Decision Lens Implements NetEx HyperIP

Network Executive Software, Inc. (NetEx) announced that Decision Lens, Inc., provider of desktop and Web-based collaborative decision making software, has implemented the HyperIP virtual appliance to improve the performance of its SAN system’s volume replication function to duplicate production system data to its cross-country disaster recovery site.

Decision Lens works with organizations to bring structure and quality to key decisions. Its solutions manage the strategic alignment of goals and priorities with investments in people, projects, products and suppliers for a more accurate, repeatable and transplant process for decision making.

The company was using SAN replication in an attempt to inexpensively duplicate its all Linux-based virtual machines in a VMware infrastructure cluster in Ashburn, Virginia to a DR site in Phoenix, Arizona. Latency issues created long replication times resulting in the DR site always being several hours out of sync with production.

"We discovered that the SAN replication on its own was ill-suited to the 80+ms latency of the cross-country trip across the public Internet," said Peter Murray, Senior Manager of IT & Hosting at Decision Lens. "It would not make efficient use of the available bandwidth and would only move data at about 9Mb/s. Replication performance between the sites with HyperIP virtual appliance was greatly improved, so much so that we are rarely ever more than an hour out of sync at the DR site. We pay for bandwidth based on a 95th percentile average, so being able to control the bandwidth usage between the SAN systems has allowed us to recoup our annual investment in four months in bandwidth cost savings alone. NetEx’s HyperIP solution delivered exactly what was promised."

Murray said that he liked the fact that there was no need for additional hardware – each end is served by a VM that lowers the cost of management – plus HyperIP leverages the built-in reliability of its own VMware cluster.  

Decision Lens is currently replicating two 1,500GB Dell EqualLogic SAN system volumes, as well as 500GB between the Linux backup systems. The company plans to expand its use of HyperIP as it scales the amount of data it synchronizes and as the number of worldwide locations grows.

"Decision Lens discovered what all of our customers have – that the HyperIP virtual appliance can significantly enhance their WAN replication performance by minimizing the effects of network disruptions for improved data replication across shared WAN connections," said Robert MacIntyre, NetEx Vice President of Business Development and Marketing. "Deploying HyperIP to replicate data between a company’s storage system and a geographically dispersed DR site helps ensure that their business-critical information is protected and moved on time, every time. We are glad that Decision Lens was able to improve their replication performance and bandwidth usage by implementing HyperIP and we look forward to making data transfers extremely fast and secure in the future."