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Foster's refreshes storage virtualisation using EqualLogic

PS300E delivers dynamic virtual storage infrastructure across EMEA

London, UK — 27 March 2007 — EqualLogic®, the leading provider of enterprise-class iSCSI storage area network (SAN) solutions, today announced that Foster's EMEA, part of the global premium multi-beverage company, Foster's Group, has deployed two PS300E storage arrays to meet its storage virtualisation needs across EMEA. The contract - which was won by EqualLogic reseller, Bell Microsystems - is part of a company-wide initiative to implement a completely virtualised server and storage infrastructure for greater flexibility, management and scalability of the company's IT resources.

Foster’s EMEA operates across the region importing, marketing and selling a total portfolio of wine, to a wide range of countries, each with its own different requirements and circumstances. To support its ongoing sales activities throughout Europe and the Middle East, Ken Kaban, European technology services manager for Foster's EMEA, implemented a virtualised storage environment based on EqualLogic’s PS Series iSCSI SAN. At the same time, Kaban implemented virtualised servers using VMware Virtual Infrastructure 3.

“We required a solution that would allow us to make the best use of our IT resources to meet our business needs. From a management perspective, virtualisation was the obvious choice for us, as it makes our servers and storage run more efficiently and has reduced our need for maintenance,” said Kaban.

“Our SAN environment is the bedrock of our virtual infrastructure. EqualLogic provides us with a simple management interface, and, as our storage requirements grow, it is easy to install more arrays to meet that need without additional training or license costs. This means that we can focus on other strategic IT projects and build on our competitive strengths. Using EqualLogic and VMware will help us save on power, cooling and physical space, while also ensuring that we can respond faster to business issues,” added Kaban.

Foster’s EMEA originally had 30 servers running within its main European data centre, which has now been reduced to 15 virtualised machines using VMware Infrastructure 3. The virtual data centre environment includes a number of custom applications, web servers, domain controllers, a remote access server plus file and print services. Kaban is currently testing Microsoft SQL Server, which will support the company's sales applications, enterprise resource planning and reporting requirements, along with Microsoft Exchange and a BlackBerry Enterprise Server environment to run in the virtual data centre.

A virtual environment also allows Kaban’s team to easily support the company's remote staff working across Europe. Each worker has an image of their laptop computer stored centrally; in the event of any issue affecting a particular machine, Kaban can host the image as part of the company’s overall virtual infrastructure. Therefore, any worker can access an up-to-date replica of their work environment in the event of an issue affecting their usual client computer. This provides a fast, low-cost disaster recovery solution for the company’s mobile workforce.

Based on 500-gigabyte SATA drives running at 7,200 rpm, each PS300E storage array offers Foster’s EMEA seven terabytes of storage with fully redundant, hot swappable components and dual controllers. With EqualLogic, Foster’s is guaranteed enterprise-class levels of service, reliability and performance to deliver a full virtualised storage and server infrastructure.

About EqualLogic
EqualLogic® makes data storage systems that radically simplify the way mid-size and large businesses store and protect information. EqualLogic’s award-winning PS Series storage area network (SAN) solution provides sophisticated management capabilities that reduce the time and money IT staff spend on storage. EqualLogic serves thousands of customers in 35 countries from its headquarters in Nashua, New Hampshire, and offices throughout Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit http://www.equallogic.com.


EqualLogic® is a registered trademark of EqualLogic®, Inc. Other marks belong to their respective owners.

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