Downloads | Tecala Helps Remote Council Build Business Continuity
Case Study
In early 2010, Nigel Keath, Wentworth’s Manager of Information Systems, determined that it was time to put in place a more resilient IT disaster recovery capability. Natural disasters in Victoria and Queensland had heightened awareness of the problems associated with bush fires and floods. Should anything similar ever happen in Wentworth, Nigel knew it could take anywhere between four to six weeks for the Council to recover its information systems using existing back-up facilities.
In addition, the Council had for some time been gradually virtualising its infrastructure. As natural hardware replacement cycles occurred, new virtualised servers were being introduced and it was time to take the next step in this project.
The Council prepared a brief seeking assistance with the implementation of two storage area network (SAN) devices – one to be used as a production site storage array and the other to form the basis of a new disaster recovery capability located in a separate Council building. The brief included replication between the disaster recovery site and the production site, an update to the Council’s overall VMware infrastructure plus implementation and configuration of VMWare’s Site Recovery Manager. Above all, any proposed solution had to offer consolidation and rationalisation of server and storage hardware; improve the Council’s capability to recover from an IT disaster; and it had to be capable of improving the performance and reliability of Wentworth’s key systems.
A ten minute gap
Tecala’s disaster recovery system has given Wentworth Shire Council new confidence in its systems. Through the use of an EMC Celera Replicator and a fibre connection, the Council’s production storage array is replicated at the disaster recovery site every ten minutes. Adding further resilience, VMware Site Recovery Manager provides an automated fail-over service between the two sites. “Through these technologies, we’ve pretty much achieved synchronous replication. Ten minutes worth of data is all we would potentially lose in a disaster. The whole thing has been designed so that the disaster site can be packed up and rolled out the door within 15 to twenty minutes,†Nigel explains.
Server infrastructure has been consolidated even as demand for services has continued to grow. Storage capacity has increased dramatically while server and storage manageability have also improved. “We used to have to wait for an outage to be experienced before being made aware of any problems with the storage system. Now we automatically receive alerts so hopefully we can resolve any issues before they impact the business,†Nigel adds.
The amount of time required to carry out menial storage and server tasks has been reduced and deployment of additional servers can be achieved within approximately half an hour – far less than in the past.
“With Tecala’s help we’ve achieved everything we wanted to achieve. It’s given us the platform for a streamlined and elegant disaster recovery solution, and the way it’s been delivered ensures business continuity also,†Nigel concludes.
Challenge
“Wentworth is located on the Murray and the Darling Rivers and we have had floods in the past. Also, our buildings are quite old. We’re not in a modern office and that makes the threat of fire of greater concern,†Nigel Keath says.
In addition, the Council had for some time been gradually virtualising its infrastructure. As natural hardware replacement cycles occurred, new virtualised servers were being introduced and it was time to take the next step in this project.
Solution
EMC Unified storage area networks, VMware Site Recovery Manager for DR process automation, the addition of Servers for the disaster recover site, the recommissioning of some existing hardware and streamlining of the current back-up and disaster recovery replication procedure.
About Wentworth Shire Council
Looking after the needs of the region’s 8,000 inhabitants is the responsibility of Wentworth Shire Council. The authority provides an extensive range of infrastructure and services for residents and businesses, manages land and business development, tourism and cultural and recreational services.
“Being quite a remote council we’re used to dealing with suppliers over the phone. Tecala was the first and only organisation that has bothered to put in the distance and come out here and visit us. They wanted to get an appreciation for our environment. The person who came was very engaging and made it clear that they were interested in our project and in its overall success,â€
Nigel Keath Manager of Information Systems
