About cookies on this site Our websites require some cookies to function properly (required). In addition, other cookies may be used with your consent to analyze site usage, improve the user experience and for advertising. For more information, please review your options. By visiting our website, you agree to our processing of information as described in IBM’sprivacy statement. To provide a smooth navigation, your cookie preferences will be shared across the IBM web domains listed here.
Publication
IBM J. Res. Dev
Paper
Scalable data center provisioning and control
Abstract
The problem of provisioning servers in a data center environment includes coordinating access to and sharing of physical resources, loading servers with the appropriate software images, supporting storage access to users and applications, and providing basic monitoring and control services for those servers. We have developed and adapted systems-Hop-scotch, Sysman, and the InfiniBand™-attached IBM Storage Area Network (SAN) Volume Controller (SVC)-that automate the provisioning and monitoring processes for large collections of servers. Our solution relies on directory services to implement access control. It uses network boot disks and managed root disks to control the image of each server. We leverage the IBM Global Storage Architecture and SVC to provide storage to users and applications. Finally, interfaces are provided to access the services both programmatically and interactively. © 2009 IBM.