Managing Data Growth, Improving Performance, and Enhancing Disaster Preparedness with Storage and Server Virtualization

Executive Summary

Overview
In 2004, information technology (IT) at Tucson Electric Power (TEP) Company consisted of an aging mainframe computer and a growing collection of servers with direct-attached storage. This equipment was housed in an increasingly cramped building that no longer met its power or climate control needs. To save money and improve service levels, TEP standardized primarily on NetApp® storage and launched an aggressive server virtualization program. Today, TEP stores 10 times more data than it did in 2006 and runs hundreds of servers in a smaller, more efficient data center—all with no additional staffing. Almost 90 percent of servers are virtual, 100 percent of daily backups can now be performed within a 24-hour window, disaster preparedness is greatly improved, regulatory requirements are met, and the IT infrastructure is ready for the future.

Barriers
TEP faced a variety of business drivers and technology challenges. Servers and storage needs were growing, but labor budgets were tight. The life of the existing aging data center needed to be extended. Disaster preparedness was incomplete and inconsistent. Regulatory requirements were expanding and required greater IT support. And many technology operations relied on time-consuming, inefficient manual operations.

The Solution
To address these issues, TEP virtualized most of its servers using VMware ESX technology, and moved the rest to new, more efficient hardware. The company selected a single vendor—NetApp—for most of its storage needs, eventually placing NetApp FAS3040A and FAS3170A storage hardware in its main data center and NetApp FAS3040 and FAS270 hardware in its disaster recovery centers. NetApp SnapVault®, Snapshot™, SnapRestore®, SnapMirror®, FlexClone®, SnapManager® and deduplication technologies were deployed to automate processes, protect data, and improve IT operations.

Benefits
The NetApp solutions deployed at TEP are projected to help the organization achieve nearly $7.3 million in business value from 2005 through 2011. A Total Operational and Economic Impact (TOEI™) analysis by Alchemy Group identified realized and projected business value in the following areas:

• Infrastructure Savings from Storage and Server Virtualization: Nearly $3 million in avoided costs and savings from 2005 through 2009 because less storage and server hardware was purchased and maintained.
• Data Center Construction Cost Avoidance: Savings of more than $2.35 million from 2005 through 2011 attributable to a dramatically more efficient IT infrastructure.
• Data Backup and Storage Labor Savings: More than $1,161,850 in avoided labor costs from 2005 through 2009 due to simplified data management.
• Data-and-Server Restore Productivity Gains: Productivity gains totaling more than $304,000 from 2005 through 2009 due to improved recovery capabilities.
• Tape Infrastructure Savings: More than $271,830 in savings from 2006 through 2009 attributable to better backup procedures.
• Multiprotocol Support Savings: Savings of more than $100,000 from 2007 through 2009 due to tiered storage capabilities.
• Deduplication Storage Cost Avoidance: Storage purchase cost avoidance of nearly $75,000 from 2009 through 2011 because of smaller data stores.
• Labor Productivity Gains with Disaster Recovery: Accrued and projected labor savings of $21,200 from 2009 through 2011 because of more efficient response to outages.

For more information on Alchemy Group or to download this document, go to http://www.alchemygroupinc.com/category/research/bva/