Engineering Inc. - November/December 2008 - (Page 34)

TECHNoLoGY CoLumN PROTECT AND SERVE Poor server management means increased costs, greater security risks By Bob Violino Businesses have seen a proliferation of servers; failure to manage these information technology (IT) resources effectively can result in rising costs, increased energy consumption, information security risks and other problems. Engineering firms have to deal with server management challenges just like any other business. Among the key issues: server virtualization, energy usage, availability, storage and security. Philadelphia-based engineering firm Pennoni Associates, Inc. supports an increasingly complex array of applications and services for its 850 employees. The firm runs 70 servers to support communications, e-mail and web applications, as well as core functions, including enterprise resource planning applications and file and printer sharing. “Growing our server population resulted in us outgrowing our headquarters data center and moving to an off-site collocation strategy, where we now position high-value assets and critical systems in a 24/7 protected facility,” says Markus Weidner, director of IT at Pennoni Associates. In the process of that conversion, the firm identified many servers that could be virtualized without an impact on performance or functionality. Virtualization is a concept by which single servers are divided into multiple virtual machines that can run multiple operating systems and applications as if they were running on physically separate machines. Already virtualization has resolved some of the firm’s server management challenges, such as power, cooling and disaster recovery, Weidner says. “We would have a very difficult time finding cooling and power if we turned our 25 virtual machines into physical boxes today,” he explains. Storage is another of Pennoni’s concerns, particularly with the growth it has seen recently at its branch offices. The firm’s IT staff is developing an archival policy to control that growth “so that we are only storing and backing up current projects,” Weidner says. “This will prevent us from the constant cycle of adding more drive space.” multiple applications to locate information. “There are hundreds of documents in various formats that engineers have to manage for every project they’re working on, and all are working on multiple projects,” Mulrooney says. “The time needed to navigate all those applications to locate the files they need adds up quickly.” To solve this challenge, the firm deployed a central repository for data collected from multiple servers. Combining the information stored on multiple servers and making it available to engineers from a single interface ensures quick, easy access to everything, no matter where it’s stored, says Mulrooney. Yet another concern for Delta is server sprawl—and the costs associated with it. The firm has rapidly increased its number of servers, in part to support the hundreds of applications it provides to its engineers, many of which require high bandwidth and memory. Accessibility Another challenge is how to make the information stored on servers easily accessible to engineers, says Colleen Mulrooney, IT manager for Delta Engineers & Architects in Binghamton, N.Y. “Every day, our engineers manage information that comes in various formats,” including e-mails, transmittals, specifications, drawing files and customer data, Mulrooney says. “The delivery and storage systems for that data could be a database server, e-mail server or file server, which requires providing a separate interface for each.” That type of environment often requires engineers to sift through 34 ENGINEERING INC. NovEmbER / DECEmbER 2008 The firms soon will launch a server virtualization project to cut down on the number of physical servers in use. “We should be able to cut the number of physical servers down by about 60 percent,” Mulrooney says. “That will significantly decrease our software and hardware expenditures.” Protecting servers against viruses and other security threats is another concern. “A user could access a seemingly legitimate website and download a Trojan horse virus that’s designed to provide remote access to someone with malicious intent,” Mulrooney says. A new breed of Trojan horse virus that security companies are warning about requires no user interaction. “This type of threat could open up every employee in the company to identity theft,” explains Mulrooney. “Most firms store the sensitive personal information of all their employees on at least one server—so without adequate security, this could pose a significant threat.” To protect against unwanted network intrusions, Delta employs filters and antispyware technology that blocks and, in some cases, quarantines compromised websites and e-mails before they reach users’ desks. n Bob Violino is a business writer living in Massapequa Park, N.Y.

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Engineering Inc. - September/October 2008 Contents From ACEC to You News & Notes Market Watch Legislative Action Engineering Goes Back to School Winning the Talent War Mastering A Hard-Luck Economy Education Makes the Grade in Green Construction 2008 Young Professionals of the Year 2008 Fall Conference Highlights Technology Members in the News One On One

Engineering Inc. - November/December 2008

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