HDS storage network easy as ABC

Hitachi Data Systems is in the final stages of implementing a $1.7 million dollar storage network for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

It should go live by the end of February.

HDS was awarded the three-year contract, announced publicly this week, through an open government tender process.

The contract covers the development and support of a storage network for the ABC’s new media and Internet services divisions.

Although the contract has been awarded for three years, HDS general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Michael Cremen, said the ABC was interested in looking into the storage network solution as a five-year investment. As a result, HDS was required to submit a five-year total cost of ownership (TCO) plan to the ABC as part of the tender process.

“They looked at this over the long-term,” he said.

Cremen said HDS was currently involved in the final stages of implementation and testing of the storage network.

“The equipment was put in November, then we did the pre-install testing,” he said. “After that, January was focusing on getting the implementation done, and getting all sites up and running.”

HDS has developed a converged SAN/NAS solution for the ABC contract, incorporating 12TB of storage alongside software and managed services.

The storage network features Hitachi Thunder 9530V storage arrays at each of the ABC’s eight capital city locations across Australia, and a Hitachi Thunder 9580V high-end modular storage array installed at the broadcaster’s data centre in Sydney.

The storage network will be centrally managed using Hitachi’s HiCommand management software. Other pieces in the network include Network Appliance’s GF940C Clustered gateway filer, as well as Brocade Silkworm switches for the ABC’s application servers, and backup management software from Veritas.

HDS will also provide 24/7 maintenance services for all of the ABC’s eight locations as part of its service level guarantee to the broadcaster. In order to win the contract, HDS took a collaborative approach to the solution, enlisting the help of partners Network Appliance, SecureData, StorageTek, Veritas and Brocade for the project.

One of the vendor’s premium partners, SecureData, was subcontracted by HDS to supply all systems and data relating to backup for the contract.

SecureData general manager of enterprise sales, Steven Boi said SecureData’s role in the partnership involved providing software and integration services, as well as managed services on the back-up side of the storage network.

Boi said the deal represented a substantial “professional services gig” win for SecureData.

Cremen said SecureData’s strong background in supporting Veritas software had led HDS to select the IT solutions company for the ABC project.

“We have a collaborative strategy with a lot of partners for things that HDS doesn’t have a strength in,” he said.

“In this instance, SecureData has good Veritas skills we wanted to leverage.”

Likewise, Veritas was selected for the partnership because it has the best solution for a centrally managed storage environment, he said.

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