Product Overview
Metered ClearPath MCP servers provide industry-leading metering technology that measures the processing power delivered by the system. With metering, extra resources are available immediately, which provides you with extraordinary flexibility to meet seasonal peaks, to be prepared for growth, and to respond to the expected and unexpected increased demands. This flexibility is available seamlessly and cost efficiently.
The benefits of metering are achieved by using a pay-for-use business model in which you pay only for the exact amount of processing power you use, as you use it.
How Metering Works
Unlike traditional servers, you license a metered ClearPath server at your average run rate or usage level instead of the peak level of performance. Two licensing models are available.
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Base-plus-Usage licensing
With this model, you license the base configuration but receive a system with the ceiling level of performance activated and available for use. Ceiling-level performance is up to 10 times the amount of the available base processing power. The metering technology embedded in the ClearPath MCP Environment measures your system usage and reports the information to Unisys through e-mail on a monthly basis. If you have used processing power higher than the base level for which you are licensed, you are billed for it. If you have not exceeded this level, no charges are incurred.
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Prepaid Performance licensing
With this model, you license all of your processing power up front. Ceiling levels are set at the maximum processing power your server configuration can deliver.
Financial Benefits
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Lower up-front capital IT investment
You license up front only your average run rate, not your peak level of performance. Also, the monthly costs you incur for the use of metered processing power (using Base-plus-Usage licensing) are treated as operating expenses, not capital expenses.
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Pay-for-Use
Once you start metering on your server, your system usage is viewed in aggregate over the course of a month. If you use Base-plus-Usage licensing, the base amount of processing power licensed up front is subtracted from the total used that month. You only incur additional charges if you have used more processing power than that which you licensed up front.
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Better match of revenues to expenses
In a period of increased revenue-generating activity, such as during a seasonal busy period, the increased revenue that generates the need for additional system usage is tied to the associated expenses incurred. In a period of decreased revenue-generating activities, system usage and associated expenses decrease.
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Risk reduction
You pay only for what you use; revenue is earned before expense is incurred.
Operational Benefits
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Flexibility
Metering enables you to quickly respond to changes whether those changes are expected (for example, meet peaks or seasonal demand) or unexpected (for example, a promotion that drives more activity than you forecast).
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Improved service levels
Metering enables you to meet or improve your service level agreements even in times of unexpected demand.
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Elimination of workload shifts
Metering enables you to perform more work in less time and perhaps eliminate a workload shift. For example, you might be able to eliminate a third shift that runs batch jobs because the second shift has enough processing power to complete the batch run.
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Easier capacity planning
With metering, planning for resource needs 3-to-5 years into the future is easier because so much extra processing power is delivered with the system.
General Features
The Governor
The governor feature enables you to dynamically control the amount of processing power available to be metered. You can fine-tune your metering environment to use and control small portions of the processor power for an individual server. You can adjust the governor at any time through a system command. You can also use scripts to set a series of timed governor settings to match available processing power with your unique usage pattern.
Dynamic CPU Recovery
If a processor fails, the system automatically brings another processor online. The system searches first in the same module for a processor to bring online; then it searches in a different module. If no other processors are available, the system attempts to resuscitate the failed processor.
Automatic Regulation of Processing Power
The ability of the system to adjust its own performance is realized through automatic regulation of processing power. With this advancement if a processor goes offline (intentionally or not), the processing level of the remaining in-service processors is escalated to recapture, as much as possible, the processing power that was being delivered by the offline processor.
Configuration Requirements
Metering technology is available only on select ClearPath MCP server models.
Ordering Information
Metering technology is included in the operating environment for select ClearPath MCP server models.
Product Information
Online help is available with each component of the metering technology.
