May 23, 2013 at 9:16 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Provisioning
May 24, 2013 at 2:46 am
We are working on "infrastructure as sofware" where the entire build and more importantly the setup of a virtual machine is at the control of the command line.
Unfortunately this is only working in the Linux environments. It did take a lot of work to get it up and running but it is paying dividends now because a machine can be provisioned and/or torn down and rebuilt in seconds.
We can be absolutely sure that the builds for the different types of machine are consistent. The only difference between one web server and another is its name and IP address. Ditto the middleware servers, ditto the application servers.
I don't think that getting SQL Server to preconfigure is insurmountable its a matter of time, effort and a some head scratching.
May 24, 2013 at 3:38 am
We are working on automated provisioning of everything and private cloud. That everything includes Windows, SQL, AIX, DB2, SAP etc...
But, the weeks of process for approvals before hand are lagging far behind.
I've pre-built scripts to deploy systems and 100s of databases in minutes previously, it's certainly not rocket science, but the processes, approvals, funding etc need to catch up drastically.
The best thing about Cloud, is using it as leverage to show what's possible when IT are unleashed with some development support and decent tooling.
May 24, 2013 at 5:06 am
We install manually after the blank os on the virtual machine has been provided. Usually takes two weeks to a month before it gets planned in. Bigger items a year (annual budget review). Currently testing automated client-os rollouts shrinking it from two days to half a day(?).
May 24, 2013 at 6:27 am
The only thing inherently different about the cloud is the lead time for hardware.
Determining specs takes no longer locally, nor does getting an AR approved. You might save a few hours of SQL install time, but configuring is basically the same if you use a template locally as if you use a template offsite.
...
-- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers --
May 24, 2013 at 6:37 am
The only time I've seen an actual process take 6 months was right after we changed our reseller and leasing partners and had to have hardware in place on foreign soil (China and the UK). In-country provisioning of new hardware from idea to "in-production" would normally take a month at most.
We do have virtualization, and that is at most two weeks from idea to "in-production".
May 24, 2013 at 7:12 am
I agree that cloud computing might ease the time constraints but for some companies, it's not always an issue of purchasing and installing hardware or even setting up the VM to support that particular instance of SQL Server. The real issues begin to kick in when they start implementing their security models which will dictate what roles your or your group will have access to. Some companies my put an outright ban on allowing sysadmin roles for anyone but their dedicated dba team members. Then we have company specific rules and regulations that need to be thought through. So, even though setting up a virtual machine with SQL Server on it should be fairly straight forward, the rest of the process isn't.
Our last server upgrade went fairly smooth with some exceptions. But from the time we requested the upgrade to SQL Server 2012 to the actual time we had it up and ready for our use, it was at best two months. Thats in a VM shop too. Why so long? The timeing of the event was just all wrong. Our company is going through a major upgrade to one of it's claim systems and people resources are virtually non-existent. Given that and all of the discussions we had to get it set up, the wait was justifiable in the companies eyes. Afterall, we did have an existing server that was working just fine and we really weren't in any rush to get a new server.
So, time delays may be something we may all just need to live with, depending on where you work, their policies, work loads, and the visibility of your server.
May 24, 2013 at 8:24 am
Well, let's see... Our project to upgrade just 4 SQL servers is going on 2 years, now. The biggest thing that seems to be getting in our way is getting approval from the business unit that their applications support SQL Server 2008 R2... Yes, that's right, we're not even talking about 2012. Once all applications on a particular database server have signed-off the nightmare of getting the VM provisioned begins. Forms are completed, emailed, printed, signed and filed off somewhere. We have meeting-after-meeting about the CURRENT and TO BE environments, SQL licensing, and Disaster Recovery.
For the most recent iteration of this project (new SQL server 2 of 4) it took 7 months to go through all of the red tape and get the VM Provisioning specs finalized and approved. Total time from spec completion to VM build... 2 more months. Once it was turned over to the DBAs, total time to get SQL Server installed (Slipstream SP2), configured, and all databases migrated and integrated within existing maintenance plans... 16 hours. **headdesk**
May 24, 2013 at 8:46 am
My current upgrade project will have been running about a year when it’s complete. :unsure: Of course, I am assuming that there are no new surprises.
This is the last hardware upgrade, that I can ask for, for the next 5 years.:Whistling:
May 24, 2013 at 9:04 am
GBimberg (5/24/2013)
My current upgrade project will have been running about a year when it’s complete. :unsure: Of course, I am assuming that there are no new surprises.This is the last hardware upgrade, that I can ask for, for the next 5 years.:Whistling:
My deepest sympathy. I think in this situation I would be looking for a new job.
May 28, 2013 at 4:05 am
Using the Cloud can significantly speed up the server provisioning cycle.
It used to take about 3 months for us to move from proposal to in-use server, but after out move to AWS last year this is now about 2 - 3 days. The technical bits of this typically take under 1 day, but there are those pesky approvals to get done.
This change in speed has forced a change of thinking on us. Cost management of server spend used to get buried in the Capex process for getting new servers. Removing the Capex process initially resulted in cost management becoming an orphan that no-one properly looked after.
We have now moved to making the Operations Team responsible for budget management for server costs, resulting in KPIs around this for the Windows System people. Moving to the Cloud gives some interesting new opportunities, but also some new challenges to overcome.
Original author: https://github.com/SQL-FineBuild/Common/wiki/ 1-click install and best practice configuration of SQL Server 2019, 2017 2016, 2014, 2012, 2008 R2, 2008 and 2005.
When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor they call me a communist - Archbishop Hélder Câmara
May 28, 2013 at 9:28 am
Revenant (5/24/2013)
GBimberg (5/24/2013)
My current upgrade project will have been running about a year when it’s complete. :unsure: Of course, I am assuming that there are no new surprises.This is the last hardware upgrade, that I can ask for, for the next 5 years.:Whistling:
My deepest sympathy. I think in this situation I would be looking for a new job.
Why? I'd hope many servers can last 5 years at this point. If there's a need to upgrade, fine, but being on a 2-3 year cycle these days seems silly with the power of the hardware.
I would hope that if something grows fast and you need an upgrade, you get it, but having a standard in place like 5 years makes sense to me.
May 28, 2013 at 9:49 am
Companies that have set hardware upgrade cycles do so to keep their maintenance agreements with their hardware vendors up to date.
Like Steve said, it makes perfect sense to be on a 5 year hardware cycle barring any failures (which should be covered under a maintenance agreement).
December 23, 2016 at 12:24 am
At its fastest, that is, when the will from upper management is there, our sysadmins can have a server environment ready for us within a few hours.
Normally it takes a project application process that takes many weeks - application, approval for study, study, cost-appraisal and so on.
At the other end of the scale where funding from external sources is involved, the process can run between 6 months and a year.
What takes time is the bureaucratic process. For small projects it seems senseless, for large projects a necessity to prevent failure. Department heads meet once a week. The projects approval group meets once a month and each meeting determines whether the project application will go on further to the next stage.
Our sysadmins have their licensing, system-images, hardware and software in order. Once the approval goes through, it is only a matter of hours before I can start installing SQL Server onto a fresh new server.
December 27, 2016 at 6:41 am
Days
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