IT Systems Management
2nd Edition
Published on 28. January 2010
608 pages
978-0-13-705959-1 (ISBN)
Description
The best-practice guide to managing IT infrastructures-now fully updated!
IT Systems Management is an up-to-the-minute guide to maintaining stable, responsive IT production environments. Top IT systems management expert Rich Schiesser illuminates
both the theoretical and practical aspects of systems management, using methods and examples drawn from decades of experience leading and consulting with the world's most complex enterprise IT organizations.
This thoroughly updated edition covers every systems management discipline and all elements of success: people, process, and technology. Schiesser shows how to apply best-practice system management throughout all IT infrastructure environments, from mainframe data centers to web-enabled systems, client/server and mid-range platforms to wireless and VoIP networks.
Schiesser systematically addresses today's most crucial issues, as well as emerging trends that will transform IT systems management. You'll find an entirely new chapter on using IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) effectively, plus new coverage ranging from managing outsourced functions to efficiently delivering "ultra-speed" Internet connections. This edition includes more real-life examples throughout, and new interactive problems designed to give IT professionals even deeper insight. Coverage includes:
* Implementing bullet-proof processes in areas ranging from change management to production acceptance, capacity planning to storage
* Optimizing the "people" components of IT service delivery, from customer service to executive support
* Using technology to manage systems more efficiently and effectively
* Systematically managing performance, availability, and business continuity
* Reducing the cost and complexity of IT facilities management
* Taking a more strategic approach to security
Rich Schiesser founded and owns RWS Enterprises, Inc., a consultancy that specializes in designing and implementing world-class IT infrastructures. His client list has included The Weather Channel, Amazon.com, and DIRECTV. He has led major IT infrastructure organizations at Hughes Aircraft, the City of Los Angeles, and Twentieth Century Fox. For nearly ten years, he managed the primary data center at Northrop Grumman, one of the world's most advanced computer facilities. A former University of Phoenix faculty member, he has taught IT management at UCLA and California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA).
informit.com/ph
IT Systems Management is an up-to-the-minute guide to maintaining stable, responsive IT production environments. Top IT systems management expert Rich Schiesser illuminates
both the theoretical and practical aspects of systems management, using methods and examples drawn from decades of experience leading and consulting with the world's most complex enterprise IT organizations.
This thoroughly updated edition covers every systems management discipline and all elements of success: people, process, and technology. Schiesser shows how to apply best-practice system management throughout all IT infrastructure environments, from mainframe data centers to web-enabled systems, client/server and mid-range platforms to wireless and VoIP networks.
Schiesser systematically addresses today's most crucial issues, as well as emerging trends that will transform IT systems management. You'll find an entirely new chapter on using IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) effectively, plus new coverage ranging from managing outsourced functions to efficiently delivering "ultra-speed" Internet connections. This edition includes more real-life examples throughout, and new interactive problems designed to give IT professionals even deeper insight. Coverage includes:
* Implementing bullet-proof processes in areas ranging from change management to production acceptance, capacity planning to storage
* Optimizing the "people" components of IT service delivery, from customer service to executive support
* Using technology to manage systems more efficiently and effectively
* Systematically managing performance, availability, and business continuity
* Reducing the cost and complexity of IT facilities management
* Taking a more strategic approach to security
Rich Schiesser founded and owns RWS Enterprises, Inc., a consultancy that specializes in designing and implementing world-class IT infrastructures. His client list has included The Weather Channel, Amazon.com, and DIRECTV. He has led major IT infrastructure organizations at Hughes Aircraft, the City of Los Angeles, and Twentieth Century Fox. For nearly ten years, he managed the primary data center at Northrop Grumman, one of the world's most advanced computer facilities. A former University of Phoenix faculty member, he has taught IT management at UCLA and California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA).
informit.com/ph
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Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Hoboken
United States
Publishing group
Pearson Education (US)
Target group
Professional and scholarly
File size
17,29 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-13-705959-1 (9780137059591)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
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Rich Schiesser
IT Systems Management
Book
02/2010
2nd Edition
Prentice Hall
€59.41
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Person
In his service of numerous clients nationwide, infrastructure expert Rich Schiesser combines the experiences of a senior IT executive, professional educator, acclaimed author, and highly regarded consultant.
During the past three decades, Rich has headed up major computer centers at firms as diverse as Hughes Aircraft Company, the City of Los Angeles, and Twentieth Century Fox. For nearly 10 years he managed the primary computer center at Northrop Grumman Corporation, considered at the time to be one of the largest and most advanced in the world.
For the past several years, Rich has consulted on designing and implementing world-class infrastructures through his company, RWS Enterprises, Inc. Among his numerous clients are The Weather Channel, Emory Air Freight, Amazon.com, DIRECTV, Las Vegas Police, Option One Mortgage, Lionsgate Entertainment, and St. Joseph Health Systems.
Rich has also consulted at a variety of colleges, including Corinthian Colleges, Victor Valley College, Pasadena City College, University of Montana, and Kern County College District. He has taught a variety of IT classes at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA), the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and Phoenix University.
In addition to writing the first edition of IT Systems Management, Rich coauthored the best-selling book IT Production Services. He has also written more than 200 articles on IT management for leading trade journals and websites, including InformIT.com.
Rich holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University, a Master of Science degree from the University of Southern California (USC), and has completed graduate work in business administration from UCLA. He and his wife, Ann, live in Southern California, where they contribute time to their two favorite charities, the Olive Crest home for abandoned and abused children and the Legacy One organization for organ transplants.
During the past three decades, Rich has headed up major computer centers at firms as diverse as Hughes Aircraft Company, the City of Los Angeles, and Twentieth Century Fox. For nearly 10 years he managed the primary computer center at Northrop Grumman Corporation, considered at the time to be one of the largest and most advanced in the world.
For the past several years, Rich has consulted on designing and implementing world-class infrastructures through his company, RWS Enterprises, Inc. Among his numerous clients are The Weather Channel, Emory Air Freight, Amazon.com, DIRECTV, Las Vegas Police, Option One Mortgage, Lionsgate Entertainment, and St. Joseph Health Systems.
Rich has also consulted at a variety of colleges, including Corinthian Colleges, Victor Valley College, Pasadena City College, University of Montana, and Kern County College District. He has taught a variety of IT classes at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA), the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and Phoenix University.
In addition to writing the first edition of IT Systems Management, Rich coauthored the best-selling book IT Production Services. He has also written more than 200 articles on IT management for leading trade journals and websites, including InformIT.com.
Rich holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University, a Master of Science degree from the University of Southern California (USC), and has completed graduate work in business administration from UCLA. He and his wife, Ann, live in Southern California, where they contribute time to their two favorite charities, the Olive Crest home for abandoned and abused children and the Legacy One organization for organ transplants.
Content
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxix
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxviii
About the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xli
Chapter 1 Acquiring Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Systems Management: A Proposed Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Why Executive Support Is Especially Critical Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Building a Business Case for Systems Management . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Educating Executives on the Value of Systems Management . . . . . 7
Three Universal Principles Involving Executive Support . . . . . . . .9
Developing a Powerful Weapon for Executive
Support-Business Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Ensuring Ongoing Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 2 Organizing for Systems Management . . . . . . . . . . 15
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Factors to Consider in Designing IT Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Factors to Consider in Designing IT Infrastructures . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Locating Departments in the Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Recommended Attributes of Process Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 3 Staffing for Systems Management . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Determining Required Skill Sets and Skill Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Assessing the Skill Levels of Current Onboard Staff. . . . . . . . . . . 35
Alternative Sources of Staffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Recruiting Infrastructure Staff from the Outside . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Selecting the Most Qualified Candidate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Retaining Key Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Using Consultants and Contractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Benefits of Using Consultants and Contractors . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Drawbacks of Using Consultants and Contractors . . . . . . . . . .48
Steps for Developing Career Paths for Staff Members . . . . . . .50
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Chapter 4 Customer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
How IT Evolved into a Service Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
The Four Key Elements of Good Customer Service. . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Identifying Your Key Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Identifying Key Services of Key Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Identifying Key Processes that Support Key Services . . . . . . . .64
Identifying Key Suppliers that Support Key Processes . . . . . . .64
Integrating the Four Key Elements of Good Customer Service . . . . 64
The Four Cardinal Sins that Undermine Good Customer Service . . 68
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Chapter 5 Ethics, Legislation, and Outsourcing. . . . . . . . . . . 73
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
The RadioShack Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
The Tyco Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
The WorldCom Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
The Enron Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Legislation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Sarbanes-Oxley Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Graham-Leach-Bliley Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
California Senate Bill 1386 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Outsourcing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Chapter 6 Comparison to ITIL Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Developments Leading Up To ITIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
IT Service Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
The Origins of ITIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Quality Approach and Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Criteria to Differentiate Infrastructure Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Comparison of Infrastructure Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Ten Common Myths Concerning the Implementation of ITIL . . . . 102
Myth #1: You Must Implement All ITIL or No ITIL at All . . . . . .102
Myth #2: ITIL is Based on Infrastructure Management Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Myth #3: ITIL Applies Mostly to Data Center Operations . . . . .103
Myth #4: Everyone Needs to be Trained on ITIL Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Myth #5: Full Understanding of ITIL Requires Purchase of Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Myth #6: ITIL Processes Should be Implemented Only One at a Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Myth #7: ITIL Provides Detailed Templates for Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Myth #8: ITIL Framework Applies Only to Large Shops . . . . . .106
Myth #9: ITIL Recommends Tools to Use for Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Myth #10: There Is Little Need to Understand ITIL Origins . . .106
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Chapter 7 Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Definition of Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Differentiating Availability from Uptime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Differentiating Slow Response from Downtime . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Differentiating Availability from High Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Desired Traits of an Availability Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Methods for Measuring Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
The Seven Rs of High Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Reputation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Reliability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Repairability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Recoverability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Responsiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Robustness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Assessing an Infrastructure's Availability Process . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Measuring and Streamlining the Availability Process . . . . . . . . . 131
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Chapter 8 Performance and Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Differences between the Performance and Tuning Process and Other Infrastructure Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Definition of Performance and Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Preferred Characteristics of a Performance and Tuning Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Performance and Tuning Applied to the Five Major Resource Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Server Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
Disk Storage Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
Database Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147
Network Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
Desktop Computer Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
Assessing an Infrastructure's Performance and Tuning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Measuring and Streamlining the Performance and Tuning
Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Chapter 9 Production Acceptance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Definition of Production Acceptance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
The Benefits of a Production Acceptance Process . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Implementing a Production Acceptance Process . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Step 1: Identify an Executive Sponsor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
Step 2: Select a Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
Step 3: Solicit Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
Step 4: Assemble a Production Acceptance Team . . . . . . . . .166
Step 5: Identify and Prioritize Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .167
Step 6: Develop Policy Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168
Step 7: Nominate a Pilot System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
Step 8: Design Appropriate Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
Step 9: Document the Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
Step 10: Execute the Pilot System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
Step 11: Conduct a Lessons-Learned Session . . . . . . . . . . .174
Step 12: Revise Policies, Procedures, and Forms . . . . . . . . .174
Step 13: Formulate Marketing Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Step 14: Follow-up for Ongoing Enforcement and Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Full Deployment of a New Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Distinguishing New Applications from New Versions of Existing Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Distinguishing Production Acceptance from Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Case Study: Assessing the Production Acceptance Process at Seven Diverse Companies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
The Seven Companies Selected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177
Selected Companies Comparison in Summary . . . . . . . . . . .198
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Chapter 10 Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Definition of Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Drawbacks of Most Change Management Processes . . . . . . . . . 207
Key Steps Required in Developing a Change Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Step 1: Identify an Executive Sponsor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209
Step 2: Assign a Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210
Step 3: Select a Cross-Functional Process Design Team . . . .211
Step 4: Arrange for Meetings of the Cross-Functional Process Design Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211
Step 5: Establish Roles and Responsibilities for Members Supporting the Process Design Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211
Step 6: Identify the Benefits of a Change Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212
Step 7: If Change Metrics Exist, Collect and Analyze them; If Not, Set Up a Process to Do So . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213
Step 8: Identify and Prioritize Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .213
Step 9: Develop Definitions of Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
Step 10: Design the Initial Change Management Process . . .216
Step 11: Develop Policy Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
Step 12: Develop a Charter for a Change Advisory Board (CAB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222
Step 13: Use the CAB to Continually Refine and Improve the Change Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223
Emergency Changes Metric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Assessing an Infrastructure's Change Management Process . . . 224
Measuring and Streamlining the Change Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Chapter 11 Problem Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Definition of Problem Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Scope of Problem Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Distinguishing Between Problem, Change, and Request Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Distinguishing Between Problem Management and Incident Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
The Role of the Service Desk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Segregating and Integrating Service Desks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Key Steps to Developing a Problem Management Process . . . . . 239
Step 1: Select an Executive Sponsor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
Step 2: Assign a Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240
Step 3: Assemble a Cross-Functional Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241
Step 4: Identify and Prioritize Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .241
Step 5: Establish a Priority and Escalation Scheme . . . . . . . .243
Step 6: Identify Alternative Call-Tracking Tools . . . . . . . . . . . .243
Step 7: Negotiate Service Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
Step 8: Develop Service and Process Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . .245
Step 9: Design the Call-Handling Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
Step 10: Evaluate, Select, and Implement the Call-Tracking Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
Step 11: Review Metrics to Continually Improve the Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246
Opening and Closing Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Client Issues with Problem Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Assessing an Infrastructure's Problem Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249
Measuring and Streamlining the Problem Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Chapter 12 Storage Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Definition of Storage Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Desired Traits of a Storage Management Process Owner . . . . . . 256
Storage Management Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Storage Management Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Storage Management Reliability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Storage Management Recoverability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Assessing an Infrastructure's Storage Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Measuring and Streamlining the Storage Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Chapter 13 Network Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Definition of Network Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Key Decisions about Network Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
What Will Be Managed by This Process? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278
Who Will Manage It? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279
How Much Authority Will This Person Be Given? . . . . . . . . . . .281
What Types of Tools and Support Will Be Provided? . . . . . . . .283
To What Extent Will Other Processes Be Integrated With This Process? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284
What Levels of Service and Quality Will Be Expected? . . . . . .284
Assessing an Infrastructure's Network Management Process . . . 285
Measuring and Streamlining the Network Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Chapter 14 Configuration Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Definition of Configuration Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Practical Tips for Improving Configuration Management . . . . . . . 293
1. Select a Qualified Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293
2. Acquire the Assistance of a Technical Writer or a Documentation Analyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294
3. Match the Backgrounds of Writers to Technicians . . . . . . .295
4. Evaluate the Quality and Value of Existing Configuration Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295
5. Involve Appropriate Hardware Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .296
6. Involve Appropriate Software Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .296
7. Coordinate Documentation Efforts in Advance of Major Hardware and Software Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
8. Involve the Asset-Management Group for Desktop Equipment Inventories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
Assessing an Infrastructure's Configuration Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Measuring and Streamlining the Configuration Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Chapter 15 Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Definition of Capacity Planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Why Capacity Planning Is Seldom Done Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
1. Analysts Are Too Busy with Day-To-Day Activities . . . . . . . .305
2. Users Are Not Interested in Predicting Future Workloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305
3. Users Who Are Interested Cannot Forecast Accurately . . . .306
4. Capacity Planners May Be Reluctant to Use Effective Measuring Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
5. Corporate or IT Directions May Change From Year to Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
6. Planning Is Typically Not Part of an Infrastructure Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
7. Managers Sometimes Confuse Capacity Management with Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307
How to Develop an Effective Capacity Planning Process . . . . . . . 307
Step 1: Select an Appropriate Capacity Planning Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308
Step 2: Identify the Key Resources to be Measured . . . . . . . .309
Step 3: Measure the Utilizations or Performance of the Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
Step 4: Compare Utilizations to Maximum Capacities . . . . . .310
Step 5: Collect Workload Forecasts from Developers and Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310
Step 6: Transform Workload Forecasts into IT Resource Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312
Step 7: Map Requirements onto Existing Utilizations . . . . . . .312
Step 8: Predict When the Shop Will Be Out of Capacity . . . . .312
Step 9: Update Forecasts and Utilizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312
Additional Benefits of Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
1. Strengthens Relationships with Developers and End-Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313
2. Improves Communications with Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . .313
3. Encourages Collaboration with Other Infrastructure Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313
4. Promotes a Culture of Strategic Planning as Opposed to Tactical Firefighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314
Helpful Hints for Effective Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
1. Start Small . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314
2. Speak the Language of Your Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315
3. Consider Future Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315
4. Share Plans with Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315
5. Anticipate Nonlinear Cost Ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315
6. Plan for Occasional Workload Reductions . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
7. Prepare for the Turnover of Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
8. Strive to Continually Improve the Process . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
9. Evaluate the Hidden Costs of Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
Uncovering the Hidden Costs of Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
1. Hardware Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .317
2. Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .317
3. Software Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .317
4. Memory Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .317
5. Channel Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
6. Cache Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
7. Data Backup Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
8. Operations Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
9. Offsite Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
10. Network Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
11. Network Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319
12. Floor Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319
13. Power and Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319
Assessing an Infrastructure's Capacity Planning Process . . . . . . 319
Measuring and Streamlining the Capacity Planning Process . . . . 322
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Chapter 16 Strategic Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Definition of Strategic Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Developing a Strategic Security Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Step 1: Identify an Executive Sponsor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327
Step 2: Select a Security Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327
Step 3: Define Goals of Strategic Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328
Step 4: Establish Review Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328
Step 5: Identify, Categorize, and Prioritize Requirements . . . .328
Step 6: Inventory Current State of Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331
Step 7: Establish Security Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331
Step 8: Develop Security Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331
Step 9: Assemble Planning Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335
Step 10: Review and Approve Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335
Step 11: Evaluate Technical Feasibility of Plans . . . . . . . . . . .335
Step 12: Assign and Schedule the Implementation of Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335
Assessing an Infrastructure's Strategic Security Process . . . . . . 336
Measuring and Streamlining the Security Process . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Chapter 17 Business Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Definition of Business Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Case Study: Disaster at the Movie Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Three Important Lessons Learned from the Case Study . . . . .343
Steps to Developing an Effective Business Continuity Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Step 1: Acquire Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345
Step 2: Select a Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .346
Step 3: Assemble a Cross-Functional Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . .347
Step 4: Conduct a Business Impact Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . .348
Step 5: Identify and Prioritize Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .348
Step 6: Assess Possible Business Continuity Recovery Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .348
Step 7: Develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Outside Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349
Step 8: Evaluate Proposals and Select the Best Offering . . . .349
Step 9: Choose Participants and Clarify Their Roles on the Recovery Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349
Step 10: Document the Business Continuity Plan . . . . . . . . .349
Step 11: Plan and Execute Regularly Scheduled Tests of the Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350
Step 12: Conduct a Lessons-Learned Postmortem after Each Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350
Step 13: Continually Maintain, Update, and Improve the Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350
Nightmare Incidents with Disaster Recovery Plans. . . . . . . . . . . 351
Assessing an Infrastructure's Disaster Recovery Process. . . . . . 353
Measuring and Streamlining the Disaster Recovery Process. . . . 356
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Chapter 18 Facilities Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Definition of Facilities Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Major Elements of Facilities Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
The Facilities Management Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Determining the Scope of Responsibilities of a Facilities Management Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .363
Desired Traits of a Facilities Management Process Owner . . .363
Evaluating the Physical Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Major Physical Exposures Common to a Data Center . . . . . . .366
Keeping Physical Layouts Efficient and Effective . . . . . . . . . .366
Tips to Improve the Facilities Management Process. . . . . . . . . . 367
Facilities Management at Outsourcing Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Assessing an Infrastructure's Facilities Management Process . . 369
Measuring and Streamlining the Facilities Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Chapter 19 Developing Robust Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
What Contributes to a World-Class Infrastructure. . . . . . . . . . . . 375
1. Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .376
2. Meaningful Metrics Analyzed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .377
3. Proactive Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .378
4. Call Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379
5. Employee Empowerment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379
6. Well-Developed Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379
7. Well-Trained Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .380
8. Well-Equipped Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .380
9. Robust Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .380
10. Effective Use of Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .381
11. Integrated Systems Management Functions . . . . . . . . . .381
Characteristics of a Robust Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
1. Process Objective Is Identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .382
2. Executive Sponsor Is Identified and Involved . . . . . . . . . . .382
3. Process Owner Is Identified and Given Responsibility for and Authority Over the Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .382
4. Key Customers Are Identified and Involved . . . . . . . . . . . .383
5. Secondary Customers Are Identified and Consulted . . . . . .383
6. Process Suppliers Are Identified and Involved . . . . . . . . . .383
7. Process Outputs Are Identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .383
8. Process Inputs Are Identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384
9. Process Is Described by a Sound Business Model . . . . . . .384
10. Process Hierarchy Is Understood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384
11. Execution Is Enforceable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384
12. Process Is Designed to Provide Service Metrics . . . . . . .384
13. Service Metrics Are Compiled and Analyzed, Not Just Collected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .385
14. Process Is Designed to Provide Process Metrics . . . . . . .385
15. Process Metrics Are Compiled and Analyzed, Not Just Collected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .386
16. Documentation Is Thorough, Accurate, and Easily Understood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .386
17. Process Contains All Required Value-Added Steps . . . . . .387
18. Process Eliminates All Non-Value-Added Steps . . . . . . . .387
19. Process Guarantees Accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .388
20. Process Provides Incentives for Compliance and Penalties for Avoidance or Circumvention . . . . . . . . . . . .388
21. Process Is Standardized Across all Appropriate Departments and Remote Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .388
22. Process Is Streamlined as Much as Possible and Practical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .389
23. Process Is Automated Wherever Practical, but Only after Streamlining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .389
24. Process Integrates with all Other Appropriate Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .389
Understanding the Differences Between a Formal Process and an Informal Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Helpful Ground Rules for Brainstorming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Methods for Prioritizing Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Chapter 20 Using Technology to Automate and Evaluate Robust
Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Automating Robust Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Evaluating an Infrastructure Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Evaluating Process Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Benefits of the Methodology to Evaluate Process Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
Chapter 21 Integrating Systems Management Processes . . 415
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Distinguishing Strategic Processes from Tactical Processes . . . . 415
Identifying Strategic Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .416
Identifying Tactical Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .417
The Value of Distinguishing Strategic from Tactical Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .418
Relationships Between Strategic and Tactical Processes . . . . . . 418
Difficulties with Integrating Solely Tactical Processes . . . . . . .420
Difficulties with Integrating Solely Strategic Processes . . . . . .421
Difficulties with Integrating Tactical and Strategic Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .421
Examining the Integrated Relationships Between Strategic and Tactical Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Significance of Systems Management Process Relationships. . . 428
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Chapter 22 Special Considerations for Client-Server and Web-Enabled Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Client-Server Environment Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Vendor Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .434
Multiplatform Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .434
Performance and Tuning Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .435
Disaster-Recovery Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .436
Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .438
Web-Enabled Environment Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Traditional Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .441
Moderate and Growing Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442
Dotcom Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .443
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Appendix A Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Appendix B Summary of Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Appendix C Assessment Worksheets Without
Weighting Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Appendix D Assessment Worksheets With Weighting
Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
Appendix E Historical Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Appendix F Evolving in the 1970s and 1980s . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
Appendix G Into and Beyond the New Millennium . . . . . . . . . 521
Appendix H Answers to Selected Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543
9780137025060, TOC, 1/11/2010
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxviii
About the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xli
Chapter 1 Acquiring Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Systems Management: A Proposed Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Why Executive Support Is Especially Critical Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Building a Business Case for Systems Management . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Educating Executives on the Value of Systems Management . . . . . 7
Three Universal Principles Involving Executive Support . . . . . . . .9
Developing a Powerful Weapon for Executive
Support-Business Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Ensuring Ongoing Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 2 Organizing for Systems Management . . . . . . . . . . 15
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Factors to Consider in Designing IT Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Factors to Consider in Designing IT Infrastructures . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Locating Departments in the Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Recommended Attributes of Process Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 3 Staffing for Systems Management . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Determining Required Skill Sets and Skill Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Assessing the Skill Levels of Current Onboard Staff. . . . . . . . . . . 35
Alternative Sources of Staffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Recruiting Infrastructure Staff from the Outside . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Selecting the Most Qualified Candidate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Retaining Key Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Using Consultants and Contractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Benefits of Using Consultants and Contractors . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Drawbacks of Using Consultants and Contractors . . . . . . . . . .48
Steps for Developing Career Paths for Staff Members . . . . . . .50
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Chapter 4 Customer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
How IT Evolved into a Service Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
The Four Key Elements of Good Customer Service. . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Identifying Your Key Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Identifying Key Services of Key Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Identifying Key Processes that Support Key Services . . . . . . . .64
Identifying Key Suppliers that Support Key Processes . . . . . . .64
Integrating the Four Key Elements of Good Customer Service . . . . 64
The Four Cardinal Sins that Undermine Good Customer Service . . 68
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Chapter 5 Ethics, Legislation, and Outsourcing. . . . . . . . . . . 73
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
The RadioShack Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
The Tyco Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
The WorldCom Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
The Enron Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Legislation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Sarbanes-Oxley Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Graham-Leach-Bliley Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
California Senate Bill 1386 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Outsourcing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Chapter 6 Comparison to ITIL Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Developments Leading Up To ITIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
IT Service Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
The Origins of ITIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Quality Approach and Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Criteria to Differentiate Infrastructure Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Comparison of Infrastructure Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Ten Common Myths Concerning the Implementation of ITIL . . . . 102
Myth #1: You Must Implement All ITIL or No ITIL at All . . . . . .102
Myth #2: ITIL is Based on Infrastructure Management Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Myth #3: ITIL Applies Mostly to Data Center Operations . . . . .103
Myth #4: Everyone Needs to be Trained on ITIL Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Myth #5: Full Understanding of ITIL Requires Purchase of Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Myth #6: ITIL Processes Should be Implemented Only One at a Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Myth #7: ITIL Provides Detailed Templates for Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Myth #8: ITIL Framework Applies Only to Large Shops . . . . . .106
Myth #9: ITIL Recommends Tools to Use for Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Myth #10: There Is Little Need to Understand ITIL Origins . . .106
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Chapter 7 Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Definition of Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Differentiating Availability from Uptime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Differentiating Slow Response from Downtime . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Differentiating Availability from High Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Desired Traits of an Availability Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Methods for Measuring Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
The Seven Rs of High Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Reputation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Reliability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Repairability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Recoverability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Responsiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Robustness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Assessing an Infrastructure's Availability Process . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Measuring and Streamlining the Availability Process . . . . . . . . . 131
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Chapter 8 Performance and Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Differences between the Performance and Tuning Process and Other Infrastructure Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Definition of Performance and Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Preferred Characteristics of a Performance and Tuning Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Performance and Tuning Applied to the Five Major Resource Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Server Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
Disk Storage Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
Database Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147
Network Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
Desktop Computer Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
Assessing an Infrastructure's Performance and Tuning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Measuring and Streamlining the Performance and Tuning
Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Chapter 9 Production Acceptance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Definition of Production Acceptance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
The Benefits of a Production Acceptance Process . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Implementing a Production Acceptance Process . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Step 1: Identify an Executive Sponsor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
Step 2: Select a Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
Step 3: Solicit Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
Step 4: Assemble a Production Acceptance Team . . . . . . . . .166
Step 5: Identify and Prioritize Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .167
Step 6: Develop Policy Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168
Step 7: Nominate a Pilot System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
Step 8: Design Appropriate Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
Step 9: Document the Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
Step 10: Execute the Pilot System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
Step 11: Conduct a Lessons-Learned Session . . . . . . . . . . .174
Step 12: Revise Policies, Procedures, and Forms . . . . . . . . .174
Step 13: Formulate Marketing Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Step 14: Follow-up for Ongoing Enforcement and Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Full Deployment of a New Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Distinguishing New Applications from New Versions of Existing Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Distinguishing Production Acceptance from Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Case Study: Assessing the Production Acceptance Process at Seven Diverse Companies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
The Seven Companies Selected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177
Selected Companies Comparison in Summary . . . . . . . . . . .198
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Chapter 10 Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Definition of Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Drawbacks of Most Change Management Processes . . . . . . . . . 207
Key Steps Required in Developing a Change Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Step 1: Identify an Executive Sponsor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209
Step 2: Assign a Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210
Step 3: Select a Cross-Functional Process Design Team . . . .211
Step 4: Arrange for Meetings of the Cross-Functional Process Design Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211
Step 5: Establish Roles and Responsibilities for Members Supporting the Process Design Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211
Step 6: Identify the Benefits of a Change Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212
Step 7: If Change Metrics Exist, Collect and Analyze them; If Not, Set Up a Process to Do So . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213
Step 8: Identify and Prioritize Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .213
Step 9: Develop Definitions of Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
Step 10: Design the Initial Change Management Process . . .216
Step 11: Develop Policy Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
Step 12: Develop a Charter for a Change Advisory Board (CAB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222
Step 13: Use the CAB to Continually Refine and Improve the Change Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223
Emergency Changes Metric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Assessing an Infrastructure's Change Management Process . . . 224
Measuring and Streamlining the Change Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Chapter 11 Problem Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Definition of Problem Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Scope of Problem Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Distinguishing Between Problem, Change, and Request Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Distinguishing Between Problem Management and Incident Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
The Role of the Service Desk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Segregating and Integrating Service Desks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Key Steps to Developing a Problem Management Process . . . . . 239
Step 1: Select an Executive Sponsor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
Step 2: Assign a Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240
Step 3: Assemble a Cross-Functional Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241
Step 4: Identify and Prioritize Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .241
Step 5: Establish a Priority and Escalation Scheme . . . . . . . .243
Step 6: Identify Alternative Call-Tracking Tools . . . . . . . . . . . .243
Step 7: Negotiate Service Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
Step 8: Develop Service and Process Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . .245
Step 9: Design the Call-Handling Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
Step 10: Evaluate, Select, and Implement the Call-Tracking Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
Step 11: Review Metrics to Continually Improve the Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246
Opening and Closing Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Client Issues with Problem Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Assessing an Infrastructure's Problem Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249
Measuring and Streamlining the Problem Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Chapter 12 Storage Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Definition of Storage Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Desired Traits of a Storage Management Process Owner . . . . . . 256
Storage Management Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Storage Management Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Storage Management Reliability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Storage Management Recoverability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Assessing an Infrastructure's Storage Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Measuring and Streamlining the Storage Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Chapter 13 Network Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Definition of Network Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Key Decisions about Network Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
What Will Be Managed by This Process? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278
Who Will Manage It? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279
How Much Authority Will This Person Be Given? . . . . . . . . . . .281
What Types of Tools and Support Will Be Provided? . . . . . . . .283
To What Extent Will Other Processes Be Integrated With This Process? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284
What Levels of Service and Quality Will Be Expected? . . . . . .284
Assessing an Infrastructure's Network Management Process . . . 285
Measuring and Streamlining the Network Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Chapter 14 Configuration Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Definition of Configuration Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Practical Tips for Improving Configuration Management . . . . . . . 293
1. Select a Qualified Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293
2. Acquire the Assistance of a Technical Writer or a Documentation Analyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294
3. Match the Backgrounds of Writers to Technicians . . . . . . .295
4. Evaluate the Quality and Value of Existing Configuration Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295
5. Involve Appropriate Hardware Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .296
6. Involve Appropriate Software Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .296
7. Coordinate Documentation Efforts in Advance of Major Hardware and Software Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
8. Involve the Asset-Management Group for Desktop Equipment Inventories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
Assessing an Infrastructure's Configuration Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Measuring and Streamlining the Configuration Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Chapter 15 Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Definition of Capacity Planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Why Capacity Planning Is Seldom Done Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
1. Analysts Are Too Busy with Day-To-Day Activities . . . . . . . .305
2. Users Are Not Interested in Predicting Future Workloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305
3. Users Who Are Interested Cannot Forecast Accurately . . . .306
4. Capacity Planners May Be Reluctant to Use Effective Measuring Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
5. Corporate or IT Directions May Change From Year to Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
6. Planning Is Typically Not Part of an Infrastructure Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
7. Managers Sometimes Confuse Capacity Management with Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307
How to Develop an Effective Capacity Planning Process . . . . . . . 307
Step 1: Select an Appropriate Capacity Planning Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308
Step 2: Identify the Key Resources to be Measured . . . . . . . .309
Step 3: Measure the Utilizations or Performance of the Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
Step 4: Compare Utilizations to Maximum Capacities . . . . . .310
Step 5: Collect Workload Forecasts from Developers and Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310
Step 6: Transform Workload Forecasts into IT Resource Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312
Step 7: Map Requirements onto Existing Utilizations . . . . . . .312
Step 8: Predict When the Shop Will Be Out of Capacity . . . . .312
Step 9: Update Forecasts and Utilizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312
Additional Benefits of Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
1. Strengthens Relationships with Developers and End-Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313
2. Improves Communications with Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . .313
3. Encourages Collaboration with Other Infrastructure Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313
4. Promotes a Culture of Strategic Planning as Opposed to Tactical Firefighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314
Helpful Hints for Effective Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
1. Start Small . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314
2. Speak the Language of Your Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315
3. Consider Future Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315
4. Share Plans with Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315
5. Anticipate Nonlinear Cost Ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315
6. Plan for Occasional Workload Reductions . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
7. Prepare for the Turnover of Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
8. Strive to Continually Improve the Process . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
9. Evaluate the Hidden Costs of Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
Uncovering the Hidden Costs of Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
1. Hardware Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .317
2. Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .317
3. Software Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .317
4. Memory Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .317
5. Channel Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
6. Cache Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
7. Data Backup Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
8. Operations Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
9. Offsite Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
10. Network Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
11. Network Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319
12. Floor Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319
13. Power and Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319
Assessing an Infrastructure's Capacity Planning Process . . . . . . 319
Measuring and Streamlining the Capacity Planning Process . . . . 322
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Chapter 16 Strategic Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Definition of Strategic Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Developing a Strategic Security Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Step 1: Identify an Executive Sponsor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327
Step 2: Select a Security Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327
Step 3: Define Goals of Strategic Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328
Step 4: Establish Review Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328
Step 5: Identify, Categorize, and Prioritize Requirements . . . .328
Step 6: Inventory Current State of Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331
Step 7: Establish Security Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331
Step 8: Develop Security Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331
Step 9: Assemble Planning Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335
Step 10: Review and Approve Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335
Step 11: Evaluate Technical Feasibility of Plans . . . . . . . . . . .335
Step 12: Assign and Schedule the Implementation of Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335
Assessing an Infrastructure's Strategic Security Process . . . . . . 336
Measuring and Streamlining the Security Process . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Chapter 17 Business Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Definition of Business Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Case Study: Disaster at the Movie Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Three Important Lessons Learned from the Case Study . . . . .343
Steps to Developing an Effective Business Continuity Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Step 1: Acquire Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345
Step 2: Select a Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .346
Step 3: Assemble a Cross-Functional Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . .347
Step 4: Conduct a Business Impact Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . .348
Step 5: Identify and Prioritize Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .348
Step 6: Assess Possible Business Continuity Recovery Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .348
Step 7: Develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Outside Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349
Step 8: Evaluate Proposals and Select the Best Offering . . . .349
Step 9: Choose Participants and Clarify Their Roles on the Recovery Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349
Step 10: Document the Business Continuity Plan . . . . . . . . .349
Step 11: Plan and Execute Regularly Scheduled Tests of the Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350
Step 12: Conduct a Lessons-Learned Postmortem after Each Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350
Step 13: Continually Maintain, Update, and Improve the Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350
Nightmare Incidents with Disaster Recovery Plans. . . . . . . . . . . 351
Assessing an Infrastructure's Disaster Recovery Process. . . . . . 353
Measuring and Streamlining the Disaster Recovery Process. . . . 356
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Chapter 18 Facilities Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Definition of Facilities Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Major Elements of Facilities Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
The Facilities Management Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Determining the Scope of Responsibilities of a Facilities Management Process Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .363
Desired Traits of a Facilities Management Process Owner . . .363
Evaluating the Physical Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Major Physical Exposures Common to a Data Center . . . . . . .366
Keeping Physical Layouts Efficient and Effective . . . . . . . . . .366
Tips to Improve the Facilities Management Process. . . . . . . . . . 367
Facilities Management at Outsourcing Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Assessing an Infrastructure's Facilities Management Process . . 369
Measuring and Streamlining the Facilities Management Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Chapter 19 Developing Robust Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
What Contributes to a World-Class Infrastructure. . . . . . . . . . . . 375
1. Executive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .376
2. Meaningful Metrics Analyzed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .377
3. Proactive Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .378
4. Call Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379
5. Employee Empowerment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379
6. Well-Developed Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379
7. Well-Trained Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .380
8. Well-Equipped Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .380
9. Robust Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .380
10. Effective Use of Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .381
11. Integrated Systems Management Functions . . . . . . . . . .381
Characteristics of a Robust Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
1. Process Objective Is Identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .382
2. Executive Sponsor Is Identified and Involved . . . . . . . . . . .382
3. Process Owner Is Identified and Given Responsibility for and Authority Over the Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .382
4. Key Customers Are Identified and Involved . . . . . . . . . . . .383
5. Secondary Customers Are Identified and Consulted . . . . . .383
6. Process Suppliers Are Identified and Involved . . . . . . . . . .383
7. Process Outputs Are Identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .383
8. Process Inputs Are Identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384
9. Process Is Described by a Sound Business Model . . . . . . .384
10. Process Hierarchy Is Understood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384
11. Execution Is Enforceable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384
12. Process Is Designed to Provide Service Metrics . . . . . . .384
13. Service Metrics Are Compiled and Analyzed, Not Just Collected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .385
14. Process Is Designed to Provide Process Metrics . . . . . . .385
15. Process Metrics Are Compiled and Analyzed, Not Just Collected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .386
16. Documentation Is Thorough, Accurate, and Easily Understood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .386
17. Process Contains All Required Value-Added Steps . . . . . .387
18. Process Eliminates All Non-Value-Added Steps . . . . . . . .387
19. Process Guarantees Accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .388
20. Process Provides Incentives for Compliance and Penalties for Avoidance or Circumvention . . . . . . . . . . . .388
21. Process Is Standardized Across all Appropriate Departments and Remote Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .388
22. Process Is Streamlined as Much as Possible and Practical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .389
23. Process Is Automated Wherever Practical, but Only after Streamlining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .389
24. Process Integrates with all Other Appropriate Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .389
Understanding the Differences Between a Formal Process and an Informal Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Helpful Ground Rules for Brainstorming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Methods for Prioritizing Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Chapter 20 Using Technology to Automate and Evaluate Robust
Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Automating Robust Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Evaluating an Infrastructure Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Evaluating Process Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Benefits of the Methodology to Evaluate Process Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
Chapter 21 Integrating Systems Management Processes . . 415
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Distinguishing Strategic Processes from Tactical Processes . . . . 415
Identifying Strategic Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .416
Identifying Tactical Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .417
The Value of Distinguishing Strategic from Tactical Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .418
Relationships Between Strategic and Tactical Processes . . . . . . 418
Difficulties with Integrating Solely Tactical Processes . . . . . . .420
Difficulties with Integrating Solely Strategic Processes . . . . . .421
Difficulties with Integrating Tactical and Strategic Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .421
Examining the Integrated Relationships Between Strategic and Tactical Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Significance of Systems Management Process Relationships. . . 428
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Chapter 22 Special Considerations for Client-Server and Web-Enabled Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Client-Server Environment Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Vendor Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .434
Multiplatform Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .434
Performance and Tuning Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .435
Disaster-Recovery Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .436
Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .438
Web-Enabled Environment Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Traditional Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .441
Moderate and Growing Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442
Dotcom Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .443
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Test Your Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Suggested Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Appendix A Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Appendix B Summary of Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Appendix C Assessment Worksheets Without
Weighting Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Appendix D Assessment Worksheets With Weighting
Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
Appendix E Historical Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Appendix F Evolving in the 1970s and 1980s . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
Appendix G Into and Beyond the New Millennium . . . . . . . . . 521
Appendix H Answers to Selected Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543
9780137025060, TOC, 1/11/2010
