenhancedforexistingNetAppFlexPodcustomersbecausetheyareabletoleveragethepeople,processes,andtoolsthattheyareaccustomedtowithnoadditionaltrainingrequired.

Challenges

Makingsmartinvestmentswhenitcomestokeepinginfrastructureuptodatecanbedifficultfororganizations.Whenisittherighttimetoupgradeyourinfrastructure?Manyorganizationstakeaproactiveapproach,upgradingbasedonafixedbudgetingcycle,andperhapsmakinganinvestmentbeforeitmakesgoodfinancialsense.Otherstakeareactiveapproach,leveraginginvestmentsuntilapplicationperformancebeginstosuffer,andusersbegintocomplain.Whilebothoftheseapproacheshaveseveralprosandcons,neithermethodtrulyempowerstheorganizationtomakeinformed,financiallydrivendecisionsoninfrastructureinvestments,withoutimpactingexistingoperations.

AsshowninFigure1,ESGresearchindicatesthatafterimprovingsecurityandriskmanagement,returnoninvestment(ROI)istheconsiderationforjustifyingITinvestmentstobusinessmanagementteamsreportedbythesecondlargestpercentageofrespondents,followedbybusinessprocessimprovementsandreductioninoperationalexpenditures.Itisclearthatbusinesseshaveacloseeyeoncosts,andarelookingtomakesmarterinvestments,notjustlesscostlyones.

HighlightsofESGEconomicValueValidationModeledScenarioofaNetAppFlexPodwithAllFlashFAS(AFF)StorageDeployment:

• 53%ReturnonInvestment(ROI)

• $7.3MinExpectedSavingsandBenefitsoverThreeYears

• PaybackPeriodunder6Months

• Low,PredictableLatency

• 2.3XLowerInfrastructureTCOvs.PreviousGenFlexPodwithHDD



Itisdifficulttodeterminetherighttimetoupgradeyourservers,yournetworking,andyourstorage.Stayingontopofthevarietyofsolutionsandtechnologiesavailableforeachcomponentcanbeoverwhelming,leadingtothedevelopmentof“siloed”organizations.Convergedinfrastructureshavegreatlysimplifiedthetaskofplanning,testing,andoperatingITenvironments.Ratherthanworryingabouteachpieceoftheinfrastructure,theorganizationcanlookatthecapabilitiesofthesolutionholisticallytodetermineifthenextgenerationconvergedinfrastructureprovidessignificantenoughadvantagesovertheircurrentinfrastructuretowarrantmakinganinvestmenttoday.Butcomparingtechnicalspecsandpricequotesonlytellspartofthestory.Effectivelyevaluatingthetruereturnoninvestment(ROI)ofaconvergedinfrastructurerequiresunderstandingnotonlythecapitalandoperationalcostsrelatedtotheinvestment,butalsothebenefitsthatthisinvestmentininfrastructurecanenableinotherareasofthebusiness.

Consolidatingyouroperationsontomorepowerfulserversandall-flashstoragearraysmakesgreattechnicalsense.However,replacingyourconvergedinfrastructurewhilelimitingdisruptiontoexistingapplicationscanbeadauntingtask,andcontinuingtoleveragethepeople,processes,andproductsthatyouhavealreadyinvestedinmaymakeevengreaterfinancialsense.Aconvergedinfrastructurethatisdesignedforagility,flexibility,andscalecanmaketheprocessofupgradingyourinfrastructurelessdisruptiveandmorecosteffective.

Figure1.MostImportantConsiderationsinJustifyingITInvestments

Source:EnterpriseStrategyGroup,2017

14%

19%

19%

22%

27%

32%

35%

39%

Speedofpayback

Reductionincapitalexpenditures(i.e.,purchasesofequipmentandotherfixedassets)

Reducedtime-to-marketforourproductsorservices

Improvedregulatorycompliance

Reductioninoperationalexpenditures(i.e.,labor,utilities,materialsandotherongoingcostsassociatedwithoperatingan

application,system,orbusinessprocess)

Businessprocessimprovement

Returnoninvestment

Improvedsecurity/riskmanagement

WhichofthefollowingconsiderationsdoyoubelievewillbemostimportantinjustifyingITinvestmentstoyourorganization’sbusinessmanagementteamoverthenext12months?



TheSolution:FlexPod,aCiscoandNetAppSolutionwithAllFlashFAS(AFF)

TheFlexPodDatacenterwithNetAppAllFlashFASsystemisaconvergedinfrastructureplatformthatcombinesbest-of-breedtechnologiesfromNetAppandCiscointoapowerfulconvergedplatformforenterpriseapplications.LikeallFlexPodSystems,theFlexPodDatacenterwithNetAppAllFlashFASiscomprisedofcompute(database,virtualization,application,andmanagementserversbasedontheCiscoUCSM4platform),network(three-layernetworkandSANtechnologiesfromCisco),andstorage(NetAppAllFlashFASstoragesystems)(seeFigure2.).

CiscoUCSB200M4bladeserversprovidetheFlexPodwithaneconomicalhigh-performance,high-densitycomputesolution.TheUCSB200M4serversleveragethelatestgenerationIntelXeonE5-2600v3andv4Seriesprocessorsandcanscaleupto1,536GBofRAM.AsingleUCSM4bladeservercanprovideupto80GbpsofthroughputconnectivityandcanbeprovisionedwithuptotwoSSDsorHDDsforlocalizedstorage.

NetAppAFFsystemsofferorganizationsanall-flashstorageplatformthatisperfectforconsolidatinghighperformanceworkloads.AFFsystemsprovideawiderangeofsoftwarefeaturesanddataprotectionoptions,including:

• Inlinededuplication,compression,anddatacompaction

• Space-efficientsnapshotandclonecopiesforfilesystemsandvolumes

• Anabilitytoreplicatecopiesonall-flash,hybrid,HDD,orcloud-basedsystems

• Synchronousreplicationformission-criticalworkloads

• Application-consistentbackupandrecovery

• SnapLocksoftwareforregulatorycompliance

Figure2.FlexPodDatacenterwithAllFlashFAS




FlexPodDatacenterwithNetAppAllFlashFASisdesignedtoencompassallthebenefitsofFlexPod—includingvalidated,preconfigured,pretestedconfigurations;simplifiedmanagement;highavailabilityandresiliency;improvedefficiency;andeasyscaling.

Individuallyandinconcert,thecomponentsoftheFlexPodsolutionaredesignedtokeepapplicationsavailable.Thisconvergedinfrastructuresolutionintegrateshigh-availabilityanddisasterrecoverycapabilitiestoenablecustomerstoachieve“alwayson”performancewiththeagilitytomeettherapidlychangingdemandsoftoday’sbusinessenvironment.

EconomicValueValidation(EVV)Process

ESG’sEconomicValueValidationprocessisaprovenmethodforunderstanding,validating,quantifying,andmodelingtheeconomicvaluepropositionsofaproductorsolution.TheprocessleveragesESG’scorecompetenciesinmarketandindustryanalysis,forward-lookingresearch,andtechnical/economicvalidation.TheEVVprocessconsistsoffourmainphases:valuescoping,validation,quantification,andmodeldevelopment.

Inthevaluescopingphase,ESGworkswithavendor’sinternalstakeholderstodiscussthewaysinwhichtheproductorsolutioncanimpactpotentialcustomers.Theseeconomicbenefitsmaybeintheformofcostsavings(lowerCapExorOpEx),costavoidance(e.g.,reducingcomplianceriskoreliminatingtheneedforprofessionalservices),increasedrevenue(e.g.,fastertaskcompletionorabilitytohandlemoredesktops),andothersoftbenefits(e.g.,increaseduserproductivityorhighercustomersatisfaction).Inthevaluevalidationphase,ESGconductsin-depthinterviewswithend-userstobetterunderstandandquantifyhowthesepotentialvaluepropositionshaveimpactedtheirorganizations,particularlyincomparisontopreviouslydeployedand/orexperiencedsolutions.

Inthefinalstages,ESGblendsthequantifiedvaluesrevealedthroughthestakeholderandcustomerinterviewswithknownindustryvaluesandadditionalresearch,resultinginavalidatedsetofassumptionsonwhichtobuildascalableanddynamicTCO/ROImodel.ThisEconomicValueModel(EVM)acceptstheanswerstotypicalqualifyingquestionsregardingapotentialcustomer’sITenvironmentandbusinessneedsasinputs.Themodelthenreturnsadetailedreportofexpectedsavings,TCO,andROIoveragiventimeperiodwhencomparedwitharelevant,definedpresentmodeofoperation.AnoverviewoftheESGEconomicValueValidationprocessisshowninFigure3.

Figure3.ESGEVVMethodology


ValueScoping

ValueValidation

EconomicValueModelCreationandanalysis

• Investigateeconomicvaluepropositions ofproductorservice• Collectanecdotalevidenceandrelevantindustryresearch• LeverageESGend-userresearchandpubliclyavailableinformation

• Collectanecdotalevidencethroughinternalstakeholder interviews• Validateeconomicbenefitsreceivedfromcustomerinterviews• Validateassumptionsbasedonmarkettrendsandindustryanalysis

• LeverageassumptionsandquantificationstocreateTCO/ROIModel• QAEconomicValueModelagainstknownusecasesandsituations• Modelscenarioforanalysis;WriteEconomicValueValidationReport



EconomicValueOverview

FlexPodDatacenterwithAllFlashFASwasdesignedtoalloworganizationstocombinetheadvantageofhigher-performing,higher-densityCiscoUCSM4serverswithlow-latencyflashtechnologywhilealsoleveragingthemanyadvantagesofNetApp’sportfolio(includingscale-outanddata-servicecapabilities).ESG’sEconomicValueValidationprocessrevealedthatconsolidatingworkloadsontoNetAppAFFcanprovidesignificantcostsavingsandeconomicbenefitopportunities.ESGfoundthatFlexPodDatacenterwithAFFcanhelporganizationsinthreeprimaryareas:reducingcostsrelatedtotraditionalinfrastructureandstorageTCO,simplifyingdailyadministration,andprovidinglow,predictablelatencyforconsolidatedworkloads.

ESGvalidatedtheeconomicvaluepropositionsprovidedtoorganizationsthathaddeployedFlexPodwithAFFthroughaseriesofcustomerinterviewswithavarietyoforganizationsthathaddeployedFlexPodswithAllFlashFASstoragearrays,andalsowithorganizationsthathadupgradedstand-aloneFASsystemsbasedonHDDstoAFFsystems.Theseorganizationscoveredarangeofindustriesincluding,softwaredevelopment,biotechnology,andcollaborativelarge-scalehealthcare.DeploymentsrangedfromsmallorganizationswithninecomputenodesandasingleAFFsystemtolargeorganizationswithupto20,000CPUcoresandupto20AFFandhybrid-flashFASnodesinclusteredconfigurationsatmultiplelocationsaroundtheglobe.TheorganizationswespokewithhaddeployedarangeofAFFmodelsincludingAFF8040s,AFF8060s,andAFF8080s.CustomershaddeployedAFFtoconsolidateusecasesthatincludedVDIdeployments,generalservervirtualizationenvironments,storageforLinux-basedhigh-performancecompute(HPC)clusters,bothprivateandshareddatabases,developmentandtestenvironments,andanalytics.

SomeoftheFlexPodcustomerswhomESGspokewithhadreplacedcomputesolutionsfromotherservervendorsorpreviousgenerationCiscoUCSM2orM3serverswithCiscoUCSM4servers.ThesecustomersallagreedthattheCiscoUCSM4platformprovidedthemwithmorecomputepower,morememory,andincreasedI/OconnectivityperRack-U,ultimatelyallowingthemtodeploymoreVMsorcomputepowerforanalyticsinthesameamountofspaceasbefore.Inaddition,thosewhowerepreviouslyleveragingotherservervendorsenjoyedtheoperationaladvantagesofCisco’sUCSManagerandApplicationCentricInfrastructure(ACI)inhelpingtoautomateservertasksandnetworkconnectivity.Thesecustomersfeltthatthecosttoupgradetothelatestgenerationserverswaswelljustified.

ThesecustomersalsorevealedhowreplacingtheirpreviousstoragesolutionswithNetAppAFFsolutionshadhelpedthemreducestorage-relatedTCOinnumerousways,including:

HardwareCostSavings

þ Abilitytoconsolidatemultipleworkloadsonasinglestoragesolutionwithpredictablelowlatency.þ Lesscapacitytopurchaseduetotheabilitytoeffectivelyruninlinededuplicationandcompression.þ Fewerdrivestopurchasetomeetperformancerequirements(andloweracquisitioncosts)versustraditional

arrays.þ Theabilitytorunbothfileandblockstoragewiththesamecontrollers,withnoadditionalhardware.þ Lesshardwaretodeploy,manage,maintain,andsupport.þ Reducedpower/cooling/floorspacecosts.þ ClusteredONTAPScale-outarchitecturemakesplanningandscalingenvironmentssimple.þ CiscoM4ServersimprovecomputedensitywhiledeliveringhigherperformanceandIOconnectivityperrack-U

EverycustomerwhomESGspokewithagreedthatthemainadvantageofusinganall-flasharrayiscertainlyincreasedperformance—ormoreimportantly,lowerlatency.AllofthemreportedsubstantialincreasesinIOPSperformance,lowerconsistentlatency,andareductioninthetimeittooktocompletescheduledjobs.OneorganizationreportedthatitsAFFworkloadstypicallyrequire212KIOPSsustained,withapeakofover550KIOPS.ManyagreedthatbydeployingAFF,theyhadimprovedthebusinessbyallowingmoreworkloadstorunsimultaneouslywithoutimpactingoneanother,improved



applicationperformance,allowedapplicationstoscalehigher,andremovedrestrictionsonwhenjobscouldberun(suchasonlyduringoff-peakhours).

“Ourtimetocompletejobsisalotfaster….AFFallowsforbetterperformancealongwithwriteablesnapsandalltheotherfeatures.”

AFFnotonlyhelpedconsolidateworkloadsandenablefasterresultsforexistingapplicationsandjobs,butalsohelpedtoshrinkthedatacenterfootprintfororganizations.AFFrequiredfewerdrivestomeetperformancerequirements,andallowedorganizationstodeploylesscapacitythankstoinlinecompressionanddeduplication,allofwhichhelpedtolowerpower,cooling,andfloorspacerequirements.Inaddition,therewerefewercomponentstoserviceandmanage—helpingtoloweroperationalexpensesevenfurther.

“….whatusedtotakeupracksandracksofdisks,wearenowabletodeliverinlessthanhalfarackwithAFF.”

OrganizationsalsocommentedonthesimplicityandflexibilitythatAFFhelpedbringtotheirenvironments.ONTAPsupportforclusteredconfigurationsallowedonebusinesstoseamlesslyscaletoover20nodeswhilegreatlysimplifyingmigrationsandmanagementwiththeabilitytorunbothfileandblockinthesamesystemwithouttheneedforadditionalhardwaregatewaysormanagementinterfaces.Thisallowedformuchflexibilityinthemixedworkloaddeployment:

“Weusebothfileandblock,butmainlyfile—theflexibilitytodobeabletodobothisgreat.”

“Migrationswerehardinthebeginning[previousstoragevendor];now,withc-mode,migrationsgoveryeasily,evenforbigworkloads,themigrationtoolworksverywell…“

Theabilitytospendlesstimemanagingstoragemeansthatorganizationscansignificantlyreducetheoperationalcostsofmanagingtheirstorageenvironment,freeingupITpersonneltofocusonotherareasofthebusinessandgreatlyreducingtheamountoftimespenttroubleshootingandresolvingperformanceandcapacityissues.SomeofthewaysNetAppAFFdeploymenthelpedtoreduceoperationalexpensesrelatedtomanaging,monitoring,andmaintainingstoragewere:

AdministrativeSavingsandIncreasedBusinessAgility

þ Lesstimespentdealingwithperformanceissuesandlatencyspikes.þ Lesstimespentbalancingworkloadsandmigratingdatabetweenarrays.þ Simplifiedmanagementthroughapplicationintegration,andintegrateddataprotectionsoftware.þ Increasedbusinessagilityandquickerdeploymentofapplications.þ ExistingNetAppcustomerscanleveragethesameskills,processes,software,andtools.

WhileprovidinglowerlatencyandhigheroverallperformanceisagreatbenefitofAFF,perhapsjustasimportantistheoperationalsavingsthattheseperformanceimprovementsenable.Theabilitytoconsolidatemixedworkloadsandnothavetoworryaboutmigratingworkloadsaroundtoavoidthemimpactingoneanothercansaveorganizationssignificanttime.Administratorsreportedthattheyspendsignificantlylesstimemanaging,monitoring,planning,andsupportingissuesaroundperformance:

“Averageperformancewasgoodbefore,butthey[ourdisk-basedsystems]couldnothandleI/Ostorms…wehadtoputalotofeffortintokeepingthingsupgraded,monitoring,andtryingtomanageupdates,etc…inanefforttoavoidI/Ostorms…Now,withAFF,wecandowhateverwelike,wheneverwelike–don’thavetoworryaboutstayingundertheI/Olimits.”

AdministratorsalsoreportedthattheirAFFdeploymentwassignificantlyeasiertomanagethantheirtraditionalstoragearraysfromcompetingvendors.Organizationsreportedadministrativetimesavingsstemmingfromtheabilitytoeasilymanageat-scaledeploymentswithclustered-mode,theabilitytomanagebothflashandnon-flashsystems(blockandfile)



withasingleinterface,simplicityofmigrationsbetweensystems,tightintegrationwithapplications,andtheabilitytoleveragetheentiresuiteofNetApptoolsanddataservices.

“WeusealloftheNetApptools,aswellasalloftheVMwareandVDIplug-ins…applicationintegrationsareveryhelpful,saveuslotsoftime,andsimplifiescoordination.”

“VMwareadminscandothingswithoutinvolvingthestorageadmins—theycanreactfasterwhenthereisaproblem,andVMwareguyscanhandleandsolveitbythemselves—muchmoreimportantistheagility—andtheycandotheirjobmuchbetter.”

“Wehadabsolutelynovisibilityintopreviousstorage—itwasanightmaretryingtogetanyperformancemetricsoutofit—atthemoment,weareinaverygoodplace.”

TheoperationalsavingsreportedwereevengreaterwhentheorganizationwasanexistingNetAppcustomerandalreadyhadthepeople,processes,andtoolsinplace.WhilethecapitalandoperationalsavingsthatoftenmakeupananalysisofstorageTCOarewellunderstood,afewoverlookedareasinwhichAFFcanhelpincreaserevenuesandsavemoneyandtimeinclude:

OtherBenefitsandSavings

þ Quickertimeofdeploymentwithfastertimetobusinessvalueþ Fewerperformance-relatedtroubleticketsandfasterresolutionmeansincreasedproductivityforend-usersþ Low,predictableapplicationlatencyhelpskeepend-usersmoreproductiveandsatisfiedþ Greaterperformanceheadroomleavesperformancecapacityforfutureworkloads

Organizationsalsoreportedbenefitsinotherareassuchasquickerdeploymentsandmigrationofdata,resultinginafastertimetovaluefordeployedapplications.Theabilitytohandlemixedworkloadswhiledeliveringpredictablylowlatenciesmeansthatorganizationsspendlesstimedealingwithapplicationperformanceissues,ultimatelyloweringtheirinternalsupportcostsandmakingadministratorsandend-usersmoreproductive.Also,veryfewoftheorganizationsthatwespokewithhadpushedtheAFFtoitsfullcapabilities,meaningthattheyhadmoreperformanceheadroomavailabletohandlegrowthinexistingperformancerequirementsandadditionalapplicationdeploymentsinthefuture.

“…wheneveryoneisdoingtheirjobandeverythingisworkingfine—Idon’thearaboutitbutthisisgood.”

“WithAFFwehavemoreproductiveemployeesandshorterprojectcompletiontimes,andhaveseenbothdirectandindirectimpacttorevenues.”

EconomicModelling

ESG’sFlexPodwithAFFEconomicValueModel

ESGleveragedtheinformationcollectedthroughvendor-providedmaterial,publicandindustryknowledgeofeconomicsandtechnologies,andtheresultsofcustomerinterviewstocreateathree-yearTCO/ROImodelthatcomparesthecostsandbenefitsofdeployingaFlexPodwithpowerfulCiscoM4ServersandNetAppAll-FlashFASstorageversusapreviousgenerationFlexPodbasedonCiscoM2ServersandaFASstoragearraypopulatedwithHDDs.ThemodelcomparesthecostsandbenefitsthatwouldbeexpectedwhendeployingeachconvergedinfrastructureconfigurationwithagoalofquantifyingthepotentialadvantagesofconsolidatingserverandstorageworkloadsontothelatestgenerationFlexPodwithAFF.

ThemodelconsideredthenecessaryrequirementsforrunningconsolidatedVDI,database,andgeneralservervirtualizationworkloadsthataredefinedbyparameterssuchasthenumberofusers/desktops,capacity,performance,and



expectedgrowth.TheserequirementswereusedtosizeboththeAFFconfiguration(withM4servers)andpreviousgenerationconfiguration(M2ServersandFASwithHDDs).ThemodelcalculatedandreportedthedifferencebetweenthetwoconfigurationsforstorageTCOCapExandOpEx(costofacquisition,power/cooling/floorspace,support/maintenance,andadministration)aswellasadditionaleconomicbenefitsderivedfromadvantagesresultinginimproveduserandITproductivityandfastertimetovalue.

ItshouldbenotedthatthedataandconclusionspresentedinthisreportreflecttheoutputofESG’seconomicvalueanalysisbasedonthespecificusecasesandassumptionsmodeledforthisreport.ESGacknowledgesthatchangestotheseassumptionswillleadtoadifferentsetofresults,andthereforeadvisesITprofessionalstousethisreportasonevalidationpointinacomprehensivefinancialanalysispriortomakingapurchasedecision.Themodelasdescribedinthispaperdoesnotconsiderpartialsystemreplacement.

PricingassumptionsforFlexPodproductswereprovidedbyCisco,NetApp,and/orPartners.OtherITequipmentandlaborcostassumptionswereobtainedfrompubliclyavailablesourcessuchasITvendorwebsitesandpublishedpricelists.ESGacknowledgesthatlistprices,configurationdetails,orotherdatausedasinputsmayvarydependingoninformationsources.

Figure4.ESG’sFlexPodwithAFFEVVEconomicValueCalculatorToolModelSelectionScreen




Example:UsingtheEVMtoPredictSavingsforaModeledOrganization

ToillustratetheeconomicadvantageofconsolidatingyourworkloadsontoCiscoM4ServersandNetAppAFFstorageversuscontinuingtoleverageapreviousgenerationFlexPoddeployment,ESGranasetofassumptionsthroughtheESGEconomicValueModel.ThemodeledscenariowasbasedverycloselyontherequirementsdiscussedwithFlexPodandAFFcustomersduringtheinterviewprocess.Thescenariomodeledalargeorganizationwithabout12,000employeesdeployingaFlexPodtoconsolidateIToperationsthatarecriticaltothebusiness.TherequirementsfortheVMs,performance,andcapacityarediscussedindetailinthefollowingparagraphsandsummarizedinFigure5.

ESGassumedthatthisorganization’senvironmentconsistedofmission-criticalandnon-mission-criticaldatabases,avirtualizeddesktopenvironmentfor1,500employees,andalargenumberofotherapplications,databases,andservicesrunningonatotalof2,000virtualizedservers.ESGassumedthattendatabaseapplicationswereaccessedbyabout14,000usersandrequiredtheuseof100virtualizedserverstohandleallservicesandrequirements.Thedatabaseandrelatedfunctionsconsumedatotalof50TBofstorageandrequiredsustainedperformancetohandleburstsupto20,000IOPS.Theusercommunity,capacity,andIOPSrequirementswereexpectedtogrowby10%annually.

TheVDIrequirementsconsistedofasingleVDIdesktopforupto1,500employees.Eachdesktoprequiredanaverageof60GBofstorageandperformedamoderateworkloadaveraging20IOPS(foratotalof30,000IOPS).Thetotalnumberofdesktopswasexpectedtogrowby50annually,witha10%capacitygrowthrequirementandanear-flat3%IOPSgrowthrequirement.Finally,theorganizationmaintained2,000othervirtualizedserverapplicationsandservicesthatrequiredatotalofupto55,000IOPSand500TBoftotalstorage,witheachrequirementgrowingat5%annually.Theseapplicationsandservicesprovidedaccesstothe14,000users(employees,partners,customers,andwebusers)andwasexpectedtogrowat10%annually.

Withthisinformationentered,theESGEVMcalculatedthatbyrefreshingtheCiscoM2serverswithM4servers,andbyconsolidatingworkloadsontoNetAppAFFAllFlashstorageinsteadofusingatraditionalstoragearraypopulatedwithHDDs,themodeledorganizationcouldexpectmuchlowerandmorepredictablelatencywithtotalsavingsandbenefitsofaround$7.1Moverathree-yearperiod.ThesesavingsresultinanexpectedROIof49%withapaybackthatisnearimmediateduetothecostofacquisitionsavings.Itshouldbenotedthatthisanalysiscomparestheexpectscostsandbenefitsachievedoverathree-yearperiodbetweenanewdeploymentofthepreviousgenerationFlexPod(M2withHDDstorage)andaFlexPodDatacenterdeployment(M4withAFF).AsummaryofthemodeledresultsisshowninFigure6.

Figure5.VM/Server,IOPS,andCapacityRequirementsfortheModeledOrganization




Oftheroughly$7.3Minexpectedsavingsandbenefits,about$6.9Misexpectedasaresultoftraditionalinfrastructure-relatedCapExandOpExsavings.Thekeytothesesavingsisintheabilitytocontinuetosatisfythebusinessrequirementswhileconsolidatingontohiger-density,morepowerfulserversandhigher-performing,space-efficientall-flashstorage.AnorganizationcanexpecttodeployfewerM4serverstohandletheVMrequirementsandtheAFFsolutionrequiresthatfarlesshardwarebedeployedtohandletheapplicationrequirementsaswellassnapshotsandcopiesduetoinlargeparttospaceefficiencysavingssuchasinlinededuplicationandcompression.TheresultsfromtheEVMmodeledscenarioareshowninFigures7and8.

Figure6.SummaryofPotentialSavingsandBenefitsRealizedthroughDeploymentofFlexPodDatacenter


Figure7.Estimated3-YearInfrastructureTCOComparisonbetweenFlexPodDatacenter(M4ServersandAFFStorage)andPreviousGenerationFlexPod(M2ServersandHDD-basedFASStorage)




Forthemodeledscenario,theFlexPodDatacentersolutionprovidedtotalupfrontcapitalexpenditures(hardwareandsoftware)thatwere52%lowerwitha62%lowerthree-yearcostofwarrantyandprojectedmaintenance.Inaddition,thedenserM4andAFFsolutionwouldtakeuplessphysicalspaceresultinginlowerfacilities-relatedcosts.ESG’smodelpredictedsubstantiallylower(89%lower)power/cooling/floorspacecostswhencomparedwiththetraditionalarraythatrequiresfarmorehardware.TheAFFwouldalsobefareasiertomanagethantraditionalstoragearraysbasedontheabilitytoprovidelow-latencyperformanceforconsolidatedworkloadswithouthavingtoconstantlybalanceandmigrateworkloads.ESG’smodelpredicteda72%lowercostofdailystorageadministration.

ESG’smodelpredictedadditionaleconomicbenefitsthatmaynotatfirstbeapparentandthatareoftendifficulttomeasureandprojectfororganizations.Whilethese“soft”benefitscanvarydrasticallybetweenorganizations,theESGEVVprocessisvaluableinvalidatingthosebenefitsthatorganizationshaveexperienced,andcanprovideyouwithastartingpointforunderstandinghowtoquantifythesepotentialbenefitsforyourorganization.WhencomparedwithaFlexPodthatleveragesatraditionalstoragesystemdeploymentwithHDDs,ESG’smodelpredictsthatthemodeledorganizationcouldexpecttosaveanadditional$424Kthroughquickerresolutionofsupportissues(16%lowercost),increasedbusinessagility(80%increaseinexpectedadministrativeefficiencythroughorchestrationandeliminationofsilos),lesstimespentbalancingworkloadstoavoidperformanceimpact(47%lesstimespent),andalowercostofdeploymentwithfastertimetovalue(30%fastertimetovalue).AdetaileddescriptionofthesebenefitsandresultsfromtheEVMareshowninFigure9.

Figure8.SummaryofModeled3-YearInfrastrucutreTCO-relatedBenefits




ExpectedSavingsInaRefreshScenario

Whilecomparingtheexpectedcostsandbenefitsbetweenyourpreviousdeploymentandpotentialdeploymentisanimportantandnormalizedwayofcomparinginfrastructurevalueandreturnoninvestment,manyorganizationsmaysimplywanttoknowthedollarsavingsthattheycouldexpectiftheyweretorefreshtheinfrastructurethattheycurrentlyown.Thistypeofanalysisismoredifficulttoperform,sinceitrequiresanunderstandingofwhatpercentageofyourinfrastructurehasbeenamortized,andthecurrentstandingandcostsofyourmaintenanceandsupportcontracts.Additionally,inmanycases,existinginfrastructuremayhavebeenpurchasedatdifferentpointsintime,makingageneralizedanalysisquiteconvoluted.

TheadvancedparametersofESG’smodelallowsatrainedusertosetthepercentageofserversandstoragethataretoberefreshed(basedondollarvalue)inthedefaultscenario.Bysettingbothvaluesto0%,wecaneffectivelycreatea“refresh”scenario,wherewesetthecostofinitialacquisitiontozerointhebasescenariotobecomparedagainst.Inthiscase,iftheychooseto“donothing”andleveragetheircurrentinfrastructure,onlyserversandtraditionalstoragerequiredforgrowthoverthenext3yearsmustbepurchasedbytheorganization.Usingthesamemodeledscenariohighlightedintheprevioussection,ESG’smodelpredictsthateventhoughthereisamuchlarger($2.9M)investmentrequiredtorefreshtheserversandconsolidatethestorageontoAFFstorage,thesubstantiallyhigherexpectedmaintenance,support,andoperatingexpensesresultinalowerexpectedthree-yearinfrastructure-relatedTCOifthe

Figure9.SummaryofPotentialSavingsandBenefitsRealizedthroughUpgradetoM4ServersandAFFStorage




organizationwastorefreshtheentireinfrastructure.TheexpectedadvantageofrefreshinganexistingFlexPoddeploymentbasedontheexpectedthree-yearinfrastructure-relatedTCOisshowninFigure10.

ESG’sanalysisshowedthatifthemodeledorganizationchosetoconsolidatetheirexistingFlexPodinfrastructureontoM4serversandAFFstorage,ratherthancontinuingtousetheFlexPodInfrastructurethattheycurrentlyown,theycouldexpecttotalsavingsandbenefitsover$2.2Moverathree-yearperiod($1.7Mininfrastructure-relatedTCOsavingscombinedwith$424Kinexpectedoperationalandproductivitybenefits).

TheBiggerTruth

Supportingtoday’scloud-scaleapplicationsrequiresasupportingITinfrastructurethatishighperformingandagile.Inanefforttosimplifytheprocessesaroundplanning,purchasing,andoperatingthisITinfrastructure,manyorganizationshaveturnedtoconvergedinfrastructuresorbasedtheirdesignsoffofreferencearchitectures.Convergedinfrastructureshaveproventohelpspeedtimetovalue,whileloweringtheriskofinteroperabilityissues.Infact,ESGresearchhasshownthatnearlyone-third(32%)oforganizationshavedeployedaconvergedinfrastructuretoday,withanother56%statingthattheyhaveplanstodoso.1However,simplydecidingonaconvergedplatformisnotenough–organizationsmustlooktore-investinthelatesttechnologiesthatprovidetheirbusinesswiththegreatestreturnoninvestmentovertheforeseeablefuture.Todosorequireslookingbeyondthesimpleinfrastructure-relatedcosts(hardware,software,power/cooling,etc.)andbeginningtounderstandandquantifyhowupgradingtheirtechnologywillimpacteveryareaofthebusiness(administrativeexpense,enhancedemployeeproductivity,increasesinbusinessagilityandrevenuestreams,etc.).

Sincebeingintroducedin2010,NetAppFlexPodshavesuccessfullyprovidedthousandsoforganizationsaroundtheglobewithaconvergedplatformthatishighperforming,scalable,andeasytouse.ThelatestNetAppFlexPodDatacenterwithNetAppAllFlashFAScombinesindustry-leadingCisconetworkingtechnologieswithhigh-performance,high-densitycomputenodesbasedontheCiscoUCSM4platform,andthelatestNetAppAllFlashFASstoragesystemsdesignedtoprovidepredictable,low-latencyperformanceforconsolidatedapplications.Althoughtheywereonceviewedasanexpensivesolutionsuitableforonlyhighperformancemission-criticalapplications,organizationsarebeginningtounderstandandexperiencetheveryrealeconomicjustificationforinvestinginall-flashstoragearrays.Whilemore

1Source:ESGResearchReport,TheCloudComputingSpectrum,fromPrivatetoHybrid,March2016.

Figure10.Estimated3-YearInfrastructureTCOComparisonforRefreshofExistingDeploymentScenario




powerfulserversandstorageprovideobvioustechnologicaladvantagestoanyFlexPoddeployment,evaluatingexactlywhenitistherighttimetoinvestinanupgrademightprovetobeadifficulttaskforITdecisionmakers.

ESG’sEconomicValueValidationprocesswasusedtoinvestigateandvalidatethewaysinwhichNetAppFlexPodDatacenterwithAFFStoragecanhelpreducecapitalandoperationalexpenseswhencomparedwithcontinuingtorunaconvergedinfrastructurebasedonpreviousgenerationserversandtraditionalstoragearraysincludingthosepopulatedwithamixofHDDsandSSDs.Thedetailedresultsarearticulatedthroughoutthispaper,butatahighlevel,ESGvalidatedthatoverathree-yearperiod,aFlexPoddeploymentwithCiscoUCSM4serversandNetAppAFFStoragecanprovidecombinedsavingsandbenefitstotalingmorethan$7.3MforalargemodeledorganizationwhencomparedtoapreviousgenerationFlexPoddeploymentbuiltwithM2serversandHDD-basedFASstoragearrays.

Themajorityoftheexpectedsavingsresultfromtheabilitytosimplydeploylesshardwarebyconsolidatingbusinessrequirementsontohigherdensityserversandlower-latency,spaceefficientall-flashstorage.Thisresultsinlowercostofacquisition,maintenanceandsupport,facilitiesrelatedcosts,andoperationalexpensesrelatedtomanagement.ByleveragingAFFstorage,administratorscanmoreeffectivelymanagestorage,whileeliminatingtheneedtoseparate,migrate,orbalanceworkloads,resultinginloweradministrativecosts.AndthecombinationofM4serversandAFFstorageresults,alongwiththeadvantagesoforchestration,resultsingreaterbusinessagilityandlower,morepredictableapplicationlatency.ESGestimatedthatoverathree-yearperiod,benefitsderivedfromsuchthingsquickerresolutionofissues,thevalueoforchestrationandincreasedbusinessagility,andquickertimetovalueforapplicationscouldtotalaround$424Kforthemodeledorganization.

WhilethesavingsandbenefitsprovidedbyincreasedservercapabilitiesandconsolidationofstorageworkloadsontoanAFFdeploymentmayjustifyacompletereplacementofconvergedinfrastructuresfromothervendors,itshouldbenotedthatexistingNetAppFlexPodcustomerscanexpecttobenefitmuchmorewithAFF.ExistingNetAppcustomersinterviewedbyESGwerethrilledwiththefactthattheycouldleveragethesamepeople,processes,software,anddataservicesthattheywereusedto,andintegratetheAFFquicklyandeasilyintotheirenvironments.These“bettertogether”benefitswouldbeexpectedtodoevenmoretojustifyaninvestmentinAFFforNetAppcustomers.

IfyourorganizationislookingtomakeaninformedeconomicdecisionaboutwhenitistherighttimetoupgradeorreplaceyourconvergedinfrastructurebyconsolidatingexistingworkloadsstoredontraditionalHDDstoragetechnologies,ESGsuggeststhatyoufirstseektounderstandallofthecostsandbenefitsrelatedtoyourinvestment.Whileeveryorganizationultimatelyknowsitsbusinessbest,askingyourNetApprepresentativetoenteryourrequirementsintotheeconomicanalysistoolsonhandcanprovideanotherdatapointandmayhelpyoutoconsideralltheareasofyourbusinessthatmaybeeconomicallyaffectedbyyourchoiceofcomputeandstoragetechnology.



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