AEROSPACE

Discover how our products have helped those in the government sector

Customer TypeAerospace
Customer SectorGovernment
Source StorageEMC, HDS, HP, Sun, IBM – 27 source arrays, 6 data centers, 4 sites
Target StorageIBM – 4 target arrays
Number of Hosts & Clusters>100
Host TypesSolaris, VMware, Windows, Linux
Host ApplicationsOracle, ESX, Lotus Notes
Replication TypeLocal and Remote
Number of DMS and model32x DMS4000
Insertion MethodStorage Side with DMS Switch

CHALLENGES

SOLUTION

RESULTS

• No downtime allowed for insertion

• Secure, mission-critical environment with diverse host platforms

• Large number of paths in SAN environment (over 20,000)

• Mix of remote and local migration

• Due to the customer’s stringent project timing, not all hosts could be migrated at the same time, resulting in a complex migration schedule

• DMS appliances can be deployed for migration without any downtime, and while applications are running

• Built-in TCP stack enables remote migration across data centers

• Compression and Encryption deliver secure and efficient remote migration

• Deployment process was smooth due to no required changes to existing environment

• Remote migration was efficient, resulting in almost a 7-to-1 bandwidth savings due to compression

• Zero-impact design allowed for prolonged in-band deployment, where migration could be scheduled at the convenience of the application owners

THE STORY

A Cirrus Data Solutions technology partner conducted this migration at a major aerospace facility where only technicians with security clearance were allowed access to the mission-critical production environment. The migration project faced additional challenges such as very old legacy hardware (including some SUN Microsystems storage arrays), non-standard practices in zoning and LUN masking, etc. The resulting environment complexity caused a very large number of paths to be discovered and mapped by the DMS appliance upon insertion (over 20,000).

Despite the complexity surrounding this migration, includingits complicated schedule, the simplicity of DMS allowed the technology partner to perform the insertion, migration, and cut-over smoothly with minimal training and with very little help from Cirrus Data, even with very little lead and setup time allotted.

DMS is the perfect solution for projects with little to no time for preparation and setup. It attaches to the production environment in seconds, simply plugging into the existing fabric and seamlessly inserting into the data path while all systems are kept online, and migrates your data to any type of new storage array you designate. DMS also automates the manual tasks that are usually associated with data migration; automation saves time and reduces the chance for errors. Cirrus Data’s Transparent Datapath Intercept (TDI) patented technology enables live deployment with zero downtime.

The fact that DMS could be deployed without any downtime while mission-critical applications continued to run was integral to this aerospace government facility choosing the solution. Due to varying schedule requirements and delays in third-party hardware procurement, the DMS appliances were deployed in the data path for an extensive period of time (many months) with no negative impact to the production environment.