IT Systems Management

Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxixAcknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxviiiAbout the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xliChapter 1 Acquiring Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Systems Management: A Proposed Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Why Executive Support Is Especially Critical Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Building a Business Case for Systems Management . . . . . . . . . . . 4Educating Executives on the Value of Systems Management . . . . . 7Three Universal Principles Involving Executive Support . . . . . . . .9Developing a Powerful Weapon for ExecutiveSupport–Business Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Ensuring Ongoing Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Chapter 2 Organizing for Systems Management . . . . . . . . . . 15Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Factors to Consider in Designing IT Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Factors to Consider in Designing IT Infrastructures . . . . . . . . . . . 19Locating Departments in the Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Recommended Attributes of Process Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . .25Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Chapter 3 Staffing for Systems Management . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Determining Required Skill Sets and Skill Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Assessing the Skill Levels of Current Onboard Staff. . . . . . . . . . . 35Alternative Sources of Staffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39Recruiting Infrastructure Staff from the Outside . . . . . . . . . . . .40Selecting the Most Qualified Candidate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Retaining Key Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Using Consultants and Contractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Benefits of Using Consultants and Contractors . . . . . . . . . . . .47Drawbacks of Using Consultants and Contractors . . . . . . . . . .48Steps for Developing Career Paths for Staff Members . . . . . . .50Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Chapter 4 Customer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55How IT Evolved into a Service Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55The Four Key Elements of Good Customer Service. . . . . . . . . . . . 57Identifying Your Key Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57Identifying Key Services of Key Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59Identifying Key Processes that Support Key Services . . . . . . . .64Identifying Key Suppliers that Support Key Processes . . . . . . .64Integrating the Four Key Elements of Good Customer Service . . . . 64The Four Cardinal Sins that Undermine Good Customer Service . . 68Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Chapter 5 Ethics, Legislation, and Outsourcing. . . . . . . . . . . 73Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74The RadioShack Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76The Tyco Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76The WorldCom Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77The Enron Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79Legislation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Sarbanes-Oxley Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82Graham-Leach-Bliley Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83California Senate Bill 1386 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84Outsourcing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Chapter 6 Comparison to ITIL Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Developments Leading Up To ITIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90IT Service Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91The Origins of ITIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Quality Approach and Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97Criteria to Differentiate Infrastructure Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Comparison of Infrastructure Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Ten Common Myths Concerning the Implementation of ITIL . . . . 102Myth #1: You Must Implement All ITIL or No ITIL at All . . . . . .102Myth #2: ITIL is Based on Infrastructure Management Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103Myth #3: ITIL Applies Mostly to Data Center Operations . . . . .103Myth #4: Everyone Needs to be Trained on ITIL Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104Myth #5: Full Understanding of ITIL Requires Purchase of Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104Myth #6: ITIL Processes Should be Implemented Only One at a Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105Myth #7: ITIL Provides Detailed Templates for Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105Myth #8: ITIL Framework Applies Only to Large Shops . . . . . .106Myth #9: ITIL Recommends Tools to Use for Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106Myth #10: There Is Little Need to Understand ITIL Origins . . .106Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Chapter 7 Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Definition of Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Differentiating Availability from Uptime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Differentiating Slow Response from Downtime . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Differentiating Availability from High Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114Desired Traits of an Availability Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Methods for Measuring Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116The Seven Rs of High Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121Reputation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122Reliability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123Repairability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125Recoverability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125Responsiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126Robustness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126Assessing an Infrastructure’s Availability Process . . . . . . . . . . . 127Measuring and Streamlining the Availability Process . . . . . . . . . 131Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Chapter 8 Performance and Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Differences between the Performance and Tuning Process and Other Infrastructure Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136Definition of Performance and Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Preferred Characteristics of a Performance and Tuning Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Performance and Tuning Applied to the Five Major Resource Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141Server Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141Disk Storage Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143Database Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147Network Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151Desktop Computer Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152Assessing an Infrastructure’s Performance and Tuning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Measuring and Streamlining the Performance and TuningProcess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159Chapter 9 Production Acceptance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Definition of Production Acceptance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161The Benefits of a Production Acceptance Process . . . . . . . . . . . 162Implementing a Production Acceptance Process . . . . . . . . . . . . 164Step 1: Identify an Executive Sponsor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164Step 2: Select a Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165Step 3: Solicit Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166Step 4: Assemble a Production Acceptance Team . . . . . . . . .166Step 5: Identify and Prioritize Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .167Step 6: Develop Policy Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168Step 7: Nominate a Pilot System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169Step 8: Design Appropriate Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169Step 9: Document the Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170Step 10: Execute the Pilot System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170Step 11: Conduct a Lessons-Learned Session . . . . . . . . . . .174Step 12: Revise Policies, Procedures, and Forms . . . . . . . . .174Step 13: Formulate Marketing Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174Step 14: Follow-up for Ongoing Enforcement and Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174Full Deployment of a New Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175Distinguishing New Applications from New Versions of Existing Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176Distinguishing Production Acceptance from Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176Case Study: Assessing the Production Acceptance Process at Seven Diverse Companies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177The Seven Companies Selected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177Selected Companies Comparison in Summary . . . . . . . . . . .198Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203Chapter 10 Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Definition of Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Drawbacks of Most Change Management Processes . . . . . . . . . 207Key Steps Required in Developing a Change Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209Step 1: Identify an Executive Sponsor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209Step 2: Assign a Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210Step 3: Select a Cross-Functional Process Design Team . . . .211Step 4: Arrange for Meetings of the Cross-Functional Process Design Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211Step 5: Establish Roles and Responsibilities for Members Supporting the Process Design Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211Step 6: Identify the Benefits of a Change Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212Step 7: If Change Metrics Exist, Collect and Analyze them; If Not, Set Up a Process to Do So . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213Step 8: Identify and Prioritize Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .213Step 9: Develop Definitions of Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215Step 10: Design the Initial Change Management Process . . .216Step 11: Develop Policy Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221Step 12: Develop a Charter for a Change Advisory Board (CAB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222Step 13: Use the CAB to Continually Refine and Improve the Change Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223Emergency Changes Metric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223Assessing an Infrastructure’s Change Management Process . . . 224Measuring and Streamlining the Change Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229Chapter 11 Problem Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231Definition of Problem Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231Scope of Problem Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232Distinguishing Between Problem, Change, and Request Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233Distinguishing Between Problem Management and Incident Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235The Role of the Service Desk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236Segregating and Integrating Service Desks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237Key Steps to Developing a Problem Management Process . . . . . 239Step 1: Select an Executive Sponsor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239Step 2: Assign a Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240Step 3: Assemble a Cross-Functional Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241Step 4: Identify and Prioritize Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .241Step 5: Establish a Priority and Escalation Scheme . . . . . . . .243Step 6: Identify Alternative Call-Tracking Tools . . . . . . . . . . . .243Step 7: Negotiate Service Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243Step 8: Develop Service and Process Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . .245Step 9: Design the Call-Handling Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245Step 10: Evaluate, Select, and Implement the Call-Tracking Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245Step 11: Review Metrics to Continually Improve the Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246Opening and Closing Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246Client Issues with Problem Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247Assessing an Infrastructure’s Problem Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249Measuring and Streamlining the Problem Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254Chapter 12 Storage Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255Definition of Storage Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256Desired Traits of a Storage Management Process Owner . . . . . . 256Storage Management Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258Storage Management Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261Storage Management Reliability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263Storage Management Recoverability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267Assessing an Infrastructure’s Storage Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271Measuring and Streamlining the Storage Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276Chapter 13 Network Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277Definition of Network Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277Key Decisions about Network Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278What Will Be Managed by This Process? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278Who Will Manage It? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279How Much Authority Will This Person Be Given? . . . . . . . . . . .281What Types of Tools and Support Will Be Provided? . . . . . . . .283To What Extent Will Other Processes Be Integrated With This Process? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284What Levels of Service and Quality Will Be Expected? . . . . . .284Assessing an Infrastructure’s Network Management Process . . . 285Measuring and Streamlining the Network Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289Chapter 14 Configuration Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291Definition of Configuration Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292Practical Tips for Improving Configuration Management . . . . . . . 2931. Select a Qualified Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2932. Acquire the Assistance of a Technical Writer or a Documentation Analyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2943. Match the Backgrounds of Writers to Technicians . . . . . . .2954. Evaluate the Quality and Value of Existing Configuration Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2955. Involve Appropriate Hardware Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2966. Involve Appropriate Software Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2967. Coordinate Documentation Efforts in Advance of Major Hardware and Software Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2978. Involve the Asset-Management Group for Desktop Equipment Inventories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297Assessing an Infrastructure’s Configuration Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298Measuring and Streamlining the Configuration Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302Chapter 15 Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303Definition of Capacity Planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303Why Capacity Planning Is Seldom Done Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3041. Analysts Are Too Busy with Day-To-Day Activities . . . . . . . .3052. Users Are Not Interested in Predicting Future Workloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3053. Users Who Are Interested Cannot Forecast Accurately . . . .3064. Capacity Planners May Be Reluctant to Use Effective Measuring Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3065. Corporate or IT Directions May Change From Year to Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3066. Planning Is Typically Not Part of an Infrastructure Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3067. Managers Sometimes Confuse Capacity Management with Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307How to Develop an Effective Capacity Planning Process . . . . . . . 307Step 1: Select an Appropriate Capacity Planning Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308Step 2: Identify the Key Resources to be Measured . . . . . . . .309Step 3: Measure the Utilizations or Performance of the Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309Step 4: Compare Utilizations to Maximum Capacities . . . . . .310Step 5: Collect Workload Forecasts from Developers and Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310Step 6: Transform Workload Forecasts into IT Resource Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312Step 7: Map Requirements onto Existing Utilizations . . . . . . .312Step 8: Predict When the Shop Will Be Out of Capacity . . . . .312Step 9: Update Forecasts and Utilizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312Additional Benefits of Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3121. Strengthens Relationships with Developers and End-Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3132. Improves Communications with Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . .3133. Encourages Collaboration with Other Infrastructure Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3134. Promotes a Culture of Strategic Planning as Opposed to Tactical Firefighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314Helpful Hints for Effective Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3141. Start Small . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3142. Speak the Language of Your Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3153. Consider Future Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3154. Share Plans with Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3155. Anticipate Nonlinear Cost Ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3156. Plan for Occasional Workload Reductions . . . . . . . . . . . . .3167. Prepare for the Turnover of Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3168. Strive to Continually Improve the Process . . . . . . . . . . . . .3169. Evaluate the Hidden Costs of Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316Uncovering the Hidden Costs of Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3161. Hardware Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3172. Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3173. Software Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3174. Memory Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3175. Channel Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3186. Cache Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3187. Data Backup Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3188. Operations Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3189. Offsite Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31810. Network Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31811. Network Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31912. Floor Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31913. Power and Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319Assessing an Infrastructure’s Capacity Planning Process . . . . . . 319Measuring and Streamlining the Capacity Planning Process . . . . 322Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323Chapter 16 Strategic Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325Definition of Strategic Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326Developing a Strategic Security Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326Step 1: Identify an Executive Sponsor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327Step 2: Select a Security Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327Step 3: Define Goals of Strategic Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328Step 4: Establish Review Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328Step 5: Identify, Categorize, and Prioritize Requirements . . . .328Step 6: Inventory Current State of Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331Step 7: Establish Security Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331Step 8: Develop Security Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331Step 9: Assemble Planning Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335Step 10: Review and Approve Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335Step 11: Evaluate Technical Feasibility of Plans . . . . . . . . . . .335Step 12: Assign and Schedule the Implementation of Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335Assessing an Infrastructure’s Strategic Security Process . . . . . . 336Measuring and Streamlining the Security Process . . . . . . . . . . . 339Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340Chapter 17 Business Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341Definition of Business Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342Case Study: Disaster at the Movie Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342Three Important Lessons Learned from the Case Study . . . . .343Steps to Developing an Effective Business Continuity Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344Step 1: Acquire Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345Step 2: Select a Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .346Step 3: Assemble a Cross-Functional Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . .347Step 4: Conduct a Business Impact Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . .348Step 5: Identify and Prioritize Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .348Step 6: Assess Possible Business Continuity Recovery Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .348Step 7: Develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Outside Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349Step 8: Evaluate Proposals and Select the Best Offering . . . .349Step 9: Choose Participants and Clarify Their Roles on the Recovery Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349Step 10: Document the Business Continuity Plan . . . . . . . . .349Step 11: Plan and Execute Regularly Scheduled Tests of the Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350Step 12: Conduct a Lessons-Learned Postmortem after Each Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350Step 13: Continually Maintain, Update, and Improve the Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350Nightmare Incidents with Disaster Recovery Plans. . . . . . . . . . . 351Assessing an Infrastructure’s Disaster Recovery Process. . . . . . 353Measuring and Streamlining the Disaster Recovery Process. . . . 356Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357Chapter 18 Facilities Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359Definition of Facilities Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359Major Elements of Facilities Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360The Facilities Management Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362Determining the Scope of Responsibilities of a Facilities Management Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .363Desired Traits of a Facilities Management Process Owner . . .363Evaluating the Physical Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365Major Physical Exposures Common to a Data Center . . . . . . .366Keeping Physical Layouts Efficient and Effective . . . . . . . . . .366Tips to Improve the Facilities Management Process. . . . . . . . . . 367Facilities Management at Outsourcing Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369Assessing an Infrastructure’s Facilities Management Process . . 369Measuring and Streamlining the Facilities Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373Chapter 19 Developing Robust Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375What Contributes to a World-Class Infrastructure. . . . . . . . . . . . 3751. Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3762. Meaningful Metrics Analyzed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3773. Proactive Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3784. Call Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3795. Employee Empowerment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3796. Well-Developed Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3797. Well-Trained Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3808. Well-Equipped Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3809. Robust Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38010. Effective Use of Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38111. Integrated Systems Management Functions . . . . . . . . . .381Characteristics of a Robust Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3811. Process Objective Is Identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3822. Executive Sponsor Is Identified and Involved . . . . . . . . . . .3823. Process Owner Is Identified and Given Responsibility for and Authority Over the Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3824. Key Customers Are Identified and Involved . . . . . . . . . . . .3835. Secondary Customers Are Identified and Consulted . . . . . .3836. Process Suppliers Are Identified and Involved . . . . . . . . . .3837. Process Outputs Are Identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3838. Process Inputs Are Identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3849. Process Is Described by a Sound Business Model . . . . . . .38410. Process Hierarchy Is Understood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38411. Execution Is Enforceable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38412. Process Is Designed to Provide Service Metrics . . . . . . .38413. Service Metrics Are Compiled and Analyzed, Not Just Collected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38514. Process Is Designed to Provide Process Metrics . . . . . . .38515. Process Metrics Are Compiled and Analyzed, Not Just Collected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38616. Documentation Is Thorough, Accurate, and Easily Understood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38617. Process Contains All Required Value-Added Steps . . . . . .38718. Process Eliminates All Non-Value-Added Steps . . . . . . . .38719. Process Guarantees Accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38820. Process Provides Incentives for Compliance and Penalties for Avoidance or Circumvention . . . . . . . . . . . .38821. Process Is Standardized Across all Appropriate Departments and Remote Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38822. Process Is Streamlined as Much as Possible and Practical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38923. Process Is Automated Wherever Practical, but Only after Streamlining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38924. Process Integrates with all Other Appropriate Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .389Understanding the Differences Between a Formal Process and an Informal Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390Helpful Ground Rules for Brainstorming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390Methods for Prioritizing Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394Chapter 20 Using Technology to Automate and Evaluate RobustProcesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395Automating Robust Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395Evaluating an Infrastructure Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398Evaluating Process Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401Benefits of the Methodology to Evaluate Process Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414Chapter 21 Integrating Systems Management Processes . . 415Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415Distinguishing Strategic Processes from Tactical Processes . . . . 415Identifying Strategic Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .416Identifying Tactical Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .417The Value of Distinguishing Strategic from Tactical Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .418Relationships Between Strategic and Tactical Processes . . . . . . 418Difficulties with Integrating Solely Tactical Processes . . . . . . .420Difficulties with Integrating Solely Strategic Processes . . . . . .421Difficulties with Integrating Tactical and Strategic Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .421Examining the Integrated Relationships Between Strategic and Tactical Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423Significance of Systems Management Process Relationships. . . 428Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431Chapter 22 Special Considerations for Client-Server and Web-Enabled Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433Client-Server Environment Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434Vendor Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .434Multiplatform Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .434Performance and Tuning Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .435Disaster-Recovery Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .436Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .438Web-Enabled Environment Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439Traditional Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .441Moderate and Growing Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442Dotcom Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .443Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446Appendix A Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447Appendix B Summary of Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459Appendix C Assessment Worksheets WithoutWeighting Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461Appendix D Assessment Worksheets With WeightingFactors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475Appendix E Historical Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489Appendix F Evolving in the 1970s and 1980s . . . . . . . . . . . . 505Appendix G Into and Beyond the New Millennium . . . . . . . . . 521Appendix H Answers to Selected Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5439780137025060, TOC, 1/11/2010