Honolulu-Based CDS Adds Server and Storage Virtualization

Commercial Data Systems (CDS), one of the foremost enterprise-level systems integrators in the U.S., has introduced a new Server and Storage Virtualization practice to its portfolio of Technology Solutions. CDS’ latest offering employs an innovative, end-to-end approach to virtualization that eliminates the risks and costs associated with traditional ‘point in time’ and ‘silo’ methodologies. Developed in conjunction with NetApp, a leader in cutting edge data management solutions, CDS Server and Storage Virtualization leverages the company’s extensive expertise in architecting and deploying highly available storage solutions for mission-critical environments.

"Our Virtualization technology solution centralizes all desktops, servers and applications on one unified storage architecture. The result is an easy-to-use, easy-to-manage IT infrastructure that reduces costs, improves performance, and increases system uptime," said CDS President Mark Gilbert.

Virtualization Benefits
Because most organizations work in heterogeneous environments, Server and Storage Virtualization, like all CDS Technology Solutions, has been designed to support any client installation. The building blocks of the new offering are storage platforms from NetApp and Virtual Infrastructure from VMware. This architecture provides improved performance and reduced energy and space requirements, and extends the same benefits of high availability to virtual machines that has conventionally only been available to data. CDS worked closely with NetApp in formulating the new Virtualization approach.

"CDS’ unified architecture is a major breakthrough in virtualization. The company’s engineers are technology experts in the area of storage management, so they understood that our systems, together with VMware, provided the ideal foundation for this new solution. We were delighted at the synergy between our two companies," said Patrick Rogers, Vice President, Solutions Marketing, NetApp.

Advantages of Open Systems Architecture
The CDS Virtualization solution leverages all the power and flexibility of today’s ‘Open Systems’ architecture:

• Platform Independent — with NetApp and VMware as the core technology framework, users can choose any server platform they wish. Support for multiple OS environments, as well as for Fibre channel, iSCSI, NFS and CIFS technologies and protocols extends adaptability and facilitates migration.
• Ease-of-Use — the NetApp and VMware framework centralizes all virtual machines and data storage to simplify configuration and maintenance. Administrators have the tools and utilities needed to manage every virtual machine, application and data repository with simple GUIs.
• Data Protection — regardless of the database (e.g., Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle) users can consistently and rapidly backup and restore mission-critical applications, keeping information ‘at the ready’ whenever it is needed.
• Cost Savings — with the ability to run multiple virtual machines on one physical server, servers can be consolidated and their number substantially reduced, thereby reducing power and cooling requirements in the existing server footprint.

Fully Supported Implementation
Underpinning the new Server and Storage Virtualization solution, and an important part of its ‘complete’ Technology Solutions model, are CDS Engineering Services. These services ensure optimal configuration, business transition, and product assurance for each implementation, and are provided by a highly qualified technical staff that is trained and certified in the latest hardware and software from leading IT vendors, many of whom are CDS partners.

One of the company’s most valuable resources, CDS engineering professionals provide a wide range of services, from design and pre-installation consulting, to integration, testing, and deployment of each Technology Solution. In support of its new Server and Storage Virtualization practice, CDS engineers are experienced in assisting organizations in the transition from physical to virtual OS implementation on Windows, Solaris, and Linux operating systems across server platforms from vendors such as IBM, HP, Sun and other companies.

Commercial Data Systems, Inc.

NetApp