Business Challenge

A major travel reservation service provider was experiencing performance issues with its online reservation system, which processed millions of transactions every day. Running on hundreds of servers across heterogeneous platforms, the system used multiple backup software tools and disparate recovery processes, none of which were providing the desired level of data protection for application availability. The existing environment made disaster recovery with rapid application restart extremely difficult and cumbersome. IT management was acutely aware of the urgency of implementing a solution that would support continuous availability. A standardized data management and data protection platform was needed across all applications to enable quick recovery in the event of a business interruption.

Solution

Employing the Forsythe ADVANTAGE Methodology , Forsythe worked with a variety of functional groups within the IT organization to assist the customer in evaluating its business and application service requirements. Forsythe then evaluated its current server and storage assets, identifying which could be reused and which were candidates for replacement. Forsythe also determined that a reliable and manageable solution would require the enhancement of the customer's current backup and recovery processes, as well as the standardization of a common tool across all systems. Forsythe built a SAN, with an attached tape library and updated tape and media technology. In addition, Forsythe designed a scalable roadmap for meeting future requirements.

To ensure continuous data protection, Forsythe led the architectural design of an enterprise server and storage solution that would deliver the service levels the applications required. The design included a high-availability SAN, enterprise class storage with local- and remote- replication software, and an enterprise backup and recovery platform with advanced tape and tape-library technology. Forsythe assisted the customer in evaluating a number of industry-leading solutions and acquiring the combination of technology (from multiple manufacturers) that best met their needs. Forsythe then provided the overall project management, and worked with the multiple vendors involved to integrate the new architecture.

Results

With the new enterprise storage infrastructure in place, the customer is better able to manage its mission-critical data and improved its ability to protect and recover. The end-users are benefiting from the increased application performance, which has led to a rise in customer satisfaction. The customer has built a strong foundation for executing advanced disaster recovery measures in the immediate and near future.