Virtualisation has revolutionised the delivery of services over the last
decade. The ability to separate software environments from the hardware they are
running on has provided numerous benefits. A single multi-processor unit can run
multiple, even heterogeneous operating systems, which can be started and
restarted independently of the underlying hardware. This has instigated the
movement towards software-as-a-service that has taken place over the last few
years. But whilst virtualisation can be hugely powerful, it still requires a
large amount of technical know-how to configure and maintain. IBM PureSystems
provides a fully integrated solution that aims to take the full benefit of
virtualisation, and package it in a form that can be operated by a much wider
cross-section of company employees.
PureSystems starts with the hardware, which has been specifically designed to
maximise flexibility. The hardware comes in four main types, two for
general-purpose usage, and two for workload-optimised deployment. The
general-purpose options are PureFlex and Flex Systems.
The former is a full rack which can contain a host of integrated services,
whilst the latter is a smaller chassis designed to provide everything you need
in one box, although still with plenty of flexibility over components. Both can
contain either X86- or POWER-based processing modules, or even a mixture of the
two should you require this. For more details, and a full walkthrough of what
the PureFlex and Flex Systems hardware has to offer,
watch our video presentation with IBM Technical Product Manager Dave
Ridley.
Moving on to the workload-optimised hardware, we have PureApplication and
PureData. The former is focused on accelerating deployment of your choice of
applications, whilst the latter is specifically aimed at data services, such as
transactional and analytical provisions, including online transaction processing
and data warehousing respectively. Unit options range from a 32-core “Mini”
chassis to Large systems with up to 604 cores. For a more detailed overview of
the various members of the PureSystems family, watch our overview
with Chief Strategy Officer for PureSystems, John Warnants.
Whichever of these platforms fits your company's needs, however, the
principal behind the system is the same, and revolves around the concept of
Patterns. The traditional installation system involves a linear process of
installing an operating system, then the necessary drivers, then the
applications and other software you wish to use, followed by any data assets
that will be required. Finally, there will probably be some further
configuration required before the system can be used. This is clearly a rather
involved process, and will take some time.
The PureSystems Patterns concept provides the same sort of one-click
installation as a disk image, but with a far greater level of flexibility. You
can install a preconfigured Pattern from a growing library of presets. Depending
on the utilisation of the underlying hardware, this can take a matter of minutes
to complete, and only a few clicks will be required. There will be a few
configuration options to decide upon, but deployment is so simple it can
virtually be left to the end user. By attaching auditing functions to the
Pattern installation, such as a departmental chargeback for its use and a set
leasing period, users can obtain the resources they need for project work
without the need for lengthy procurement cycles. They can be given a budget and
allowed to manage resources themselves.
But the true power of PureSystems comes with the ability to build your own
Patterns. You can do this at a fairly high level, specifying just a few
component parts, or get right down to specifying the versions of software to be
used and how the hardware in your private cloud is made up. The latter is
particularly useful if you have proven compatibility between specific
application and driver revisions. Creating a Pattern is a simple drag-and-drop
affair, where you pull components into a configuration in the installation order
desired. You can also include pretty much any shell script you want, for copying
across data and configuration files.
The Pattern you create can be stored for future use by yourself or other
users of your PureSystems environment. If you need to modify a Pattern, for
example with a recent patch or new application version, you can simply edit the
Pattern and all future installations using this Pattern will have the up-to-date
versions. It's also possible monitor installed versions across your existing
deployments, and update where required. You can watch a more
detailed overview of the principles behind Patterns in our video with Chief
Strategy Officer for PureSystems, John Warnants.
Forthcoming pieces will go into more depth as to how Patterns are experienced
by administrators and end users, but here is a summary. The cloud environment of
your PureSystems hardware is managed through the Flex Systems Manager, a
web-based portal that lets you prepare the environment for Application Pattern
deployment. You can set up the configuration of the compute nodes, including
storage, I/O, boot options, and firmware. You can then monitor these nodes and
deal with any issues that arise, such as BIOS and driver updates. You can set up
strict or more relaxed compliance policies, and even call up a virtual view of
your chassis with overlaid status information.
The next level of management comes via SmartCloud Entry, another web-based
portal that turns the infrastructure you have created via the Flex Systems
Manager into a private cloud. This presents a different range of options
depending on whether you are logging in as an administrator or a user. As an
administrator, you can define new clouds and configure users, as well as
creating accounts for use in departmental charge back and projects within which
to group users. You can assign virtual appliances to each project. As a user,
you can merely deploy appliances from assigned projects, with a few
configuration options, and these deployments will require approval from an
administrator if this policy has been set. In future pieces, we will be showing
exactly how the Flex Systems Manager and SmartCloud Entry portals function.
This then brings us to the unique part of PureSystems - the Application
Patterns themselves. The IBM PureApplication System console provides the portal
for this, and allows you to create two different types of pattern - Virtual
Application Patterns and Virtual System Patterns. The Virtual Application
Patterns don't give you a choice of middleware, but let you install an
application with all the middleware it depends on at the same time, using a
collection of Eclipse-based plugins. So, for example, you can specify an
application and a database with only a few options to set, alongside a policy
for handling demand.
The Virtual System
Patterns, in contrast, give you much greater control over software versions and
configurations, should your deployment require this. But it's still a
drag-and-drop process, maintaining the ease of use found elsewhere in the
PureSystems infrastructure. Again, we will be looking at the workings of the IBM
PureApplication System console in detail in a future piece.
The simplicity of deployments in IBM's PureSystems can have some very real
implications for your company's efficiency and costs compared to doing
everything yourself in house, and not just at the deployment stage. The number
of hours spent on Security and Change Management can be drastically reduced,
with good savings in time spent managing capacity too. At the deployment stage,
the system comes fully assembled and configured, with management software ready
to run and the Pattern system available for action. You can monitor usage and
scale automatically as required. The centralised nature of resources makes
security far easier to control, too, and means that changes and updates can be
rolled out in a very simple way. IBM PureSystems takes software-as-a-service to
a new level, and this is why, since its launch in Q2 2012, over 2,300
PureSystems installations have been shipped.
PureSystems Patterns, like the hardware they run on, are based on the decades
of experience IBM has providing integrated application and data server
technology to companies big and small, covering every industry segment. The
essence of this expertise is crystallised into Pattern components and the
attendant server hardware, but now in a form that can be deployed in a flexible
way by a much broader spectrum of company employees. IBM is very keen to
demonstrate the power of PureSystems first hand, and provides demo rooms at its
Innovation Centres around the world, including at its Hursley campus. You can
request virtual access to try out PureSystems remotely at one of these centres,
or come in to see the systems in action in the flesh.
By: James Morris
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