Dell has joined forces with storage firm EMC, telecoms firm Esat BT and communications equipment maker Nortel Networks to provide a ‘proof of concept’ facility that will enable customers to test the performance of their data across a working network.
The dual-centre site, spanning 60 miles between Dell’s application centre in Limerick and EMC’s application centre in Cork, will also provide disaster recovery demonstrations for a realistic picture of how data can be backed up and recovered at a sister site within minutes of a disaster taking place.
Built on a Dell/EMC CX600 storage system and Nortel Networks’ OPTera Metro 5000 dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) equipment, the sites are connected through Esat BT’s high-speed optical network. The equipment used for the business continuity demonstration is available for testing and proof-of-concept work to customers in Europe through Dell, EMC, Esat BT and Nortel Networks. The server and SAN solution supports a variety of applications, including Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle 9i database across a variety of operating systems.
“The move to 24×7 operations and the increasing need for security has created a requirement for data centre mirroring. Ensuring corporate data is recoverable has always been important. It is significant that Dell and its partners are able to build their solution on industry-standard components,” said Martin Hingley, vice president of IDC’s European systems group.
The general manager of Dell Ireland relationship sales, Tim McCarthy explained: “Information is the lifeblood of any organisation and having access to data – anywhere, anytime and under any circumstances – is crucial to survival in today’s business environment. Our collaboration with EMC, Esat BT and Nortel Networks will allow customers to test a real-world disaster recovery solution to help them in their business continuity planning.”
By John Kennedy
