Still deploying IBM SevOne software on bare metal? We’ve made it easier!
Over the years SevOne customers have had a range of deployment options for their network observability software. Back in the day, SevOne software was bundled with a hardware appliance. Over time we’ve evolved to where most of our customers deploy their SevOne software virtually, either on-prem or in the cloud.
But we recognize that not all customers have access to virtual infrastructure to deploy on. In those cases, their only choice is to deploy physical servers, also known as "bare metal servers” to run their SevOne software.
Even in cases where virtualization is an option, some enterprises require bare metal deployments due to the stricter requirements and unique benefits it offers over virtual deployments. In the rest of this blog, we’ll explore the benefits to deploying IBM SevOne software on bare metal, and how our latest release, NMS 6.8.0, makes it even easier!
Benefits of bare metal deployments
The primary benefits of bare metal servers are based on the access end users have to hardware resources. The advantages of this approach include the following:
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Enhanced physical isolation and the associated security and regulatory benefits
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Greater processing power
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Complete control of their software stack
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More consistent disk and network I/O performance
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Greater quality of service (QoS) by eliminating the noisy neighbor phenomenon
Bare metal servers have a vital role in the infrastructure mix for some companies due to their unique combination of performance and control.
SevOne’s history of bare metal deployments
Prior to SevOne being acquired by IBM, customers could purchase both software and the hardware appliance to run SevOne software.
The hardware appliance was a Dell OEM server with the SevOne software pre-installed – effectively a turn-key bare metal deployment. Our customers loved the SevOne hardware appliance for its ease of use. No server Bill of Materials (BOM) or complicated specifications to navigate. No software installation. Just call us, select the hardware appliances from a catalog, and order. Of course, there was still a need to rack, IP and configure the network, but in general the appliance was seen as an easy solution.
Fast forward to post-acquisition in 2022. The mass adoption of virtualization continues in full force, and the use of SevOne hardware appliances declined rapidly. The decision was made to stop building and shipping hardware servers and pivot to focusing 100% of our effort on the value the software delivers, while still providing options for our customers to source hardware appliances through resellers.
However, we quickly learned the lack of procurement relationships with specific Dell resellers introduced new customer delays when deploying IBM SevOne NPM. As a result, IBM is excited to announce the following.
Source bare metal servers leveraging Red Hat’s Ecosystem Catalog
Starting in IBM SevOne NPM 6.8.0, SevOne customers will be able to install SevOne software on Red Hat RHEL 8 compatible server hardware. This means customer now have maximum flexibility to source hardware from a multitude of server vendor or value added resellers. This is possible due to a change in the core operating system in IBM SevOne NPM to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (RHEL). Now all SevOne NPM components can be installed on any bare metal server that is certified for RHEL 8.
Selecting the right server for building your own SevOne NPM servers
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Navigate to Red Hat’s Ecosystem Catalog and choose between the 1,434 certified x86-64bit server platforms for RHEL 8.
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Purchase a compatible server with resource specifications that meet or exceed the CPU/Memory/Disk/IOPS/NIC requirements.
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Rack, cable, and network the server after delivery.
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Download NMS 6.8 ISO from Passport Advantage and install on the server.
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Follow the remaining steps in the SevOne NMS Installation Guide to bring SevOne NPM online.
Summary
IBM plans to continue to expand deployment options so customer can use the optimal infrastructure to meet their budget needs.
Recommendation
Our recommendation remains to utilize Virtual Infrastructure. We will continue to invest in virtual deployment options as we believe this provides maximum flexibility for our diverse set of customers. Virtual deployment options for IBM SevOne NPM include: