Provisioning Just-in-Time Not Just-in-Case

For IT to function successfully in an On Demand business environment, it must master change as a normal event. The old line that change is constant has finally given way to the realization that change is changing—it’s accelerating. In the face of that accelerating change, IT is frequently called upon to repurpose existing infrastructure, such as reprovisioning an older database server as a Web server, as well as to roll out new equipment, especially in the form of new laptop or desktop PCs. Typically, these are highly labor-intensive tasks that could be made significantly more cost-effective and less prone to error through automation, with a solution such as IBM® Tivoli® Provisioning Manager. What’s more, Tivoli Provisioning Manager integrates with Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database (CCMDB) in a sophisticated ITSM framework.

The first rule for any automated provisioning solution is that it must work with any existing infrastructure in order to maximize ROI and minimize the time to value. More importantly, by working with most, if not all, of the existing hardware and software infrastructure, it will enable IT to dynamically pool servers for repurposing. Therefore, the software should provide features that support high usage of IT resources. This in turn leads to another often overlooked, but very tangible, benefit: The capability allows IT to build and tear down diverse, open environments for application testing and data center resiliency.

The express purpose of an automated provisioning solution is to automate repetitive manual tasks to avoid human errors and thereby drive deployment efficiency. Within that context, the second rule for automated provisioning is to work with existing management policy infrastructure. While CIOs at most sites will want to implement workflows based on best practices as defined by such sources as the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), they will also want to rationalize those practices with their own special circumstances.

Most organizations have procedures that they follow to provision their IT environments, including operating systems, servers, middleware, applications, power supplies, storage, and networking devices. These local best practices are well understood by IT staff and accepted by senior line of business managers. As a result, an automated provisioning solution should provide for a plethora of out-of-the-box workflows based on generally accepted best practices; but it should also include a graphical editor to customize workflows and encapsulate local requirements and exceptions to reduce complexity for the IT staff. The least effective automation package is the one that automates everything perfectly, but is never accessed because no operator understands what the software is doing.

Tivoli Provisioning Manager provides a solution for automated provisioning that meets these criteria and goes a considerable step further through integration with a full ITSM framework. It includes a significant number of out of the box workflows to automate manual datacenter processes. Through the IBM Tivoli Open Process Automation Library (OPAL), IT operations managers can obtain additional automation workflows published by IBM, business partners, and Independent Software Vendors (ISV). In addition, TPM provides a role-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) to easily change the execution of tasks and reorganize reports so that they fit into the site’s best practices.

TPM also provides for very robust software provisioning. It can handle the provisioning of applications and middleware within the guidelines of site policies. In addition, TPM can also be used for software patch management. These capabilities can be further extended through integration with Tivoli Release Process Manager. For many, however, what will be the most valuable module will be the Rembo technology for bare metal OS deployment—currently available for Microsoft® Windows, Linux®, and Solaris—which also include support for bios updates and even RAID configurations.

All of this capability is enabled by the Tivoli Provisioning Manager Database (TPD). Through integration with CCMDB, the TPD can be readily populated. What’s more, the CCMDB supports powerful database federation capabilities and the discovery and collection of data with and without the deployment of software agents.

The bottom line for CIOs looking to automate provisioning and configuration tasks is that all of these production functions will now be consistently executed in a correct fashion. This extends down to preproduction test environments, which under ITSM can become a far more effective environment and eliminate the need to make end-users the testers of choice. The end result is the optimization of IT productivity as system administrators are empowered to help eliminate redundant, manual tasks and focus on key business objectives and strategic projects.