Patent ID: 8392928

Claim:
A method for automatically recommending a consolidated workload placement in a data center, said method comprising: receiving historical data and workload constraints of a plurality of workloads; identifying a plurality of resources of said data center available for placement of said plurality of workloads; receiving resource constraints of said plurality of resources; assigning headroom ratings to said plurality of workloads based on said historical data, said workload constraints and said resource constraints, said headroom ratings describing how much more room is available for said plurality of workloads to grow on said plurality of resources; automatically generating a consolidation recommendation of said plurality of workloads on said plurality of said resources in said data center based on an analysis of said historical data, said plurality of workloads, said plurality of available resources in said data center and said headroom ratings; wherein said recommended consolidation provides an ordered list of said plurality of resources for the placement of said plurality of workloads on said plurality of resources, and a said resource of said plurality of resources is placed at the head of said ordered list when said resource constraint of said resource substantially equals and does not exceed any of said workload constraints of said plurality of workloads.