PFCH DC Unification Project
UNIX and Linux Advantages
UNIX has been the cornerstone for infrastructure for the past decade with popular flavors such as Solaris (Craig, 2012). UNIX is a proprietary brand typically run in large organizational infrastructure. However, many of the UNIX variants are open source that allow users to customize their distribution as they see fit and making copies to install in an unlimited number of machines. UNIX offers a highly stable operating system (OS) that is ideal for full multitasking capabilities while protecting memory to prevent interference with other users. The stability provides greater uptime for increased productivity and less downtime for crash recovery and troubleshooting (Montpelier Open Source, n.d.). UNIX has been the baseline for Internet services and growth where machines on network can operate as clients and servers.
Linux is a variant of UNIX and has established itself in the desktop, workstation, and increasingly in the server environments. A key benefit for Linux is the scope of freedom of distributions (distros) that provide many applications, freeware, and add-ons (Stanford University, 2004). Linux is extremely portability to a wide range of new and old machines. The majority of Linux variants are available free or at an economical price compared to Microsoft Windows. Linux is a very secure operating system and although it still can be prone to attacks, it inherently is more secure than Windows. Another huge benefit is the reliability of UNIX and Linux versions that can often run for months without the need to reboot.
UNIX and Linux Disadvantages
The learning curve for Command Line Interface (CLI) with many new users can be a hostile environment. CLI is predominantly designed for programmers (Craig, 2012). The GUI has revolutionized the computer industry for speed, ease of use, and features. Typing and syntax have been passed over in favor of enriched GUI environments in which typos are a minor inconvenience. UNIX requires an understanding of the main design features that deliver powerful utilities to make commands and programs interact with each other. The utilities can often be overwhelming for a novice.
Many of the Linux distributions have improved significantly in ease of use however; Windows is still much easier for the novice user. Linux has a large variety of available software programs and utilities but Windows has definitive advantage in applications, programs, and 3rd party support. Although Linux organizations and hardware manufacturers have made advancements for compatibility with hardware devices, there are still companies, (e.g., Intel, Adobe) that do not provide drivers and support.
Security
UNIX and Linux systems provide inherent security measures essential in meeting the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. Within the law there are stipulations on how an organization is to implement technical safeguards to prevent data loss or compromise. Linux and UNIX systems meet safeguards stipulated in HIPAA such as ensuring data integrity, preventing unauthorized changes, and data encryption. UNIX and Linux increase the ability in preventing unauthorized changes because of the inherent architecture of the system. In a three layered sphere approach (FIG 1), the Kernel is the core of the system and interacts with the hardware directly. FIG 1
The Applications, Utilities, and Shells (AUS) layer interacts with the Kernel and users. The users interact with the AUS layer. At no point does a user have direct access to the Kernel, which helps to prevent an unauthorized user access to the Kernel to make changes (Tenouk, 2012). Furthermore, using a Security Enhanced Linux (SELinux) version provides Application Isolation, which does not affect users or other programs (Ellias, 2011).
There is a function built into UNIX and Linux that ensure file integrity by creating a checksum on the original file for later comparison to validate data integrity. Another built-in utility digitally signs and encrypts e-mails, which provides data integrity and non-repudiation.
Administration
Administration for Linux and UNIX is generally regarded as an upgrade to other operating systems because its open source has broad support, and it is a highly customizable environment.
In an open system model such as Linux and UNIX, there are many documents and training available to system administrators to install and optimize the system. Linux and Unix operate on many hardware platforms. Installing packages as a super user is easier because the administrator does not have to log out and log back in as a different user. He or she can simply use a command that temporary elevates the permissions for a specific operation thereby saving time and money.
Support for Linux and UNIX can be found on the Internet, books, and commercial companies. Initial paid support will assist in building and combining the data centers. After the data center is operational, all support can be done in-house through the open community.
Administrators can customize the code to match the consolidated data centers configuration by writing command scripts or installing task specific applications. High customization is key to a high input and output data center.
Performance
Server Virtualization has become one of the most popular and widely deployed virtualization technologies. “In a survey of 2,600 technology decision makers in the U.S. and Europe, Forrester Consulting found that 53 percent of enterprises and 54 percent of SMEs have either implemented x86 server virtualization technology or will within the next 12 months” (Juniper Networks, Inc., 2011). These statistics support a return on investment (ROI) for organizations such as Patton-Fuller Community Hospital (PFCH) strategizing a migration to a virtualized environment.
The greatest benefits for migration to a virtualized environment support reducing operational and energy costs (Juniper Networks, Inc., 2011). The migration of physical servers over to virtual machines and consolidating them onto a few physical servers means lowering monthly power and cooling costs in the PFCH data center. This is accomplished with the deployment of high efficiency physical servers. The higher the efficiency of the server delivers more efficient resource utilization as server workloads are divided on a single machine.
Server Virtualization will deliver many advanced features for PFCH that support business continuity and increased uptime. Features that offer capabilities for live migration, storage migration, fault tolerance, high availability, and distributed resource scheduling (IBM Systems, 2012). The high availability of applications is vital to an organization; and virtual machines (VMs) can be restarted quickly on new hardware when physical servers fail. VMs can be simply migrated ahead of time when servers need to be shut down for service or upgrades. The ability to quickly and easily move a virtual machine from one server to another is perhaps one of the greatest single benefits of virtualization with far-reaching uses.
The implementation of the new virtual environment with many new enhanced features does present challenges for the IT (Information Technology) staffing. One of the biggest challenges virtualization presents is the difficulty of managing a virtual infrastructure layered over a physical infrastructure (IBM Systems, 2012). In virtualized environments, it can be difficult to identify clearly where services, applications, and data reside, and to understand how they all work together. An organization will need to monitor their virtual environment using application performance management tools to mitigate performance issues. Many application performance management tools give organizations the ability to understand when and why performance has degraded while offering solutions to improve the functionality. Application performance management will simplify the operations management of the virtualized environment and network infrastructure.
Another obstacle of virtualization will be convincing people to buy into the project. Upper management and key stakeholders need to be convinced that virtualization is an established practice, will save the organization money, and address future planning for the growth of the business.
Cost

There are tremendous benefits toward moving to a virtual environment, cost savings is one the main advantages. The obvious cost savings to Patton-Fuller Community Hospital (PFCH) is the decrease in physical hardware. This one benefit will save from the costly purchases and maintenance of numerous servers. Several platforms (e.g., Unix, Linux, and Windows) may exist on one virtual machine, thus reducing the numbers of separate servers. Not only is there a reduction in the physical reduction of servers, there is also a cost saving in power consumption. Fewer servers, translates to less cool air blown into the data center that lowers the monthly utility bill. A visualization transition will enable for each application to have its own "virtual server" and will prevent one application from disrupting other applications when upgrades or changes are made (Muehlberger, 2005). This benefit will lower the downtime that departments within the he hospital will experience if one server encounters problem. By shifting to a visualization environment, PFCH can easily improve the efficiency of its Data Center, in addition to lower its cost of ownership.
Resource Utilization A decision to migrate Patton-Fuller Community's Hospital data center from its current infrastructure to a visualized infrastructure will not only reduce costs but also will maximize resource utilization. Presently PFCH employs two independent data centers that use separate power circuits, uninterruptible power source (UPS), routing, and networking infrastructure. A virtualization implementation would minimize excess resources while increasing resource performance. Virtualization allows the separation of hardware from the application, this division provides for system configurations, monitoring, and management to be blended and automated across one data center (Wood, 2006). Using the IBM Z9EC’s Hypervisor feature, multiple operation platforms can run in separate virtual machines (VM) instances or sessions. Applications such as the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and the Health Information System (HIS) can run on their own independent VM instance although physically on one system. If one VM has a problem, it will not interrupt other VMs. To avoid possible downtime because of a problem with the IBM Z9EC, which contains multiple VS sessions, a failover system will mirror the primary IBM Z9EC. According to Microsoft’s Director, Ramnish Singh, “Virtualization is a key enabler for reducing both power and cooling requirements in data centers” (Singh, 2008, p.1). The unification of the two data centers into a homogenized data center will make better consumption of electrical power as there will be less equipment to power, less real estate to cool, and the staffing can be reduced or transferred to other areas.

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