Innovative storage architecture based on Flexpod from Cisco and NetApp

Vienna – 06 February 2013 – NextiraOne Austria has been awarded a contract for the design and implementation of a new infrastructure for a school in Vienna. The school – the Höhere Technische Bundeslehr- und Versuchsanstalt (HTBLVA) in Spengergasse in Vienna – faced a growing problem that many organisations meet: with data an increasingly important asset, the ever-growing amount of data frequently paralyses an organisation’s existing IT infrastructures, making the effective management of server and storage resources increasingly difficult. The Spengergasse school had to manage file services for 1,500 students and over 1,700 users, handle the implementation of Voice over IP and thin clients and cope with insufficient storage resources, plus separate databases for management and teaching. All this called for a new, effective data centre and infrastructure, which would be integrated into the existing network environment. The "Spengergasse" school lived up to its reputation as a pioneer in IT and engaged NextiraOne to fulfill the contract.

A Virtualised Dynamic Data Centre (VDDC): more storage - better performance
At the heart of the storage solution selected and implemented jointly by NextiraOne and its partner NetApp is NextiraOne's Virtualised Dynamic Data Centre (VDDC). This unified platform for all enterprise data (also called FlexPod) ensures that there is more storage space for effective communication and collaboration between students and staff, and also enhances the performance of the entire IT infrastructure. Even in the event that hundreds of students try to access the school's file server simultaneously, they can rest assured that the quality of service will not be affected.

This smart solution also provides different storage areas for higher and lower service requirements, right up to audit-proof archiving requirements. Powered by NetApp's intelligent caching technology - Virtual Storage Tier - data can be prioritised without needing to be physically copied.

Lower IT management costs, greater sustainability
Through its unified architecture and virtualisation, the solution implemented by NextiraOne also considerably simplifies IT management. Virtualisation is thus implemented consistently and optimised with the installation of the Cisco UCS blade system. This unifies all hardware-related configurations in a single, central management and drastically reduces both management and energy costs.

The blade system and storage infrastructure are also dynamic and highly scalable. These are prerequisites for a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), a technology the school would like to use in the future.

These benefits, coupled with the expertise and personal commitment of the NextiraOne team have impressed the management of the school: “The successful implementation of this project has made it easier for us to offer our students the best conditions for a good education and we are able to dedicate more time to providing support for teachers and students," said Wolfgang Hickel, Director of HTBLVA Spengergasse.

This view is shared by Martin Resel, Marketing Director of NextiraOne Austria, who at the official re-opening of the renovated school said: "We are delighted to be able to welcome the Spengergasse school as a new customer. Spengergasse is a model school, which can now offer its students the finest teaching conditions, supported by this extremely innovative data centre architecture. HTBLVA Spengergasse is now equipped to meet the demands of the new exam system, which we believe can only be properly met through using a comprehensive VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) concept.”

ENDS