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NetBank
C A S E S T U D Y
QLogic HBAs Reap Returns for
Home Mortgage Lender NetBank
Challenge
The IT department of NetBank managed a growing storage
area network (SAN) with multiple operating systems and
hardware platforms to provide reliable 24/7 access to missioncritical applications—while also helping secure compliance
with Federal regulatory reporting requirements. The time
challenge that faces most IT departments is no different at
NetBank. There is a need for SAN equipment that is quick and
easy to set up and once installed, just works.
Solution
A 110TB SAN composed of over 100 Fibre Channel 4Gbps
HP StorageWorks® FC1143 HBAs from Hewlett-Packard
(manufactured by QLogic as the QLA2460); HP EVA8000
storage arrays; HP ProLiant® DL and HP BladeSystem servers
with QLogic Mezzanine Cards running VMware® ESX Server®
virtualization software as well as the Linux® and Microsoft®
Windows® operating systems.
Result
Data storage requirements for financial institutions are daunting: homeowner
mortgage information management, e-mail archiving, record-keeping, and data
retention for federal reporting requirements. IT managers are constantly challenged
to provide a storage infrastructure that delivers continuous and prompt access to
mission-critical data.
Fibre Channel HBAs are a critical component to providing the connections between
servers and the SAN fabric. At NetBank, HBAs need to ensure access to mission-critical
data and prevent storage system downtime. They also need to be functional with the
servers, storage and software used by the operation. Ideally, they are quick to install
and maintain and work so well that they become invisible. NetBank found all of that and
more with the QLogic HBAs from HP.
The NetBank SAN
The primary NetBank SAN environment serves 50 HP ProLiant servers. The virtualized
servers run VMware ESX Server along with Linux, Microsoft Windows 2000, and
Windows 2003 operating systems. HP EVA8000 storage arrays house the data. Each
server is connected to the SAN by two HBAs for redundancy—a total of 100 Fibre
Channel HBAs. NetBank was able to take advantage of server consolidation by using
HP BladeSystems running VMware for server virtualization. QLogic HBAs enabled higher
levels of server consolidation in VMware environments due to its architecture that
continued to deliver scalable performance as multiple virtual machines were added;
resulting in lower power, cooling and infrastructure costs.
With QLogic HBAs from HP, they were able to standardize on QLogic whether the server
is running Window, Linux and VMware. It also doesn’t matter if the server is a ProLiant
DL series or a BladeSystem server. NetBank was able to standardize on a driver and
firmware revision even though the HBAs were a mix of 2Gb and 4Gb.
QLogic HBAs provide high performance and reliable connections
within the heterogeneous SAN, which gives users uninterrupted
access critical to key banking operations such as mortgage
loan processing and data management for compliance with
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision
reporting requirements. Their reliability also helps provide for
reliable access to e-mail and other corporate functions.
HBAs Provide Non-disruptive Upgrade Path
NetBank had used 2Gb Emulex HBAs for some of their Windows servers. QLogic’s
leadership in providing Fibre Channel connectivity for HP BladeSystems and HP servers
running Linux gave NetBank a mixed HBA environment. The HP HBAs from QLogic for
Linux include a failover feature built into the driver to provide multi-path software for
redundant data paths. Just set it up and if one data path fails, the HBA will failover to
the data path that is working.
“The QLogic HBAs provide our employees with uninterrupted access to data for
their work, including staying abreast of regulatory compliance requirements and
providing cutting-edge services to our customers.”
— Jeffrey Flowers, Manager of Systems Engineering and
Storage Administrator, NetBank
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50 HP ProLiant Servers, Each
with 2 QLogic QLA2460 HBAs
HP EVA 8000
Storage Array
HP EVA 8000
Storage Array
HP BladeSystem
Servers, Each with a
QLogic Mezzanine Card
FC Switch
FC Switch
NetBank
C AS E S T U DY
According to Flowers, “Our primary goal in adopting the SAN was to provide
high availability, centralized management, and enterprise features that allow
us to operate more efficiently. In this very competitive business, we cannot
tolerate downtime. QLogic’s failover driver for Linux is great, just set it up
once and leave it alone, it just works.”
Additionally, Flowers noted that QLogic’s “Unified Driver” approach
eliminated the need for firmware maintenance. The firmware is packaged
along with the driver, reducing the number of components that need to
be managed by NetBank’s administrators. He noticed that the firmware
upgrades of QLogic HBAs were not required unlike similar upgrades for
the Emulex adapters. “The QLogic Unified Drivers are linked with firmware,
eliminating potential interoperability issues, simplifying the installation
process and easing upgrades,” he said, “I was able to upgrade the QLogic
HBAs in half the time.” The ease of use of the QLogic HBAs allows NetBank
IT administrators to focus on improving applications that enhance bank
services rather than doing HBA maintenance.
The Adapter of Choice
QLogic has become the adapter of choice at NetBank. In fact, they are looking
at standardizing all of the IT facilities on QLogic. Over the course of the past
few months, Flowers and his colleagues have followed the suggestions of the
QLogic engineers to nondisruptively replace the 2Gbps Emulex adapters with
4Gbps QLogic HBAs throughout the primary storage environment. This process
also allowed Flowers and his team to begin upgrading existing 2Gbps QLogic
HBAs with faster 4Gbps models for faster performance and greater availability.
Flowers observed also that QLogic engineers understood how important
adapters are to financial institutions. “In our conversations with QLogic
engineers, they provided us with a blueprint for switching out the Emulex
adapters without disrupting our operations—and also showed us how we
could gain faster access to information as well,” he said.
NetBank Challenge/QLogic Solution
“The replacement process required almost no outside assistance because
QLogic HBA installation is a plug-and-play procedure,” Flowers said.
“Whenever we bring down a server with Emulex adapters, we simply install
the faster, more reliable and scalable 4Gb QLogic adapters. During this
process, using QLogic’s single-click install process makes the transition
absolutely painless.”
“The HBAs from QLogic helped NetBank ensure uninterrupted data access
for key operations,” explained Flowers. “And in our business, which is largely
defined by regulatory mandates and customer requirements, there really is
no margin for error. With the QLogic HBAs sold through HP, we meet these
challenges with ease.”
The Industry’s Best-Performing and
Most Reliable HBA
The QLA®2460, a single-port 4Gbps Fibre Channel to
PCX 2.0 266-MHz HBA, provides new intelligent storage
features that redefine enterprise-class HBAs, providing
increased data protection, advanced frame routing, and
enterprise-wide management capabilities. Key Features
of QLogic’s QLA2460 HBA
Intelligent interleaved DMA (iiDMA) ensures
•
maximum utilization of data links in mixed-speed
SAN environments
Virtualization-ready Multi-ID and N_Port support
•
allow physical ports to be part of multiple logical
networks
Operating system driver support includes
•
Windows, Linux, Sun® Solaris®, VMware, NetWare,
and Apple® Mac OS
Overlapping protection domains provide
•
continuous protection for internal data paths
Universal boot support manages multiple hardware
•
platforms and boot options
Enhanced link and transceiver diagnostics enable
•
to monitor the health of HBA proactively
Corp orat e He adquarters QLogi c Corporation 26650 A liso Viejo Parkway Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 949.3 89.6 000 www.qlogic.com
© 2007 QLogic Corporat ion. All rights reserved. QLogic, th e QLogic Logo, Powered by Q Logic and QLA are registered trademarks or trademarks of QLogic Corpor ation. All other brands and pr oduct names ar e trademarks o r registered t rademarks of t heir
respective own ers. Information supplied by QLogi c is believed to be accurate and reliable. QLogic Corporation ass umes no responsibility for any errors in this brochure. QLogic Corp oration reserves the right , without notice , to makes changes i n product design
or specificati ons.
SN0130946-00 Rev A 5/07
Euro pe Headquarters QLog ic (UK) LTD. Sur rey Tech nology Centre 40 Occ am R oad Guildford Su rrey GU2 7YG UK +44 (0)1483 29582 5
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