Discover how a big box retailer may be able to migrate to a new data center with zero downtime with the new Hitachi Data Systems Virtual Storage Platform G1000.

1. Big Box Retailer Migrates to New Data Center With Zero
Downtime Thanks to Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform G1000
Introduction
Big-box retailers need advanced data centers to meet various internal and exter-
nal needs. Customers demand rapid access with absolutely no downtime, and
high levels of data protection and security. At the same time, business groups and
marketing teams depend on 24/7 self-service access to IT resources, and inves-
tors demand continuous growth.
To keep pace with these demands, a large big-box retailer in the U.S. wanted to
move its aging data center to a new location. There, it would employ the latest
server and storage technologies to support its growth. The retailer needed a scal-
able, energy-efficient and easy-to-manage storage solution that would also enable
the company’s business-critical data to be migrated safely and without downtime.
With the help of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) G1000, the retailer moved
to the new data center and migrated its mission-critical data with zero downtime.
Customers can now access the company website without delays, and business
users can rapidly access the IT computing assets they need to add to the retailer’s
bottom line.
USECASE
The Industry’s Only Active-Active1
Platform Protects
Data, Even During MigrationChallenges
■■ Move legacy data center to newer, larger
location.
■■ Migrate business-critical data with zero
downtime.
■■ Simplify storage management.
■■ Increase data protection and security.
Solution
■■ Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform G1000.
■■ Built-in active-active capabilities.
■■ Self-service data migration capability.
■■ Advanced support for data protection and
security.
■■ Hitachi Command Suite v8.
■■ Simplifies storage management.
■■ Increases automation.
Benefits
■■ Migrated data to new data center with zero
downtime.
■■ Increased automation for self-service
customization.
■■ Scaled infrastructure to support critical applica-
tions with zero downtime.
■■ Reduced required floor space by 30% and low-
ered power and cooling costs, as part of green
initiative highlighted by media.
ransform Virtualization Economics Innovate
rusted Information Global Change Intelligent Techno
alue Insight Opportunity Social Infrastructure Integ
DISCOVER
1
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Notice: This document is for informational purposes only, and does not set forth any warranty, expressed or implied, concerning any equipment or service offered or to be offered by
Hitachi Data Systems Corporation.
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Challenge: Migrate Without
Downtime
In retail, reputation is everything. Big-box
retailers that have a reputation for consistent,
reliable and high-level service stand apart
from the competition. Customers can depend
on rapid access to the corporate website,
immediate order fulfillment and superior cus-
tomer service. And business units thrive on
undisrupted access to the IT resources they
need to help the business grow.
The U.S. big-box retailer needed to move
to a new, larger data center before its repu-
tation suffered due to declining data center
performance. The retailer also wanted to
reduce its rapidly rising storage costs and
management complexity, and achieve
greater storage performance and scalability.
As part of its data center migration initiative,
the retailer upgraded to Hitachi VSP G1000.
Solution: Hitachi VSP G1000
VSP G1000 is a high-
performance disk storage
system that enables busi-
nesses like the big-box
retailer to increase storage
performance while lowering
operating costs and risks.
It also provides a fault-tolerant, cost-effective
platform for developing a resilient private
cloud infrastructure.
VSP G1000 is the only storage solution
available today with integrated active-active
mirroring. This feature enabled the retailer to
migrate business-critical data, without disrup-
tion or downtime, between its 2 VSP G1000
solutions: 1 in the legacy data center and the
other in the new data center. Once the 2 sys-
tems were paired, they appeared to servers
and applications as a single device, and 1
system could be removed without impacting
performance.
Other key issues for the retailer included data
protection and security. The VSP G1000
platform extends data protection beyond
the underlying physical storage systems to
the virtual system. It is the only solution that
moves data from 1 data center to another
without disrupting data backups, replication
and disaster recovery plans. In addition, the
platform features an innovative self-encrypting
drive that the retailer uses to help secure the
data that remains at its legacy data center.
As part of its solution, the retailer relies on
Hitachi Command Suite v8 software for
unified management across all the retailer’s
virtualized storage resources. It eliminates the
need for multiple management tools. Through
a single console, IT administrators can now
discover, configure, analyze, optimize and
protect storage resources. Hitachi Command
Suite increases automation, accelerates
deployment of new business applications,
and reduces overhead by as much as 80%.
Benefits: No Downtime, Better
Performance
Supporting an always-on infrastructure, VSP
G1000 helps the retailer to build customer
satisfaction and competitive advantage. Self-
service data migration was accomplished
without disruption to applications, and the
platform’s superior performance and scalabil-
ity gives the business room to grow.
The retailer is enjoying many more benefits,
including positive media attention for moving
to a more sustainable and environmentally
friendly data center. VSP G1000 has enabled
the retailer to achieve 30% more capacity
per square foot and to significantly lower its
power and cooling consumption and costs.
The retailer also appreciates that Hitachi Data
Systems is the only vendor that provides an
availability guarantee, as well as advanced
data protection and security measures. Plus,
Hitachi Command Suite has enabled the
retailer to simplify and automate storage man-
agement, resulting in lower operational costs.
Conclusion
Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform G1000 is the
most robust, highest-performing hardware
platform on the market today. For the retailer,
the solution supported a nondisruptive data
migration and provides 100% availability,
high performance, improved data protection
and cost efficiencies. With VSP G1000, even
when natural disasters or other unexpected
issues arise, the company will still be able to
provide the uninterrupted service.
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■■ 100% availability guarantee.
■■ Active-active platform for all data types.
■■ Petabyte-scale performance of more
than 3 million transactions per second.
■■ Scalability up to 16 virtual storage
directors and 2TB of single-image
global cache.
■■ Global clustering.
■■ Nondisruptive upgrades.
■■ Nondisruptive data movement, copy
and migration.
HITACHI VSP G1000 HIGHLIGHTS
LEARN MORE
VSP G1000
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