Calor Gas simplifies enterprise storage infrastructure with B2net
Calor Gas, the
B2net’s Storage Area Network (SAN) solution, utilising advanced virtual server technology, has enabled Calor Gas to significantly simplify and integrate its disparate enterprise data storage and back-up requirements. The market-leading gas supplier is consolidating 50 of its large estate of 90 servers down to just four; now has a more robust, 24/7 storage and data back-up infrastructure. Calor Gas’ simplified storage solution is based on a SAN configured HBA switched Fibre Channel with SATA. This includes a Network Appliance 3020 Cluster Server, four VMware virtual servers and PlateSpin to convert servers to virtual storage devices. The enterprise solution also incorporates Symantec Enterprise Vault for email and file archiving; NTP Software’s QFS Storage Firewall solution; and Overland Tape Library for back-up.
Calor Gas turned to storage integrator, B2net, to implement its enterprise server consolidation programme. The storage specialist’s in-depth knowledge and total end-to-end approach were important factors. “B2net proved they had the capability and expertise to deliver an enterprise server consolidation. Their impartiality is a strength at providing an end-to-end solution compared with some vendors that often have to pull in experts from a wide range of sources,” comments Andrew Browne, Network Manager, Calor Gas.
Previously, Calor Gas had a large number of outmoded, disparate servers where applications were isolated or didn’t sit comfortably alongside one another. The inefficient infrastructure meant that a lot of time and resource was spent maintaining and supporting out of date servers. It also meant available storage couldn’t match growing demand.
The benefits for the company will be significant according to Andrew Browne: “The new server approach will enable us to have as close to a 24/7 operation as we can. The aim was to significantly reduce the maintenance we needed to run on the old system in terms of patching, upgrades and downtime. By moving to a virtual storage environment, we can maximise storage efficiency and demand and reduce the cost base of the infrastructure. We had to make the project as cost neutral as possible by removing physical barriers and reutilising our newer servers for other projects instead of purchasing new ones.”