Nexsan Flexible Storage Platform Selected by Brigham Young University Computer Science Department for Virtualized Server Storage

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Third-Largest Private University in the United States Achieves High Performance, Reliability and Efficiency Using Nexsan SAN Storage Systems

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., United States, February 3, 2012 - PressReleasePoint) - Nexsan®, a leading independent provider of disk-based data storage systems, today announced that the computer science department at Brigham Young University has deployed Nexsan’s Flexible Storage Platform to support its multi-purpose storage infrastructure. Selected for high performance, reliability, efficiency and value, the Flexible Storage Platform supports the department’s virtualized operating environment with high capacity storage for both structured and unstructured data.
 

Brigham Young University is the United States’ largest religious university and the third largest private university in the country. The university’s Department of Computer Science is known for its exceptionally high caliber of faculty, leading-edge research programs and state-of-the-art research facilities. Recent achievements include development and maintenance of phpLDAPadmin, an award-winning open source project.
 

Researchers at the university’s computer science department create tremendous volumes of data. To better manage it, they needed a reliable back-end storage solution for their VMware vSphere 4 enabled virtual operating environment. At any one time as many as 40 virtual machines can be configured in support of research storage needs, including structured Oracle and MySQL database data and unstructured file and image information. As a result, the department required a flexible and reliable disk array that would efficiently support their active virtual environment. 
 

Harshbarger turned to IO Dynamics, a Nexsan value added reseller, to deploy a flexible storage solution to address the department’s uniquely dynamic infrastructure. Because this IT environment was required to support all types of data in a flexible, yet cost efficient way, Nexsan was selected as the vendor of choice. As a result, the computer science department received high reliability storage along with advanced features, such as power consumption reduction, and a low total cost of ownership, ideal for this virtual operating environment. The computer science department deployed Nexsan storage fully populated with 1TB SATA drives. The SATA RAID storage system is connected to an HP BladeSystem C3000 enclosure with a dynamic mix of approximately 40 virtual machines.

Key benefits from this flexible storage environment include:

·       Energy-efficient AutoMAID® Level-3 technology which saves up to 60% in energy
        costs compared to alternative storage systems

·       The ability to combine SAS, SATA and SSD disks in the same system for ultimate
         storage flexibility

·       Support for both fibre channel and iSCSI interfaces

·       User-friendly storage management for configuring and monitoring multiple Nexsan
        RAID storage systems from a single interface

·       Reporting and alert features for greater insight into storage processes

With the Nexsan storage system in place, students and faculty at the University are afforded continuous access to data in support of computer science department projects. One such project includes a popular Facebook application called Relative Finder, created by several BYU computer science major students and Professor Tom Sederberg. The application is run on a virtual web server and virtual MySQL server which reside on Nexsan storage. Relative Finder allows users to search back an average of nine or ten generations to find relatives and can even show relationships to famous historical figures. “As demonstrated in this case, today’s organizations need storage systems that deliver superior flexibility and performance,” said Victoria Grey, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Nexsan. “Nexsan’s Flexible Storage Platform has been developed specifically to meet these requirements. Offering high density, reliability and performance, Nexsan storage systems reduce operating costs while providing the ideal solution for multi-purpose storage environments.”

About Nexsan 

Nexsan® is a leading independent provider of disk-based storage systems purpose-built and priced for the mid-market, offering industry-leading reliability, space and power efficiency. Nexsan data storage systems provide scalability, integrity and security for growing volumes of unstructured data and are ideal for virtual storage, disk-to-disk backup, secure online archiving, bulk and cloud storage applications. Overcoming the challenges of traditional storage, Nexsan delivers a different kind of storage experience with easy-to-use, efficient and enterprise-class solutions that reduce the complexity and cost of storage. Nexsan delivers its storage systems through a select global partner ecosystem of solution providers, OEMs and system integrators. Nexsan is based in Thousand Oaks, Calif. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.nexsan.com.

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