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Success StoriesNetherlands / Konica Minolta Printing Solutions Europe - Modern and flexible infrastructure
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Rapidly growing server park "Our server park had grown dramatically in just a few years and was also quite obsolete," Rob Rutten relates. As the Finance Division Manager of Konica Minolta Printing Solutions Europe, he is responsible for the information provision within the enterprise. "At one point we had no fewer than 35 servers, a large number of which were at the end of their life cycle. So these needed to be replaced within the short term. Moreover, quite a few of the servers were operating virtually at maximum processing capacity, though storage capacity utilization was frequently not even fifty percent." Moreover, we had another problem. "It was quite clear to us that we needed to do something about our backup procedures," Rutten adds. "Of course, we made copies of all the business-critical data, but it was also clear that we were not making backups of some of our data. For example, files on the local hard disks of desktops and laptops. The situation in terms of email backup also turned out to be less than optimal." We made the following request of COMPAREX: develop a server environment that is both modern and flexible and that provides a well-structured backup and restore approach that covers all the data," Rutten explains. "Moreover, as a point of departure we let COMPAREX know that our ICT department is small. Two employees must be able to perform all the management tasks." Utilizing Virtual servers Based on these requirements, COMPAREX developed a system environment for Konica Minolta in which server consolidation played a major role. The 35 individual systems were replaced by four large IBM xSeries servers on which VMware ESX programs are installed. This makes it possible to create so-called virtual servers on the four large IBM systems. In this way, all the existing applications can be maintained in the normal manner and still be used on one of the four servers. It makes no difference whether these information systems previously ran on Windows, Unix or Linux, for example. VMware has developed a work method in which a large number of management systems can be used alongside one another on the same server. Storage management at a high level Just like many other companies, the need for storage at Konica Minolta is growing quickly. The IBM storage equipment proposed by COMPAREX is dimensioned in such a way that not only can this growth be accommodated, but sufficient storage area can also be created to realize redundancy. All storage devices are included in a separate 'storage area network' (SAN). The benefit of this work method is that retrieving or writing data no longer imposes a burden for Konica Minolta’s company network. All data is now placed on disk via a separate network. This network is based on fast fiber channel technology. Backup and restore well organized The situation regarding backups and restores is now well organized, as well. Konica Minolta Printing Solutions Europe uses Tivoli Storage Manager software and IBM tape libraries for this to create copies of all the data, thus ensuring the availability of all business-critical data. Now any disruptions that might arise at Konica Minolta no longer pose a problem. Should a malfunction occur in an application or an operating system, the VMware technology offers outstanding possibilities for making the application available to the users again in short order. Should a disk drive develop problems, the Tivoli Storage Manager ensures that the data on this disk is still accessible to the users. Moreover, the management of the total technical infrastructure is set up in such a way that the two Konica Minolta system managers can perform their tasks without problems. "This project was our first acquaintance with COMPAREX," Rutten relates. "At the beginning of the process, we sent out a 'request for proposal' to a number of ICT companies. We chose COMPAREX as our partner because of their professional work method, which was evident from the very beginning and the innovative approach they suggested to us." Summary COMPAREX has developed a new technical infrastructure for Konica Minolta in which server consolidation plays a pivotal role. The install base for Konica Minolta consisted of 35 individual systems that COMPAREX replaced by four large IBM xSeries 365 servers. To improve the backup and restore process, the consultants selected VMware virtualization technology and Tivoli storage management software. VMware ESX software is installed on the four IBM xSeries 365 servers to create the virtual servers. The big advantage of this is that all existing applications are maintained and can be used on one of the four servers. To generate more storage capacity, COMPAREX has implemented a separate SAN environment based on Fiber Channel technology.
How does the Virtual Infrastructure work? The Virtual Infrastructure is made possible by creating a virtual hardware platform. Operating systems run on a uniform hardware image that is incorporated in the software. On top of this, VMware provides management products for managing these virtual systems, which automatically allocate workload to the physical systems; these programs also make it possible to relocate virtual systems dynamically without downtime. | |
