Case Study

Green IT Project Report: consolidation and virtualization in x86 environments

Wincor Nixdorf boosts performance and

cuts power consumption by 75 percent

» It pays to work with innovative technology and a leading IT

provider: energy savings and performance benefits combine with
virtualization technology to permit significant enhancement of
IT operations. «
Dietmar Leineweber, Manager Basic IT Infrastructure with Wincor Nixdorf

à The challenge
To reduce complexity – consolidation of Blade Server infrastructure with 150 servers
To cut costs – modern server hardware and virtualization
To improve service for users – streamlined operational processes and improved application availability
To commit to green IT – energy savings and efficient use of advanced technology

à The solution
Wincor Nixdorf’s Padergreen Project, which involved the
replacement of 150 Blade Servers, clearly showed that a
combination of current server technology and
virtualization technology is the best way to take full
advantage of potential for savings. Fujitsu determined
the optimal mix for Green IT by
comparing the Blade Server environment in place with a
target configuration consisting of current PRIMERGY
Blade Servers with VMware under actual customer
operating conditions. In the case of Wincor Nixdorf, it was
found that it would be possible to reduce the number of
servers required by more than 80 percent and cut energy
consumption by 75 percent. In addition, Wincor Nixdorf was
also able to achieve significant improvement in performance
at the operational level and reduce administrative expense.

Wincor Nixdorf ranks among the world’s leading providers of IT solutions and services for
banks and retail operations. The group has subsidiaries in 37 countries and is present in a total
of some 100 countries with a total of more than 9,000 employees.
More at: www.wincor-nixdorf.com
 à Solution components à Customer benefits

Padergreen Green IT Project: energy-optimized Energy savings of up to 75 percent

consolidation of 150 Blade Servers Reduction of number of servers by 80 percent
PRIMERGY BX600 S3 Advanced Blade Improved application performance
EcoSystem with PRIMERGY BX620 S4 blades Services and applications available on demand
VMware ESX Server Economical high-availability management
Simplified administration
Lower investment and maintenance expense

à The project
How much energy is it possible to save and how much improvement can be achieved in IT operation through
modernization of x86 server infrastructures? Wincor Nixdorf wanted to find out and turned to Fujitsu for the
answer. When the Padergreen Project was launched, the Wincor Nixdorf Paderborn data center
had a modern, extensively standardized infrastructure in place with systems that had been in operation for two
years. Applications and services were supported by 150 PRIMERGY Blade Servers from different generations. However,
workload analysis showed that most smaller and medium-sized “VMware ready” application servers were being
used at less than 10 percent of capacity on average and at only 50 percent during peak periods. Only a single system,
the one running the management software for the entire data center, had a greater workload. All in all, only a
quarter of the available compute capacity was actually required for normal operation. That meant there was
considerable potential for improvement in the use of the capacity of the physical hardware. Wincor Nixdorf is
now running an average of about six virtual machines on each physical server. The performance-related power
consumption of six old server blades was compared with a new model based on six virtual machines and the
energy saving was then calculated for each fully populated chassis. However, the number of virtual machines per
ESX server will be steadily increased in the future for performance reasons.

à A record of success
The improved performance and energy efficiency of the new server technology – in this case PRIMERGY BX600 S3
with BX620 S4 blades – in combination with virtualization technology produces the best results. Wincor Nixdorf’s
systems engineer Mark Rappsilber says: “The use of current servers permits an impressive reduction in hardware.
Enormous savings result when efficient systems are paired with virtualization.” High-performance, energy-efficient
hardware represents the key to such savings. Taking into account the security guidelines of Wincor Nixdorf, it was
possible to reduce the size of the server farm by a factor of 6. With VMware ESX Server, Wincor Nixdorf can now
make optimal use of available compute power. All in all, that adds up to a reduction of up to 75 percent in energy
costs. Depending on the price per kWh, annual savings for each fully populated PRIMERGY BX600 Blade Server
system can come to between 7,000 and 11,000 Euro. This very positive energy balance is accompanied by further
benefits. For example, capital expenditure and maintenance expense are lower, and the infrastructure to be
managed is leaner. In addition, users benefit from high-availability management of applications and services and
demand-based performance. Dietmar Leineweber, manager Basic IT Infrastructure, concludes: “It’s worth investing
in Green IT because it means improved efficiency and performance, less hardware, lower costs and less impact on
the environment.”

à Contact Fujitsu Technology Solutions GmbH,

Mies-van-der-Rohe-Strasse 8, D-80807 Munich,
Phone +49 (0) 89 62060-0
Fujitsu ts.fujitsu.com/casestudies

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