Background
For a banking and mortgage lending organization operating over 1400
branches in 11 states, managing their application and compatibility
lab is no small feat. A facility with more than 400 servers and a
staff of 40+ engineers, this environment contains a heterogeneous
mixture of servers, operating systems, and applications.
Having designed and implemented such a thorough testing process and
environment several years ago, the firm was recently challenged with
upgrading their antiquated KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) hardware
system. Considering the speed of technology change, their goal was
to research and select a solution that would allow them to not only
gain immediate results, but also grow and adapt to the changing
technology landscape.
This organization began conducting research into the various options
available and soon learned that their challenge would not be solved
by an ‘off-the-shelf’ KVM solution.
Stymied by the overwhelming information available, they quickly
decided to seek out a specialist in the server management
marketplace.
“We were overwhelmed by the prospect of dedicating resources to
researching, testing, and evaluating a host of available options,”
says the Vice President of QA Testing. “We needed to partner with an
organization that specializes in this technology and enlist their
help in defining our needs and determining the best possible
solution.”
Considering the breadth of this project, this organization selected
42U DirectNET to provide product expertise, project management, and
deliverable solutions to meet their needs.
CHALLENGES
42U worked directly with end-users and management to clearly
define the client’s needs, establish technology requirements, and
determine appropriate solutions to meet their current and future
goals. “The challenge was not only making an appropriate hardware
selection, but determining how that hardware would best fit their
business processes,” comments 42U Sales Engineer.
The firm’s goals and challenges included:
• Replacing outdated, end-of-life
management hardware for more then 400 servers and devices
• Designing a solution that provides un-blocked, real-time
hardware level access to all servers and devices
• Reducing the requirements and space consumption of existing
hardware
• Minimizing cable clutter and improving cable management
throughout the lab environment
• Providing secure, remote access
to the entire lab environment for numerous business groups and
stakeholders
• Consolidating several business units within a single
management solution
SOLUTION
42U conducted a comprehensive needs analysis to determine usage
patterns, hardware requirements, and desired results. In completing
this process, 42U sales engineers developed a solution utilizing
Raritan’s Paragon II analog matrix KVM
solution and remote IP-access utilizing the
Raritan IP-Reach and
CommandCenter products.
42U designed a solution comprised of three tiers of
Paragon II switches, providing truly
non-blocked, simultaneous access to 448 servers, and both local and
remote access for up to 64
simultaneous users.
This solution allowed the organization to achieve numerous goals,
including:
• Reduction of hardware requirements; the
client reduced space consumption from (3) racks of equipment to
less than 1/2 of (1) rack
• Decreased cabling clutter and cable management issues; the
solution provided Cat5 cabling throughout the entire
architecture and eliminated over 400 lbs. of legacy cabling
• Remote access at anytime, from
anywhere; end-users can now access the system from any web
browser through an integrated, Active Directory authenticated
gateway
• Ability to manage various business units and users; individual
users and groups can be managed to allow or disallow access to
specific devices and groups of devices
Implementing the recommended Raritan
solution has provided numerous tangible results for the client.
“We’ve seen a significant decrease in the amount of time our users
spend locating and connecting to servers within the architecture,”
added the Vice President. “In addition to improved server
management, we’ve also reduced maintenance time, freed up space in
the lab, and provided remote access for our testing staff and
systems administrators.”
This organization chose 42U for their expertise in the server
management space and their commitment to offering intelligent
solutions while providing customer astonishment throughout the
process. Leveraging the skills of 42U sales engineers, this firm has
realized a significant improvement in management, integration, and
access within their KVM environment.
42U is a business unit of DirectNET Inc., headquartered in
Broomfield, CO. 42U is the nation’s largest value-added reseller of
datacenter and server management solutions. The company is dedicated
to providing the highest levels of technical expertise, product
knowledge, and value-added services in the industry.
Since 1995, 42U has established itself as the leader in the
marketplace. The company’s commitment to being the best is evident
in every facet of business operations and ongoing improvement and
customer astonishment are primary business tenets.
Providing multi-vendor solutions, support, and expertise allows the
company to tailor solutions to specific client needs and goals. 42U
is a leading value-added reseller for Raritan
Computer, Avocent Corporation,
Minicom Advanced Systems,
Rose Electronics, thinklogical,
NetBotz, ServerTech, and Gefen products.
