Get Enterprise Virtualisation free!
Have you wanted to use Virtualisation but thought you couldn’t afford it? Now you can get it FREE!
We love Citrix Xen Server Enterprise. We use it internally and we’ve rolled out both the Standard and Enterprise editions to clients with great success. Now you can get the core functionality of Xen Enterprise for free!
Before now, “free” virtualisation products were cut-down versions missing key elements of functionality. No more. Now you can get many of the benefits without the cost!
IT Partners has invested heavily in virtualisation. Three of our engineers are certified in Xen Server Enterprise, we’ve created our own test environment, in-house use on our IBM Blades and we’re now rolling it out to our new data centre environment (more IBM blades).
The NZ Institute – great work
New Zealand’s economy is best summed up by one of my favourite authors - Tom Clancy: Clear and Present Danger. The NZ Institute has produced some interesting work on the vulnerabilities in the NZ economy and what should be done to protect vital parts of the economy. Both articles are well worth the read. For more information on the Institute and its goals click here.
Installing energy-saving power boards delivered an ROI of 27%.
Everyone laughed when I suggested installing energy saving power boards. After all, we already had leading edge EnergyStar rated equipment. So I did some research, and they were kind of right – EnergyStar-rated monitors in sleep mode consume only 2W. But then I looked closer.
On every desk, all manner of devices are left on – external speakers are a good example. So I did the math, looked at what we were paying per Kilowatt hour, and invested in the energy-saving power boards. Net result: an impressive ROI of 27%. Payback period: just over 3.5 years.
Over the last year, we’ve completed a few projects that have contributed to energy savings, upgrading our air-conditioning to using inverter technology in our server room, our server virtualisation project, and all the team having notebooks – it all adds up!
The biggest area of saving is coming from our server virtualisation project using Citrix Xen Server (which reminds me to congratulate Greig McGill, Kyle Carter and Carl Buckley on their certification success on Citrix Xen Server Enterprise). Xen is ultra efficient in how it uses RAM and CPU to run multiple workloads – so the net effect is that we need fewer physical servers. Fewer servers equals less energy consumed – at every level.
I checked back on our financials: since April ‘06 the price of electricity has risen by 11.08%, we have added 4 team members, we are running more internal systems and servers and yet our overall energy costs are down. It mightn’t be easy being green – but it pays off.
One of our next projects to reduce energy costs is to run the new version of IBM Director along with Active Energy Manager – will report the findings.
Ever been frustrated by not being able to locate a file on your laptop? You know it’s there but you just can’t find it? Your prayers are answered with Windows Search.
I was initially sceptical because I’d previously used a similar utility - Google Desktop search -and found that it slowed my laptop. I got rid of it and wasn’t even slightly inclined to try Windows Search. But our Senior Systems Engineer Kyle Carter said it was a fabulous advance – and he’s right (as usual).
Windows Search is fast, has no noticeable impact on my laptop’s performance, and has already saved my life on two or three occasions. It’s also very easy to use and install – I would definitely recommend it!
For those who are interested, we’ve standardised on the HP Elitebooks – 8500 series) - and not just because we’re an HP Partner. We’ve found they deliver high performance and excellent reliability.
Speaking of Microsoft … we’re a Gold Certified Partner
IT Partners is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, with a record number of competencies including:
• Advanced Infrastructure
• Hosting
• OEM Hardware
• Information Worker
• Networking Infrastructure
• Security
Our engineers have hands-on experience in all these areas with customers who are more than happy to attest to our abilities. With both Michael Pook and Frazer Thompson joining us, we continue to build our credentials as the leading Microsoft practice in Hamilton and the Waikato.
Making Licensing Audits less of a nightmare
No one likes licensing or audits because of the time and costs involved. But we have a lot of experience in this area and can help you fulfil your obligations without costing you a fortune.
We’ve also developed some great tools to make the audit process easier - and a ton of experience to get the maximum value out of the investment made in licensing. We’ve saved numerous companies thousands of dollars through our understanding of business strategy and the knowledge Michael Pook and I have of Licensing best practice. Call me on 07 957 2651.