Starting point.
The labels are not only made in Nördlingen, Engelhardt-Druck labels are made on a total of 20 printing machines there as well as in Heidelheim (Walcher Etiketten) and Mengen (Goelz-Druck). In order to reduce maintenance costs for existing storage and server environments and to boost their performance, Engelhardt-Druck wanted to upgrade and expand their storage environment hardware and their existing ESX hosts. Their entire IT data storage needed to be centralised.
Project objectives.
Their current partially-virtualised server environment with their 70 virtual machines (VMs) and a degree of virtualisation at around 95 per cent was to be equipped with new servers and an efficient hypervisor to optimise the virtual environment. The biggest challenge was in centralisation of the data storage in Nördlingen, as well as connecting it to the other production sites. To accelerate production processes and boost their efficiency, Engelhardt-Druck’s ERP applications were to be centrally operated. For this, however, the server and storage environment needed to be highly-available and flexible enough to be expanded whenever needed.
Process.
Prior to the server and storage updates, Bechtle held workshops at Engelhardt-Druck to discuss the scope of the solution. It was quickly agreed that the existing ESX hosts and storage systems would be replaced by two HPE Nimble HF 40s. Bechtle made the proposed storage system available to Engelhardt-Druck for several weeks, at first in parallel operation, to enable the printers to test functionality and gain some initial experience.
We are virtualising our servers and were looking for a quick, easy-to-manage, flexible and secure server and storage solution. HPE Nimble is an excellent solution. We are more than happy, especially with HPE InfoSight and its AI solution. HPE InfoSight learns as it goes and avoids known problems before they arise. This saves us a lot of work. Additionally, our new solution is quicker, data can be restored in just a few clicks, and we are sure that our locations are perfectly connected to the IT. It’s everything we wanted and more, thanks to Bechtle.
Gregor Saam, IT Infrastructure, Engelhardt-Druck GmbH
Solution.
The HPE Nimble solution employed by Engelhardt-Druck quickly proved itself. The 134 TB effective capacity offers enough space for the company’s data. Engelhardt-Druck’s top priority however was data availability, which the Nimble solution guarantees. And best of all: simple system management is possible with just a few clicks and setup only requires a few hours, which drastically simplifies administration and frees up your IT team. Engelhardt-Druck’s new server and storage system features synchronous replication between two fire areas and automatic failover, meaning that the company’s applications are always available. If one of the two systems fails, the data can still be accessed. Thanks the integrated HPE InfoSight AI, many problems can be detected and resolved by the system itself. IT no longer has to intervene manually because HPE InfoSight is capable of independent learning and resolves issues before they arise.
During the proof-of-concept phrase, Bechtle provided a system engineer, who supported the company in general handling of the new server and storage system, implemented the system and schooled the company in management and use of HPE InfoSight. Bechtle Remarketing took back Engelhardt-Druck’s old storage solution and destroyed the data stored on it with certified data deletion in accordance with current data protection regulations. Engelhardt-Druck GmbH even received a financial reimbursement for their old equipment.
Business benefits.
With the new HPE Nimble solution and HPE generation 10 server systems, Engelhardt-Druck benefits from the Bechtle’s expertise and long-term experience with HPE. The current technology, guaranteed service flat rates, and Bechtle’s pragmatic approach meant that system administration costs reduced dramatically and performance was clearly boosted. The new HPE Nimble HF 40 system is easy to configure and manage. The printing company and their branches can now concentrate on their production process while the HPE Nimble solution diagnoses and solves many issues before they even become noticeable thanks to integrated AI with HPE InfoSight.