What is DRaaS, and How is it Different from Backup?

Backing up critical data is clearly a major component of any comprehensive Disaster Recovery (DR) plan, but is that all that is needed to ensure your business is safe from catastrophe? What is the difference between DR and Backup? Is DR the same as DRaaS (Disaster Recovery as a Service)? Some definitions of these terms will help create a better understanding of the best way to preserve business continuity, in case disaster strikes. Of course there is no "one size fits all" solution to address the areas of backup, DR, and business continuity, but these definitions will help direct you towards the most suitable DR plan for your enterprise.

What is Disaster Recovery/DRaaS?

• Disaster Recovery (DR) is the replication of hosting of servers (physical or virtual) from a primary "production" location (typically, your onsite data center) to a secondary "DR" location (a co-located data center, or to the cloud). This replication provides fail-over in the event of catastrophe, as well as fail-back (recovery) when the production data center becomes available.
• Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) is DR that uses a service provider's cloud-based secondary data center location and compute/storage infrastructure. This is especially critical if your enterprise does not have a secondary data center location.
• DRaaS On-Demand is DRaaS that uses a service provider's cloud-based secondary location, but you only pay for server fail-over/recovery when it's needed. However, you will still have to pay for the ongoing backup data costs.

What is Backup?

• Backup can refer to data backup, or in a DR context, virtual server environment backup.  Data backup is simply an extra copy of data. Virtual Server Backup is a snapshot of your virtual machine(s), taken regularly (typically daily), stored in a separate location. This backup serves the short-term purpose of restoring the virtual environment.
• Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) is backup to a service provider's cloud-based secondary data center.

What About RPO and RTO?

Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) are two fundamental components of a disaster recovery plan. Each addresses business decisions that must be made as part of a disaster recovery plan:

• Recovery Point Objective (RPO) determines how frequently data backups are created to addresses the acceptable level of data loss a business is willing to handle between backups. Businesses need to consider how much data they are prepared to lose if disaster strikes.
• Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the time it takes for a business to resume regular activities following a catastrophic event. The business consideration here is: how much post-disaster downtime is acceptable before recovery is completed?

The Difference between Disaster Recovery and Backup

Disaster recovery covers the plan to be used to quickly reestablish business operations following an outage. This includes access to applications, data, and IT resources. Paramount to this recovery process is how fast and how non-disruptively you can recover. Keep in mind that data recovery alone, although part of the recovery process, are NOT sufficient to guarantee business continuity. Understanding that backup does NOT equal DR is a major move toward mastering the data protection challenges every enterprise will face.

Webinar 10/31/2019 (New Date): Best Practices for Disaster Recovery with Datrium & PTS Data Center Solutions

Disaster Recovery has been out of reach for many companies due to the cost, complexity, and brittle nature of traditional DR solutions. With the increasing threat of Ransomware attacks, which are up from 300% from 2018, implementing effective disaster recovery strategies, security and business continuity has never been more critical.

With the recent release of Datrium Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) with VMware Cloud on AWS, you can now get everything you need for failproof on-demand DR to the public cloud in one SaaS solution. For a fraction of the cost of current DR solutions, you can get on-demand DR in the public cloud and eliminate your secondary DR sites. It keeps your data safe and secure, and it delivers failproof recovery and failback.

Here are some of the benefits:

• Achieve immediate and on-demand failover to the cloud with VMware Cloud on AWS
• Eliminate virtual machine conversion and lengthy rehydration
• Leverage S3 for cost-effective cloud storage
• Smoothly resume operations and transition back from a DR environment

Join us for a free webinar on Thursday, October 31st at 12pm EDT and learn about Datrium DRaaS, and how Datrium and PTS Data Center Solutions have partnered to help organizations achieve their multi-cloud objectives, modernize their data centers and achieve failproof DR in the public cloud. For more than 20 years, PTS has been helping IT teams solve some of their most difficult challenges.

• Date: Thursday, October 31, 2019
• Time: 12pm EDT
• Duration: 60 Minutes
• Speakers:
  • Jeff Parker, Field CTO at Datrium, and
  • Peter Sacco, President and Founder of PTS Data Center Solutions

We hope you can join us!

Can’t attend live? Register and we’ll send you
a link to the on-demand recording.

PTS, Tintri, & Veeam LIVE Webinar & Exotic Car Ride! Thursday, October 16th, 2014.

Join us for an exotic ride!

Thursday, October 16, 2014 from 12:00 to 5:00PM EST

(Live Webinar from 2:00 to 3:00)
  PTS Headquarters

16 Thornton Road

 Oakland, NJ 07436
REGISTRATION IS CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT

PTS Data Center Solutions, Veeam, and Tintri have teamed up to provide a wide range of capabilities that will help you eliminate storage bottlenecks while also ensuring that your data is easily managed and fully protected-both on and offsite.

Jaguar F-Type

Please join us to celebrate our collaboration with a free webinar and hear real-time customer testimonials on how they overcame their data center pain points with PTS Data Center Solutions, Veeam, and Tintri. Webinar will take place at PTS' Headquarters in Oakland, NJ.

Lamborghini

Food, drinks, the ability to tour PTS' HQ and Cloud Data Center, and the opportunity to drive one of the exotic sports cars starting from 12:00 noon to 5:00PM, with the Veeam/Tintri presentation and live demonstration commencing promptly at 2:00PM.

For more information, please call us at (201) 337-3833 or learn more at:

Tintri Media (Videos, White Papers, Case Studies)

Tintri Products (VMstore, Replicate VM, etc.)

Veeam Products

PTS Education & White Papers

Looking to continue its tradition of providing content-rich educational materials for data center managers through its website, PTS has significantly upgraded its white paper section. As we continue to add our own industry-specific content through white paper development, presentations at numerous industry events, discussion threads on the PTS blog and through the LinkedIn Computer Room Design group, we strive to stay up-to-date on the latest facility- and IT-related trends.

To that end we have revamped our media library (registration required). Now you can find relevant educational papers by facility, IT or specific topics including: Consolidation, Cooling, Financial, General, Management, Network, Power, Safety, Security, Servers, Storage, and Virtualization. Interesting white papers to add to your reading list include:

Proper Sizing of IT Power & Cooling (by Green Grid). Between 2000 and 2006, energy requirements for data centers doubled, and they are on track to double again by 2011. In the same time period, typical per-rack heat densities went from 1 kW to 7 kW, and they are estimated to exceed 20 kW per rack by 2010. This places tremendous importance on a data center facility planner's ability to properly budget for future power and cooling infrastructure requirements. Today's energy costs and efficiency demands necessitate a more accurate method of determining those requirements. This white paper has been developed to introduce the reader to the many new and highly accurate software tools available for estimating power and cooling capacity requirements. Click here for the full white paper.

Server Consolidation and Containment With Virtual Infrastructure (by VMware). To meet the constant demand to deploy, maintain and grow a broad array of services and applications, , IT organizations must continually add new servers. However, as a consequence of purchasing more and more servers, organizations face a growing server sprawl presenting challenges that include: rising costs, poor return on investment, decreasing manageability, and reduced efficiency. Click here for the full white paper.

Increasing Data Center Efficiency with Server Power Measurements (by Intel). Intel IT defined methods for analyzing computing energy efficiency within our design computing environment, using measurements of actual server power consumption and utilization. We used these methods to identify trends and opportunities for improving data center efficiency, and to implement a pilot project that increased data center computing capacity. Click here for the full white paper.

Optimizing Power Distribution for High-Density Computing (by Eaton). Fueled by the rapid rise of technologies such as virtualization and blade servers, computing densities in today's data centers are climbing dramatically. As a result, server enclosures are requiring more power than ever before. The result of this is a new and demanding set of power distribution challenges. To meet the power requirements of their increasingly dense server racks, organizations are looking for power circuits and power distribution units (PDUs) that have adequate power capacity and make optimal use of panelboards, but don't drive such high densities that they are prohibitively expensive to cool. Click here for the full white paper.

Is Your IT Infrastructure Ready for Tomorrow? Preparing for a 10GbE Future (by David Reine, The Clipper Group). An IT infrastructure will be the key to the success of the enterprise data center in the years to come. Because of the poor utilization of existing single-core microprocessor servers, the IT staff of the typical data center has embarked on a journey of consolidation and virtualization to reduce server sprawl, simplify data center complexity, and reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the IT infrastructure. Click here for the full white paper.

Introducing PTS' Information Technology Solutions Group

For years our team has provided exceptional service to analyze, survey, design, plan, commission and manage Data Centers for our clients. We are now pleased to leverage our expertise in All Things Data Center to launch an exciting new division, PTS Information Technology Solutions Group (ITSG).

ITSG provides information technology based consulting, design, implementation/integration, and ongoing support services as well as IT infrastructure solutions to companies nationwide. ITSG extends PTS' data center expertise beyond facility planning, design, engineering, construction, and maintenance to include service and solutions pertaining to:

• LAN/WAN Networking
• Information/Network Security
• Servers & Systems
• Virtualization Technologies
• Enterprise Storage
• Unified Communications
• Software
• Application Development

ITSG's services and solutions are tailored specifically to the needs of our client's project needs, including:

• Technology Roadmaps
• Data Center Relocation
• Consolidation
• Technology Refresh

ITSG follows our proven project delivery process:



PTS' goal is to provide our clients with 100% turnkey, people, process, and technology solutions from data center facility to IT operations.

ITSG will be led by Rich Horowitz, an industry veteran, who has been involved in all facets of the technology industry for more than 20 years. Rich is actively involved in business development, operations, Channel Partner development, Mergers & Acquisitions, and services delivery. Rich has been involved in approx $700 million in technology hardware sales, software sales and technical services engagements. Rich will be responsible for establishing and strengthening the PTS IT Solutions Group brand, and working with our clients to understand their needs and how we can provide value to them.

To learn more, please contact us today.

Top Ten Reasons to Renovate Your Data Center

Like your home, data centers hit a point of no return --- when slapping some paint on the walls (or adding additional rack UPS or portable cooling systems (e.g. standing floor fans (you know who you are!)) just isn't enough to mask inherent issues.

When do you know it's time
to renovate your data center?

1. I'm having hot flashes as I traverse the data center. The goal of data center cooling solutions is to drive average cold aisle and hot aisle temperatures. When these temperatures fluctuate too greatly, it may be time to look at Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis to gauge how best to arrange cooling systems and, where necessary, isolate hot and cold aisle containment.
2. We've fallen behind on the latest technology. Advances in blade servers, storage and networking combine to catapult performance ahead of business needs. Blade servers, for example, have introduced the concept of high-density data centers that pack previously unheard-of performance in a single rack. New rack design and cooling technology provide a new level of control and savings in both cost and energy consumption.
3. We're afraid to go on vacation. This means your IT staff is spending countless hours on mundane tasks just to keep your computing infrastructure up and running rather than focusing on the ways in which IT can help advance the goals of the business. Consider outsourcing some of those functions to a managed services provider; remote monitoring and management are becoming accepted practices in most IT departments today.
4. My cable plant looks like this. When troubleshooting cabling issues is beyond your means, or there just isn't adequate cable management, it's time to consider new approaches to improving cabling. This will save time and money and improve overall reliability of the data center.
5. Sorry, but no room at the inn. When you can't squeeze a single additional piece of gear or another watt of power into your data center, it's time to consider a renovation. Like cleaning your basement or attic at home, a renovation will free up rack u-space. Under-utilized or obsolete equipment can be identified and discarded. And, renovation can be used to increase power capacity for those high draw blade servers.
6. You worry more about disaster recovery than your peers. Hope is not a strategy. If you're not really sure how well your disaster recovery plan will protect your data in the event of a flooded data center, an earthquake or any other emergency scenario, then your plan is outdated. The process of a formal data center renovation will address redundancy in power and cooling and begin the process of designing to overcome a disaster.
7. Portable fans are in vogue. Fans beget fans. A fan cools a hot rack by re-directing cool air intended for another rack. Now an additional fan is needed to fill the cool air gap. As additional servers are deployed, the cooling needs change. Performing a CFD audit can re-balance your data center hot-aisle / cold aisle air-flow system design for today’s needs and allow you to maintain optimal temperatures in the data center while conserving energy and its associated costs.
8. Centralized control can only happen in a large enterprise.Take a serious look at virtualization and Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) tools. These approaches may require renovation to certain aspects of an older data center but can be worth it if you can gain visibility and centralized control within the environment. DCIM tools come in many flavors and feature sets which are scalable for the smaller data center.
9. A Green data center design is only a pipe dream.Visions of Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) under 2.0 need not be impossible. Considering green data center design techniques and improved performance of facility supporting infrastructure can remove inefficiencies in how much power goes to IT equipment versus non-IT equipment. The result can be reduced operating expenses direct to the bottom line.
10. When designing your original data center requirements your crystal ball was only good for 5-7 years. Data center designs hinge upon key design criteria to support today's IT load. Well planned data center designs also consider future IT requirements, organizational growth, applications growth, etc. However, with significant IT design and innovation, it's extremely difficult to plan for IT requirements 5 or more years in advance.

In the end, renovating a data center is far more complex than renovating a home. Smart home owners, when asked about a major renovation such as a kitchen upgrade, talk of making excellent choices such as checking into a hotel when the kitchen was lost. In a data center renovation, operations must continue on, many times with little to no acceptable downtime during critical renovation phases. Exceptional planning, significant prior experience, and a well conceived and vetted Data Center Renovation process are critical to reduce risk of downtime during a renovation project. With so much riding on day-to-day data center performance as well as the long-term effectiveness of the facility, the stakes are high when planning and implementing any changes. Consider seeking out a professional data center design & build firm.

Data Center Events Schedule

Summer is quickly coming to an end and we’re gearing up for a busy fall. Before you head out for the Labor Day weekend, here’s a recap of our upcoming events schedule for the month of September.

September 14-15, 2010 – 7x24 Exchange Borgata Event
PTS is pleased to participate in the 7x24 Exchange Delaware Valley Chapter’s Annual Fall Conference. The event is in Atlantic City at the Borgata and will include a number of presentations and panel discussions related to sustainable data center design, including data center performance measurement, EPA updates, the “Buy vs. Build” debate, etc. Click here for more info.

September 15, 2010 – QuikEnvision 3rd Annual Technology Conference
PTS is pleased to sponsor QuikEnvision 2010, the 3rd Annual Technology Conference presented by Quality Technology Solutions. The event is in New York City and presents strategies for delivering business value with Information Technology. Attending this conference will help you to identify IT strategies and resources that will help your business save money, improve service and create competitive advantages. Click here for more info.

September 22, 2010 – “Beef Up Your Data Protection” Seminar
RSVP today to join PTS Data Center Solutions, Compellent and ExaGrid Systems, along with your fellow IT and data center operations peers for a complimentary lunch seminar on Wednesday, September 22nd at 11:30 a.m. at Ruth's Chris Steak House in New York City. Entitled “Beef Up Your Data Protection”, the seminar will focus upon PTS Data Center Consolidation Consulting, Compellent Storage Area Networking, and ExaGrid Disk Backup. All attendees will be entered in a raffle for a free Apple iPad. Click here for more info.

Coming up in October, PTS will be working with manufacturer partner, Enterasys, during the Interop NY event. Our team will also be presenting and exhibiting at the Fall 2010 Data Center World Event in Las Vegas. Please visit us at booth #207 and experience our new Data Center Maintenance Management Software (DCMMS) solution. We hope you’ll join us.

PTS to Provide Services for Verari’s FOREST Container Data Center

I’m happy to announce that PTS Data Center Solutions has partnered with Verari Systems to provide design and construction services for Verari’s FOREST Container data center consolidation solution. The combination of Verari’s modular, portable data center that is deployable virtually anywhere, with the broad project expertise of PTS, provides organizations with a complete and secure “ready to go” alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar data centers.

Unlike the traditional bid-build process which costs more, takes more time to execute and requires more resources to manage, the Verari/PTS FOREST Container construction strategy condenses the exercise into a clear and concise process. The combination of a portable data center with our turnkey services addresses consolidation needs with minimal disruption to business operations.

Recently named as a finalist in the “Clean Technology Category” of the 15th Annual AeA San Diego Council's High Tech Awards, the FOREST container is designed to house over 2000 blade-based compute servers or nearly 12 petabytes of blade-based storage by utilizing Verari’s BladeRack® 2 X-Series platforms in a modular unit. Energy spending is dramatically reduced by the Verari FOREST Container’s ultra efficient power subsystems and patented Vertical Cooling Technology™, boosting reliability, performance and availability.

Click here to learn more.

Cut Your Data Center Cooling Costs

Modern data centers face a number of cooling system challenges due to the requirements of today's IT systems, combined with the way those IT systems are deployed. In the latest issue of PROCESSOR magazine, Elizabeth Millard examines strategies for keeping power and cooling operations streamlined during the summer months when outside temperatures rise.

The article includes my thoughts on the topic, as well as insights from John Busch, chairman and CTO at Schooner Information Technology; Michael Sigourney, senior product specialist at AVTECH; and Kris Domich, principal consultant at Dimension Data.

Key points include:

• Look at upgrading processing and storage capability for greater efficiency.
• Establish a strong preventive maintenance strategy before the summer months hit.
• Keep accurate records to understand utilization and cost changes over different years.

PTS' expertise is a valuable asset in this area as companies are often unable to predict if their data center cooling system will supply a future load, even when the characteristics of the load are known in advance. If your company is looking to establish a cooling system for your data center that will withstand system failures and load increases, contact PTS as the next step in your process.

The New Data Center Boom

Across the country, data center development is booming. Companies, including major players like Microsoft and Google, are buying up acres of land with the intent of building new data centers.

This rapid growth is, at least in part, spurred by the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), which call for better handling and storage of data. Companies are also responding to the nationwide push to establish energy efficient data centers. In order to accommodate the state-of-the-art, next generation data centers, companies simply need more space than their current facilities can provide.

Data Center Site Selection

For companies seeking to develop a new data center facility, high-quality site selection is of the utmost importance. By choosing a site location wisely, companies can save both time and money, while achieving scalability, flexibility and high availability.

Choosing a site that minimizes the natural and man made threats to continuous operation is the first step in provisioning a new data center. There are many factors to consider, including:

• Natural Hazard Threats
• Physical Location Threats
• Terrorist Activity Threats
• Environmental Contamination Threats
• Site Accessibility
• Amenities Access

It is interesting to note that the priority level of these factors is highly changeable. For instance, a decade ago it would have been more common for companies to seek site locations that with close proximity to major cities and airports. However, in the wake of September 11^th, data centers are more likely to spring up in smaller cities, reducing the likelihood of damage from terrorist attacks, but most especially in those areas of the country that have the lowest operation costs including utility rates, land acquisition costs, labor rates, tax rates, and cost-of-living expenses.

To help navigate the complex process of site selection, many companies employ data center consultants for assistance in selecting an appropriate geography on which to locate their data center. Site selection services are the optimal way to ensure your mission critical facility is set up in both a location and a building that can support constant availability.

The Devils in the Details - Enhanced SAN & Switching Solutions for Next Gen Data Centers

PTS is pleased to announce a new educational event, The Devils in the Details - Enhanced SAN & Switching Solutions for Next Generation Data Centers, in which we will introduce several new technology-based solutions, which will enhance data center optimization, consolidation, virtualization, and disaster recovery.

Prior to an upcoming New Jersey Devils versus Philadelphia Flyers hockey game we will leverage our understanding of the synergies between Facility and IT Infrastructure and introduce two highly efficient and cost effective solutions. These solutions can dramatically reduce the costs and complexity of your IT environment while increasing your ability to adapt, manage, and grow your storage and computing infrastructure. Learn about flexible, scalable solutions that will meet your business and security challenges and better understand how IT requirements drive new needs for your data center support infrastructure.

February 10, 2010
NJ Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Prudential Center, Newark
Presentation with dinner/drinks starting at 5:00 PM
Game time 7:00 PM

Join us for an informative discussion and learn about:

• PTS Data Center Solutions' strategic data center design approach combining both IT and support infrastructure expertise to design, manage and operate a superior data center.
• Dell EqualLogic PS Series SANs designed to cost-effectively integrate advanced data and disaster protection features directly with VMware virtual infrastructure to help provide seamless data protection and disaster recovery management.
• Enterasys S-Series® enterprise switching and routing solutions specifically designed for high speed core and SAN deployments.

Click here to learn more

Please RSVP by 1/5/2010. Tickets are limited and available on a first-come basis.

Hyperconverged Infrastructure Lives Up to the Hype

What's all the hype about Hyperconvergence?  Gartner says Hyperconverged Integrated Systems will be mainstream in five years; is it time for you to get on board and streamline your IT?

PTS can explain the benefits of hyperconvergence to you in just 15 minutes.We will explain how to operate your IT for a considerably lower cost, in less time, and how to reduce your disaster recovery time from hours or days to just minutes? 

Are you Interested in Hyperconvergence?

PTS' Hyperconverged Infrastructure solution offers the following benefits:

• Optimization - Reduce storage
• Integrated Disaster Recovery
• Backup - 1 minute to restore 1 TB
• Failover / Recovery - RPO/RTO’s in minutes
• Simplicity - Fully integrates VMware vCenter
• Manageability - Single global interface
• Flexibility - Suitable for any workload, at any location

PTS has prepared a short (15 minutes) personal presentation covering the clear benefits of converting to hyperconverged infrastructure.  You've heard all the hype, now start reaping the benefits. 

Click Here to Schedule a One-on-One Personal
Presentation on Hyperconverged Infrastructure

Plan Your Data Center Move (Part 2 of 2)

A successful data center relocation starts with a good plan. By placing emphasis on pre-design and planning, you can achieve an optimal solution to meet the demands of your data center move. Here are some key points to address when developing your own data center relocation strategy:

What equipment really needs to move?

An equipment migration is the perfect time to make network and network security improvements, phase out old server and storage platforms, and undertake a virtualization project to minimize the number of servers.

Is the new site’s support infrastructure prepared to accept the new load?

Is there enough UPS, cooling, power distribution, floor weight capacity, etc.? Is the data cabling strategy the same or will you be making changes? It’s helpful to retain a computer room design consultant to verify the load capacity and redundancy constraints of the new site. If working with a pre-existing space, the new computer room should be re-commissioned.

Establish corporate buy-in.

Clearly communicate the timeline of the project with everyone in the company – management and employees alike.

Identify, mark, tag, and document everything – twice!

Every piece of equipment from subfloor to ceiling – be it a cabinet, rack, power cable, power strip, patch cable, data cable, bracket, nut, or bolt – needs to be accounted for using a numbering convention that will ensure everything goes back together exactly as it came apart.

Develop a schedule with enough time built in for contingencies.

Allow yourself a sufficient margin of error in case there’s a hold-up at some point during the process. Build extra time in at the end of the data center relocation schedule and don’t try to do too much at one time.

For more advice on data center migration, check out "Tips For Moving Your Data Center" at Processor.com.

The Importance of Data Center Site Cleaning

Why Invest in Data Center Cleaning?
Is It Really Critical to Professionally Clean My Mission Critical Facilities?

Data Center Cleaning is NOT about the aesthetic appeal of a clean, dust-free environment. Rather, investing to maintain a clean data center is a vital service that can sustain the maximum operational life span of IT infrastructure equipment. The primary benefit to professionally cleaning a data center is increased reliability, up-time, and extended IT infrastructure life. Dust and dirt buildup at the server fan air intake can cause fan failure or static discharge inside electronic equipment. By eliminating dust and dirt buildup, system reliability and up-time is ultimately increased. In addition, by eliminating dust and dirt buildup, the thermal output of server and storage components can be reduced and, therefore, reduce cooling requirements.

PTS Data Center Solutions experienced cleaning crews are well aware of the caution that must be employed in an active data center environment during regular cleanings. After data center construction is complete, PTS will thoroughly clean above and below the raised floor paying particular attention to components that have a strong attraction to dust. In addition to post construction cleaning, PTS strongly recommends regular cleanings throughout the life of the data center.

PTS’ Data Center Cleaning Services feature:

• Encapsulation of sub floor to eliminate concrete powdering
• Systematic vacuuming to remove dirt, dust, and contaminants
• Antistatic cleaning and machine scrubbing of high pressure laminate raised floor surfaces
• Damp wiping of environmental equipment and counter surfaces
• Carpet cleaning
• Ramp and tile floor landing waxing 

Learn more here or contact PTS at 201-337-3833.

Why You Should Consider VMware vSphere 5

There are several choices available for server, storage, and desktop virtualization. VMware's vSphere solution continues to lead the pack in terms of features and functionality. With its recent release of version 5 for both vSphere and Site Recovery Manager, VMware responds to client and partner requests to improve speed to deploy, response to disaster, and the ability to run its solutions independent of platform (i.e. now from a smart phone).
Top Reasons to Consider vSphere 5:

• Speed of High Availability Features - Performs more simultaneous vMotions, simplifies clustering setup and configuration, and enhances reliability through better resource guarantees and monitoring


• vCenter Now Runs as a Virtual Management Assistant - For small scale deployments, there is no need to purchase an operating system


• Web Client Availability - Allows platform independence (i.e. the ability to run from a smart phone)


• Host Profiling - Permits copying of host settings across multiple ESXi hosts allowing a series of hosts to be deployed and configured in a fraction of the time

To learn more about the new VMware vSphere 5 features as well as improvements to Site Recovery Manager, Click Here or Contact PTS.

Forrester Report: Identifying the Total Economic Impact of SimpliVity's Hyperconverged Infrastructure

SimpliVity commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) that enterprises may realize by deploying its hyperconverged infrastructure technology.
 
Forrester found that organizations using SimpliVity:

• Reduced costs by 73%
• Experienced a risk-adjusted ROI of 224% over three years
• Avoided or reduced costs of: storage, hardware, labor, floor space, system updates, and more
  

“SimpliVity gives us a significantly lower cost, significantly lower application complexity, and an improved disaster recovery solution.”
~ Backup manager, educational institution

 

Download your Free Copy of the Forrester Report: Total Economic Impact of SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure

 
About Forrester Consulting: Forrester Consulting provides independent and objective research-based consulting to help leaders succeed in their organizations.

New Year’s Resolutions for Data Center Solutions

Happy holidays, everyone!

Each year, millions of people form New Year’s Resolutions in the hopes of making a change for the better. I encourage data center managers and other IT professionals to use this annual tradition as an opportunity to reflect on the data center solutions you want – or need – to adopt in order to keep your data center in top condition. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. “Eat right/Quit smoking/Drink less”

I’m not suggesting that you or your team members change your lifestyle habits. The idea behind this metaphoric resolution is to improve the overall health of your data center. Consider updating your key processes, tightening up security, keeping a more detailed record of network changes, or coming up with some other solution that will boost your data center’s availability.

2. “Battle the bulge”

Over time, data centers tend to get cluttered. Dirt and dust start to accumulate on mission critical equipment, and employees may try to use perceived “extra space” for storage. This could cause major problems down the road. Straightening things up will not only improve employee moral and health, but also enhance equipment performance and cut down on maintenance costs. Cleaning your data center every day, week, or month will help your machines run better, and keeping the “extra space” empty will improve the efficiency of your environmental systems.

3. “Learn something new”

Don’t let your team get set in its ways. Establish a reading habit that will keep you up-to-date regarding new technologies and data center solutions. Encourage your coworkers to do the same. Also, attend an industry-sponsored convention or open house – it’s a valuable opportunity to make connections and gain a fresh perspective.

4. “Save money”

Find ways to cut costs via server virtualization or other efficiency-boosting solutions. Analyze the efficiency of your air conditioning or electrical systems – a few refinements might result in major financial rewards.

5. “Reduce stress/Enjoy life more”

Once you’ve made strategic improvements to your data center operations based on your IT resolutions, you’ll be able to spend more time making large-scale improvements instead of chasing after minor problems.

Set aside some time this week to write down your own IT resolutions. It’s a small step that will help you start 2007 with your best foot foreword.

Data Center Solutions to Beat the Summer Heat

This summer, data center managers are sweating – and it’s not just because of the heat. As temperatures hit record highs this year, the increased demands placed on US energy grids have lead to brownouts and occasional blackouts. Between the soaring temperatures and the power outages, data center cooling systems and backup generators are getting a real work-out.

The situation isn’t likely to improve in the summers to come. As our national energy usage increases, power reliability decreases during peak times. The demand for energy is growing at a much faster rate than our power generation capacity can handle.

Unfortunately, if you can’t take the heat, the solution isn’t “Get out of the data center.” Data centers that don’t want to get burned by future heat waves are investing in some preventative measures. Many businesses are installing extra cooling systems and on-site generators in the hope that these data center solutions will prevent costly downtime.

Heat removal is essential to the proper functioning of data centers, yet poor design and maintenance choices prevent many air conditioning systems from operating at peak efficiency. The availability and reliability of your network services hinge on the continued operation of your precision cooling solutions. If you’re looking for help minimizing the frequency and severity of unexpected downtime, try the following data center solutions:

- Provide redundancy throughout the entire cooling infrastructure by maintaining at least one additional computer room air conditioner (CRAC), pumps, and heat rejection equipment for each cooling zone. This is referred to as N+1 redundant.

- If you have a cooling system that employs on-site thermal storage such as a chilled water system, consider providing the air handlers, inside the computer room, with uninterruptible power supply (UPS) power to provide uninterrupted power & cooling to the site.

- To sidestep power outages altogether, size the on-site emergency power generators to handle your system’s cooling as well as power needs.

- Perform regular checks on your computer room air conditioner (CRAC) and heat rejection equipment including inspecting all filters and operating parameters.

For an expert assessment of your data center’s cooling system, consult a data center design firm. By evaluating your present and future loads, capacity and redundant capacity plans can be created and utilized to keep you cool when the heat turns up.