It Automation: The Quest for Lights Out

by Howie Lyke, Debra Cottone

Everyone wants a "lights out" data center, but in an era of distributed, Internet-centered computing, that's tougher to accomplish than ever. This book can get you close. It helps managers define realistic expectations and goals for automating IT, then presents a systematic, enterprise-level methodology that incorporates today's best approaches to achieving those goals. KEY Learn how to analyze your own data center, identify gaps and requirements for automation; and review the steps, operations, and considerations of automation design, in depth . Review organizational and staffing challenges associated with data center automation; learn how to redefine your technical architecture and administrative processes; evaluate and justify the cost of new systems; communicate and present the plan; and much more. You'll find detailed coverage of the actual deployment, as well as post-implementation continuous improvement techniques for making your "lights out" data center even more effective. The book contains sample project plans, process flows, IT organization charts, and other valuable resources for getting from where you are to where you want to be. For every IT executive, operations manager, consultant, and technology vendor seeking to enhance the reliability, performance, and value of enterprise data centers.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published December 24, 1999

Reviews

[Dale · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has garnered two positive reviews at Amazon, but I have no idea why. It purports to be a book about IT automation, but in fact it is nothing more than a generic project management book. It might as well be about retrofitting a ship, remodeling a house, or restoring a classic car. The author occasionally throws in phrases like 'UNIX filesystem' or 'Oracle database', but actual unix filesystems and Oracle databases are irrelevant to the content of this book.

It was, in short, an utter waste of time - unless you've never gone through the (painfully bureaucratic) process of requirements gathering, 'gap analysis', system design, etc. Or maybe it would be useful to some consultant wanting a way to pad his billable hours - a worthy goal for some, I suppose.

Besides all that, Prentice-Hall should be ashamed of themselves for the production quality of this book. It looks like it was generated from b & w photocopies of color pages.

[Delhi Irc]

Location: PTI IRC
Accession No: DL027457