AirClic Deploys New EqualLogic PS3800XV Storage Arrays in a Multi-Tier iSCSI SAN Serving Mission Critical Oracle Applications.New Serial-Attached-SCSI Drives Deliver High Performance for Demanding Databases NASHUA, N.H. -- EqualLogic[R] today announced that AirClic[R], a leading provider of business process mobilization mobilization Organization of a nation's armed forces for active military service in time of war or other national emergency. It includes recruiting and training, building military bases and training camps, and procuring and distributing weapons, ammunition, uniforms, solutions, has deployed two new PS3800XV storage arrays featuring high-performance serial-attached SCSI SCSI in full Small Computer System Interface Once common standard for connecting peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, etc.) to small and medium-sized computers. SCSI has given way to faster standards, such as Firewire and USB. (SAS (1) (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, www.sas.com) A software company that specializes in data warehousing and decision support software based on the SAS System. Founded in 1976, SAS is one of the world's largest privately held software companies. See SAS System. ) drives for AirClic's most demanding customer-facing middleware Software that functions as a conversion or translation layer. It is also a consolidator and integrator. Custom-programmed middleware solutions have been developed for decades to enable one application to communicate with another that either runs on a different platform or comes from a applications running on Oracle databases. This recent installation seamlessly adds a new higher-level tier of storage to AirClic's existing iSCSI SAN consisting of Oracle databases and applications with data stored on EqualLogic PS100E arrays. AirClic, Inc., headquartered in Newtown, Penn., is a software and mobile information services See Information Systems. company with more than 500 customers worldwide. Its solutions extend the reach of businesses by providing a simple, cost-effective means for a mobile or remote workforce to capture and exchange information using AirClic-enabled wireless devices. Innovative companies around the world rely on AirClic mobile information solutions to provide insight into real-time business information gathered from their mobile workforces. AirClic aggregates that field information into a critical middleware application running on Oracle 9i and 10g databases. The Oracle-based middleware system continuously collects small amounts of time-sensitive field data, such as random barcode, technical diagnostics, supply chain or sales information for many mobile workforces simultaneously. The data is rarely kept in the system for more than 24 to 48 hours before it is offloaded to clients' own data warehouses or analysis tools and new field data replaces it. "The random data loads from our mobile business services running on Oracle created a serious need for high-performance storage," said Andy Monroe, vice president of technology at AirClic. "When we wanted to replace our direct-attached storage Direct-attached storage (DAS) refers to a digital storage system directly attached to a server or workstation, without a storage network in between. It is a retronym, mainly used to differentiate non-networked storage from SAN and NAS. , the common misconception mis·con·cep·tion n. A mistaken thought, idea, or notion; a misunderstanding: had many misconceptions about the new tax program. was that Fibre Channel was the only choice for performance. But when we ran our high-transaction databases on EqualLogic's new SAS-based array alongside Fibre Channel products from large vendors, the performance of EqualLogic's PS3800XV system was superior to the larger contenders' systems by as much as 500 transactions per second In a very generic sense, the term Transactions Per Second refers to the number of atomic actions performed by certain entity per second. In a more restrictied view, the term is usually used by DBMS vendor and user community to refer to the number of database transactions performed ." With the addition of the new EqualLogic PS3800XV high-performance arrays to their existing iSCSI SAN, AirClic now operates a tiered storage A data storage system made up of two or more types of storage based on their access speed. For example, magnetic disk and tape or magnetic disk and optical disc are widely used in a tiered storage system. See HSM. architecture. Its Oracle business service databases are stored on the new 15,000 rpm SAS drives, while lower priority application data such as email, engineering designs and a set of Oracle databases for reporting are stored on 7,200 rpm SATA II See SATA. drives in EqualLogic's PS100E arrays. In addition, AirClic has created a third tier of storage using Oracle's DataGuard software functionality to asynchronously replicate critical database data from the Oracle system to a disaster recovery site. For additional backup, AirClic uses Veritas NetBackup with EqualLogic's iSCSI SAN to transfer data to an ADIC tape library. "It really was amazingly simple to set up and configure the iSCSI SAN," Monroe said. "In contrast, it took six hours for one vendor to set up a Fibre Channel SAN during our evaluations, and afterwards af·ter·ward also af·ter·wards adv. At a later time; subsequently. afterwards or afterward Adverb later [Old English æfterweard] Adv. 1. none of our staff could easily figure out how to initiate a volume. With EqualLogic, instead of focusing on managing tactical storage operations, we can spend more time and effort on improving our manufacturing and development business units." AirClic initially purchased the EqualLogic SAN to support its Oracle applications. Since discovering the efficiency of managing an iSCSI SAN, Monroe's team has been consolidating all of its direct-attached storage and attaching all of its standalone servers Standalone servers are compilations of programs that run on a single PC, but emulates what the same set of programs will do when run on a server over the Internet. They usually contain a web server (such as the Apache HTTP Server), one or more languages, and one or more databases. and VMware virtual machines to the SAN. So far, AirClic has been able to eliminate 20 of its servers in its new virtual storage and virtual server environment. About AirClic[R] Headquartered in Newtown, PA, AirClic is a leading provider of mobile business process solutions that offer organizations real-time visibility to the "who, what, where, when and why" of their entire field operations. Using AirClic-enabled wireless devices, managers and workers can easily and economically capture, exchange and access critical data that represent people, assets and activity. With its unsurpassed user-adoption rate, AirClic is driving new levels of accountability and improved customer service for many of the world's leading companies. For more information, visit www.airclic.com. About EqualLogic EqualLogic([R]), Inc., is the leading provider of intelligent, enterprise-class iSCSI storage area network (SAN) solutions that enable businesses - from Fortune 100 to small and mid-size organizations in more than 30 countries worldwide - to realize the economic benefits of consolidated, self-managing storage. The EqualLogic PS Series of storage arrays, based on the company's patented peer storage architecture, is the industry's first automatic storage platform that delivers operational simplicity, comprehensive data management services and high data availability Refers to the degree to which data can be instantly accessed. The term is mostly associated with service levels that are set up either by the internal IT organization or that may be guaranteed by a third party datacenter or storage provider. in a single, scalable pool of storage. EqualLogic's headquarters are located in Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, USA. As of the 2000 census, Nashua had a total population of 86,605[1], making it the second largest city in the state after Manchester. As of 2005, the population is estimated to be 87,986. . 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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