IT-Informatik moves into SAP application hosting with IBM Power Systems servers

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Based in Ulm, Germany, IT-Informatik provides IT solutions for mid-market businesses, including infrastructure, backup, security and data integration services. The company also offers Web hosting services for medium-sized companies and large enterprises. IT-Informatik employs 150 people.

IT-Informatik realized that many of its smaller clients were considering implementing centralized enterprise resource planning solutions such as SAP ERP, but did not want to have to manage the day-to-day administration and maintenance of a potentially complex new environment.

The company decided to start offering hosting services for SAP application environments, and developed a methodology known as EMU (Einführungsmodell für Mittelständische Unternehmen, or “implementation model for mid-market companies”) to help enable rapid deployment of preconfigured business applications such as SAP ERP.

Next, IT-Informatik began looking for a hardware platform and operating system that would offer the optimum combination of security, performance, cost-efficiency and ease of management for the new hosted systems.

“For optimal SAP ERP performance, we wanted a 64-bit operating system,” explains Achim Schütz, Team Leader at IT-Informatik. “We looked at Windows, but we weren’t confident in the capability of their 64-bit platform. We had already been using various versions of Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for some other hosted systems, and both we and our customers were very impressed, so we decided to go down the open source route.”

He continues: “On the hardware side, we have a long history of working with IBM – we have always found IBM hardware to be well built and highly reliable. Moreover, IBM has good credentials for supporting open source environments, and is the only vendor whose virtualization technologies have reached true maturity. We knew that a virtualized server infrastructure based on IBM Power Systems and PowerVM technologies could provide the robust yet flexible environment we needed to host our clients’ SAP applications successfully.”

Harnessing IBM hardware

IT-Informatik deployed three IBM Power Systems servers (IBM System p5 520 servers) with a total of twelve IBM POWER5+ processors to handle the new SAP ERP environments. The company also bought p5-520s for other non-SAP systems.

“The twelve CPUs that we use for the SAP ERP workload are divided into 25 logical partitions, or LPARs,” explains Achim Schütz. “Each partition is completely logically separate, so there is total security for each of the SAP instances and SUSE Linux environments – and there is no danger of different companies’ systems affecting each other.”

IBM PowerVM provides the technology to operate multiple customer SAP applications (ranging from SAP R/3® up to SAP ERP 6.0), running under various versions of SUSE Linux, in a fully virtualized environment. By differentiating LPAR entitlements and weight factors, the individual service levels required by each customer can be achieved. Peaks in workload are dynamically managed according to predefined priority rules, using a pool of processors instead of a traditional dedicated processor model. As a result, less hardware investment is required to ensure that peak workload can be handled effectively.

For example, if one of IT-Informatik’s clients’ production systems is performing a resource-hungry task like the monthly financial close, capacity can be diverted from development and quality assurance systems to maintain optimal performance. Equally, if a client wants to add more users or install a new SAP application, it is a simple task to re-size the LPARs or create new ones. Even where there are unplanned load changes or growth in required capacity, these can easily be managed by simply changing the parameters of the LPARs.

This strategy of sharing resources is highly effective for hosting multiple small SAP application landscapes, such as those run by the majority of IT-Informatik’s clients. It provides a cost-efficient environment for both SAP service providers and their hosted customers to flexibly operate SAP business applications.

Achim Schütz adds: “One of the biggest benefits of PowerVM is that when we win a new client, instead of ordering new physical servers, waiting for them to be delivered, clearing space in the data center, setting up the machines and so on, we can simply create a new LPAR in a matter of minutes. This means we can get their new environment up and running very quickly, which makes our service a much more attractive proposition.”

Looking forward to POWER6

IT-Informatik is planning to upgrade to new IBM POWER6 CPUs in the near future, to take advantage of features such as improved energy efficiency and Live Partition Mobility.

“Of course, carbon footprints and Green IT are a big talking point at the moment, but it also makes a lot of sense from a financial point of view to invest in energy-efficient hardware,” says Achim Schütz. “POWER6 can help us reduce our electricity bill, enabling us to offer better rates to our clients and become even more competitive.”

He adds: “From the operational point of view, the POWER6 Live Partition Mobility feature will be a huge advantage. When we need to perform scheduled maintenance on one server, we will be able to move workload across to another machine seamlessly – without disrupting our clients’ users. Instead of the inconvenience of taking some of their systems offline, we will be able to provide truly 24x7 availability.”

Easy storage management

In addition to the server landscape, IT-Informatik has also deployed a SAN for the hosted environment, built around IBM System Storage DS4700 hardware. The environment is protected by IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM).

“The combination of TSM and the DS4700 gives us a storage infrastructure that offers reliability and performance, while remaining simple to maintain and manage,” says Achim Schütz. “By deploying a combination of high-speed and high-capacity disks in the DS4700, we can achieve optimal levels of performance and cost-efficiency; meanwhile, TSM provides us with total confidence that we can back up and restore all data quickly and reliably.”

Ensuring high availability

IT-Informatik ensures high availability for its clients’ SAP applications by running the hosted environments on a multi-system landscape, where the hardware failure of a single system does not impact on the performance of the production systems. If one server fails, workload is failed-over to a different machine, and if necessary, resources can diverted from non-essential systems until the original server is repaired.

Customer satisfaction

Even without the benefits of POWER6, IT-Informatik’s clients are impressed with the service they receive – both in terms of the reliability and availability of the infrastructure, and the innovative approach provided by IT-Informatik’s EMU methodology.

IT-Informatik’s offering makes it possible even for mid-market customers to benefit from technologies built on the flagship SAP NetWeaver platform – such as advanced business intelligence, portal and integration functionalities. The latest generation of SAP applications also provides support for technologies such as Java, as well as Unicode for multiple language support. For these smaller companies, with limited in-house IT skills and resources, implementing such full-featured, end-to-end SAP ERP solutions might not otherwise be possible.

Carsten Lienert, Head of IT at Solo Kleinmotoren, a manufacturer of motor-driven products such as chainsaws and lawnmowers, is one of many satisfied customers:

“With limited human resources in our IT department, it would have been very difficult for us to manage an SAP environment on our own. The IBM and IT-Informatik hosting solution was the best choice for us, in terms of both price performance and reliability – we are very satisfied with the relationship.”

Achim Schütz concludes: “The combination of our expert hosting services and the rock-solid IBM hardware platform enables us to provide a high level of service to clients that might not otherwise be able to support or afford an SAP application environment. The IBM Power Systems servers and DS4700 storage environment are making a huge contribution to our ability to set up new SAP systems and serve our clients rapidly and effectively.”