* Utility computing is valuable with or without an outside third party
“Utility computing” is the term most often used to describe “metered” use of computing resources, perhaps purchased from a third party. The idea behind utility computing is that you don’t need to build a data center that meets your peak demand; you can build a less powerful one and then buy access to another data center at peak times. For data center managers, the dream of buying compute resources on a competitive market may seem a bit far off – but there are a lot of benefits in adopting the utility computing model, even if you never intend to buy resources from outside your company.
Utility computing provides cost transparency in your data center. To be able to provide “metered” computing, you need to monitor and accurately calculate the cost of each compute cycle. In today’s data centers, with “silo” applications and static allocations of resources, it is easy to calculate costs and utilization, but not utility – that is, you can’t measure whether you’re making the best use of resources.
In other words, in today’s data center it is easier to see the cost, but not the demand for resources. Market theory teaches us that the most efficient allocation of resources occurs when supply and demand balance at a specific price point.
Utility computing can create a transparent market for the allocation of resources. This is tremendously useful, even if it is a closed market (i.e., used only inside a company). In such a market, demand for applications would raise the price of resources, while oversupply would lower the price. A utility model would much better adapt to competing demands for resources:
* A one-hour compute “slice” is probably worth more at 10 a.m. than at 10 p.m.
* A high-ROI application should be able to marshal more resources than a low-ROI application.
* Equipment failures are evident as missed opportunities to “sell” resources.
* QoS, speed of response and levels of security could all be reflected as “pricier” options.
Today, all of the issues above are hidden in the costs of the infrastructure and therefore are rarely accounted for in planning priorities. Companies have already discovered great operational efficiencies in providing metered, or charge-back, services for such things as e-mail, anti-virus, desktop support and security. Utility computing simply extends this model and brings the promise of much more efficient allocation of the company’s scarcest resource: the data center.
