Task.
Manor has two high-availability data centres located at two sites in Basel and housing some 180 virtual servers running a multitude of applications. An Open VMS dual-site cluster holds some 70 Oracle databases including enterprise resource planning. Around 80% of the company’s Linux and 65% of its Windows servers have been virtualised with VMware, while client computers are integrated via a Citrix farm. Each data centre is set up with self-contained as well as cross-site redundancy. Security and availability are very high up on the agenda. System downtime would affect all operations from administration to logistics to the point of sale—with grave consequences to the company’s finances. Manor therefore expected a lot from its future storage system. The new high-end solution would have to meet demanding performance needs, be flexible and scalable, and employ cuttingedge technology the company can rely on for years to come. “With its 70 stores throughout Switzerland, Manor offers a wide range of high-quality yet affordable products. To ensure that the entire range is available in store, seamless logistics are essential and this is linked to having an IT infrastructure that work perfectly.
When we were planning to renew our existing storage solution, we were looking for a modern, extremely high-performing and highly available system which was also future-proof. We’ve successfully implemented HP products in many projects over the years in collaboration with Bechtle Regensdorf, which is why we included the new HP 3PAR Storage system family in our testing, and it didn’t let us down. Since we introduced HP 3PAR, we and our users benefit from fast, seamlessly working and extremely fast systems that are very easy to operate”. Olaf Leonhardt, Manor.
We have relied on HP storage solutions for years. With HP 3PAR, we are now able to leverage state-of-the-art technology from a manufacturer we trust. Naturally, there was a learning curve as we stepped into uncharted territory for us. But the support we got from Bechtle Regensdorf and HP throughout testing and implementation was exceptional.
Olaf Leonhardt, OpenVMS / SAN Management, Manor
Solution.
HP 3PAR ticks all the boxes: Delivering I/O performance up to 220,000 IOPS, it supports mixed storage media including SATA, Fibre Channel and SSD disks, automatically balances server workloads with Thin Provisioning and threshold-based policies, and dramatically simplifies administration and provisioning of virtualised servers. With HP 3PAR, manor has opted to leverage some brand new technology.
During the evaluation phase, Manor’s IT managers have visited the sites of various reference installations and subsequently worked with Bechtle Regensdorf and HP to set up a test environment in order to gain first-hand experience and validate system virtualisations as well as application operation. Step by step Manor then adopted the setup in its production environment.
Business benefits.
For Manor, HP 3PAR was a logical step in developing its IT infrastructure, employing state-of-the-art technology to drive its growing business and tackle new requirements. Indeed, Manor’s VMware specialists are very pleased with their new storage environment while users are thrilled by the significant boost in performance.
What’s more, HP 3PAR’s capability to use storage media with a variety of price points for different applications and optimally spread capacities means Manor was able to cut the price per Gigabyte used. A Mission Critical Support agreement with HP adds complete peace of mind round the clock.
Partner.
