Solution Spotlight: Virtualized Data Center Assessment and Storage Solution

Customer: Consumer cable, phone and satellite information company
Location: Northern Georgia

Highlights

The customer's data center was quickly running out of storage space. A cost-effective virtualized server solution was implemented working with HP LeftHand Networks. The customer needed a solution that supported their Microsoft Exchange Servers as well as retain the ability to perform snapshots.

Benefits

• The HP LeftHand Networks offering provided an easy, efficient and flexible data center solution for daily storage management.
• Software and hardware are managed from a single interface.
• Significant cost savings due to a replication feature for disaster preparedness, included at no additional cost.
• The solution eased administrative tasks associated with the backup of existing Microsoft Exchange Servers.

Business Need

This customer had been working with MCPc since 2000, and in 2007, determined they were quickly running out of data center storage space. The organization, which had recently implemented VMware, was concerned about cost, as well as how to support their Microsoft Exchange Servers and the ability to perform snapshots. MCPc won the customer’s trust for this project over another technology provider — which had proposed an expensive, conventional storage solution — by suggesting that the customer support its virtualized servers with a virtualized data storage solution.

Solution

After working with the customer on a complete data center assessment, MCPc recommended a virtualized storage solution from HP LeftHand Networks, which provided more flexibility at a lower price point than many other options. In addition, HP LeftHand supports the iSCSI protocol which the customer uses to communicate between multiple offices and call center locations. HP LeftHand also offered several features that the customer discussed implementing in the future.

Through additional conversations, MCPc learned that the customer had problems with backups and snapshots through their Microsoft Exchange Servers, for which LeftHand Networks provided with a unique solution. Overall, there were three major factors behind MCPc’s recommendation:

• The customer was facing uncontrolled storage growth, which HP LeftHand supported better than a conventional data storage solution because of the ability to add additional storage capacity upon demand, non-disruptively.
• The solution eased administrative tasks associated with the backup of their existing Microsoft Exchange Servers.
• At the time, HP LeftHand Networks was the first and only virtualized storage solution formally recognized by VMware.

MCPc also helped the customer upgrade their backup software to the latest Symantec offering for additional stability and security.

Results

The HP LeftHand Networks solution from MCPc offers the customer an easy, efficient and flexible solution for daily storage management. Software and hardware are managed from a single interface, whereas the competitor’s proposed solution would have involved more points of management and numerous application interfaces.

Prior to implementing this storage solution, the customer had a patchwork storage framework from different manufacturers to which they added at need. HP LeftHand offers a non-disruptive approach to storage space additions — when more storage is needed, it is plugged in live, without having to interrupt end users.

The customer has also realized tremendous cost savings due to a replication feature for disaster preparedness that was included at no additional cost.

In the two years since the new data storage solution was implemented, there have been no breakdowns or major errors with the system. MCPc is still working with this customer as a complete technology solutions provider with active projects for other IT needs. If you have questions about your current data center storage solution and capacity, MCPc is available to speak with you about your situation, provide a data center assessment and develop a scalable plan for your business.