The Marti Group: Worldwide Accessible Data with Centralized Security

Project Overview

• Initial Situation

  Even the best storage infrastructure eventually reaches its performance limits. Within the Marti Group, the central IT manages applications for the global construction industry, ERP system solutions, and document management. To ensure round-the-clock availability of core applications, the conglomerate has relied on NetApp solutions since 2007. However, the increasing demands for storage and performance surpassed the capabilities of the existing systems. This resulted in insufficient storage space for new applications and a slowdown in virtual infrastructures.

• Solution

  It made sense to rely on what has proven effective. 'We had already gained highly positive experiences with the NetApp solution from BNC,' says Christian Loretan, Head of IT at Marti Group.

  'Nevertheless, we conducted a fresh evaluation and analysis. And the choice once again came down to the best and simplest solution, which was NetApp.'

  Two NetApp FAS8020HA systems under Clustered Data ONTAP, located in separate data centers, constitute the new central structure. These systems are configured as Hybrid Storage with intelligent caching through NetApp Flash Pool. Flash Pool logically combines SSD and disk media, offering flash-like performance at the cost of traditional hard drives. Frequently accessed or written data automatically utilizes fast flash storage, which also accelerates virtual machine reboots. Additionally, cost-effective SATA shelves were repurposed from the retired NetApp storage.

• Approach

  In partnership with BNC, the project to renew and enhance the storage infrastructure was initiated. The Marti Group's longstanding IT partner assumed responsibility for planning, sizing, on-site integration, and data migration.

  'I've had a longstanding relationship with BNC, and I understand that their expertise in data centers consistently delivers value to the customer,' Loretan commented.

• Benefits

  • Uified architecture for SAN and NAS
  • Optimized data access through flash technology
  • Investment protection through reuse of existing NetApp components
  • Highly reliable NetApp storage solution
  • Efficient storage provisioning reduces IT service time-to-market