Case Study
NetApp FCoE SAN Solution Implemented by Saga Enhances Efficiency HIGHLIGHTS Location Novi Sad, Serbia
Industry Banking
The Client Erste Bank A.D. Novi Sad is a member of the Erste Group, a financial institution with more than 190 years of tradition. Erste Bank is one of the leading banks in Central and Eastern Europe. In Serbia the bank employs approximately 1,000 people providing services for 250,000 clients across 65 branch offices.
The Challenge The Bank’s data center required several network technologies to provide necessary services for business processes, including a separate network infrastructure used only for the storage subsystem.
The Solution Erste Bank consolidated on a storage solution that offers same-box multiprotocol support and reduces maintenance and management expenses. Leveraging FCoE technology, the bank can utilize one Ethernet network and reduce the need for and cost of server adapters, cables, and switches for running different applications in a data center.
Benefits - Increased flexibility - Increased performance - Easier administration - Less complexity
Solution Components NetApp storage, Cisco Catalyst and Nexus switches, Emulex CNA cards
When IT managers talk about transforming data centers into faster and more efficient environments that are easier to manage, configure, and monitor, the new Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) standard becomes one of the hot topics. Most companies use two separate networks: one for the storage and one for all other services. This picture is slowly changing because of the new standard adopted in June 2009. Fibre Channel over Ethernet uses one cable to collect all IP (traditional LAN) and FC (Fibre Channel) traffic used by the storage subsystem. Besides replacing IP and FC networks, FCoE enables faster data transfer with speeds of up to 10Gbps. One network infrastructure means lower expenses, fewer cables, and half the devices needed for traditional solutions with separate IP and FC networks. How does it actually work in an existing IT environment in Serbia?
Business Challenge Banks have traditionally utilized FC protocol to connect to networked storage. Typically more costly than Ethernet technology, Fibre Channel also requires special expertise and management tools, and the company must install a separate Ethernet network for other business applications. To simplify and reduce costs, the Erste Bank in Serbia built a new IT infrastructure on a FCoE solution.
The Solution Erste Bank consolidated on a storage solution that offers same-box multiprotocol support and reduces maintenance and management expenses. The solution was distinct because the single storage system at the same time functions as a SAN (with both FC and FCoE connectivity), NAS (behaves like a traditional file share), and iSCSI device. In other words, the storage supports several protocols, and the user can leverage all simultaneously.
Saga, a leading system integration and professional services company, designed an end-to-end FCoE solution for Erste Bank. In this solution, all the traffic from the server to the storage is sent via FCoE infrastructure based on the converged network adapters (CNA) in the server, a Cisco Nexus switch, and NetApp storage from Fujitsu. The new solution allows all users, from any point in the network, to access disks using the FCoE infrastructure. One of the primary advantages of IT consolidation with the FCoE standard, especially for data centers with significant investment in FC infrastructure, is a reduction in the number of devices that must be managed. Data Center Bridging (DCB) Ethernet add-ons are implemented to enable the traditional LAN and to allow FCoE to share the same cables to transfer data. This solution supports NFS, CIFS, iSCSI, and LAN standards. DCB also enables priority traffic. In this way, FCoE can have higher priority, while the applications that can work with variable data transfer have lower priority. During heavy data transfer loads it is possible to stop the traffic with lower priority and allow only higher priority traffic and operations that can’t be delayed. Prior to the installation, all devices were performance-tested in simulations. Storage was Keeping your business operations up to speed originally placed in Saga’s demo center and then tested for two weeks in multiple scenarios, using equipment similar to that installed at the bank. For the installation in Erste Bank, NetApp and Saga experts managed the end-to-end implementation and trained the bank’s IT staff to use and manage the new solution. The installation was completed in three days.
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Benefits One of the major benefits of implementing a FCoE solution is reduced cost. The bank’s analysis showed that FCoE is more costeffective than IP and FC technologies together. This solution is easier to manage and maintain because the company doesn’t need different administrators for different technologies: one person can manage the FCoE infrastructure. Initial investment isn’t half the price of IP and FC initial investment together, but in the long run, looking at the number of people that are needed in the IT department, and the more efficient management, implementing FCoE is more costeffective and financial benefits can be measured. NetApp unified storage combines the advantages of NAS and SAN solutions while enhancing data center efficiency. In addition to the above mentioned benefits, the bank also achieves cost efficiencies through reduced space and as much as a 50% reduction in energy for power and cooling.
As a result of this implementation, the bank achieved: - Increased flexibility through support for FCoE storage and FCoE infrastructure - Consolidated storage that supports several protocols (FCoE, FC, iSCSI, and NAS) in one system - Increased performance with 10Gbps of Ethernet data bandwidth - Easier administration with transparent storage access using the existing SAN management methods - Less complexity because of more efficient and easier maintenance
The NetApp and Fujitsu partnership gives customers the opportunity to leverage fully integrated, best-of-breed solutions to achieve greater IT functionality, productivity, and operational efficiency. Together Fujitsu and NetApp offer data center infrastructure and Fujitsu services that can help businesses take advantage of standardization, virtualization, and space- and cost-saving technologies. Holding NetApp certifications such as Authorized Support Partner (ASP), Contracted Delivery Partner (CDP), and Authorized Professional Service Partner (APSP), Fujitsu provides joint customers with fast solution deployment and access to a broad team of experts and consultants. More than 15,000 units have been shipped in the 10-year partnership between Fujitsu and NetApp. Fujitsu is a Global System Partner of NetApp.
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© 2011 Saga d.o.o. Beograd. All rights reserved. This document is used only for informative purposes. This document does not include any warranty, explicit or implicit, from Saga. All logos and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Published on February 2010.