Sunnyvale, Calif.-November 12,
2009- NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) today announced it has helped
the Thunderbird School of Global Management reduce hardware and
administrative costs for its IT network while expanding services
for the school's students. By implementing NetApp®
MetroCluster and Ethernet storage solutions, Thunderbird has been
able to take its business global while maximizing availability and
minimizing costs.
Prior to adopting NetApp technology,
Thunderbird was trying to expand its courses and degree programs
and move them online for a wider audience. This meant also
expanding IT capabilities from supporting local students to
supporting students around the globe, who would need access around
the clock. Thunderbird worked with regional systems integrator
Trace3 to develop a solution based on NetApp technology to take the
school's programs global.
Thunderbird first upgraded its network
backbone to 10 Gigabit Ethernet, which dramatically increased speed
and reliability. NetApp 10 Gigabit multiprotocol Ethernet storage
was flexible enough to support Thunderbird's NFS with Linux®
and UNIX® servers, CIFS for Windows® desktops, and iSCSI
for database applications. The ease of sharing and reusing the
NetApp storage was a big benefit, as well as supporting different
requirements with one storage system. NetApp Ethernet storage also
had the benefit of being less costly than the alternative solutions
the school looked at.
As Thunderbird's online business succeeded,
the school moved to a clustered storage model based on NetApp
MetroCluster and VMware® to continue to grow the school's
business and improve availability. With MetroCluster running on two
FAS3050 systems, Thunderbird has had continuous availability since
the moment the system was turned on, even in the event of hardware
failures. The school has also taken advantage of MetroCluster's
integration with VMware ESXi to provide a completely available
environment while reducing server and storage equipment in the data
center by approximately 40%. Thunderbird has also saved in power,
cooling, and operational costs due to reduced hardware and
MetroCluster's automation and administration simplicity.
"NetApp has transformed our ability to
respond promptly, and cost effectively, to support the changing
needs of our business," said Johan Reinalda, senior director of
Network Engineering Administration at Thunderbird. "And with NetApp
solutions simplifying storage management and providing continuous
availability, we can continue to support our growing business
without being constrained by administrative, hardware, or data
center space needs."
"Thunderbird's success in the data center is
an example of a confluence of NetApp technologies and partnerships
coming together to provide a compelling solution to meet their
online business needs," said Patrick Rogers, vice president of
Solutions and Alliances at NetApp. "By bringing together the right
technologies to improve availability and reduce hardware and
administrative needs, this school was able to transform and expand
its business. We're proud to help the Thunderbird School of Global
Management operate on a global scale."
For more information on NetApp MetroCluster,
visit www.netapp.com/metrocluster.
For more information about Trace3, visit
www.trace3.com.
For more information on NetApp Ethernet
solutions, visit www.netapp.com/us/company/leadership/ethernet-storage.
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Press Contact:
Nathan Phillips
NetApp
(408) 822-7284
nathan.phillips@netapp.com