Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), provider of application optimized storage solutions and a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd, and McDATA Corporation, provider of data access solutions, announced in association with Redline Communications, provider of standards-based broadband wireless equipment, and Conpute, a solution services company specializing in data centre and broadband solutions, that two school boards in Peterborough, Ontario will be deploying a combined Hitachi Data Systems and McDATA remote data replication solution, using Redline wireless technology, for disaster recovery and maintaining business continuity between their respective data centers.
The Kawartha Pine Ridge (KPR) District School Board serves 82 elementary schools and 15 secondary schools, reaching more than 37,000 students in Peterborough County. Neighboring Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington (PVNC) Catholic School Board, encompasses 32 elementary and 6 secondary schools, serves more than 15,500 students. The two boards are working collaboratively to leverage economies of scale offered by the solution in the event of a disaster situation. The solution enables synchronous bi-directional replication between locations to speed-up data recovery, minimize data loss and protect data integrity in the event of an outage – securing the information of thousands of students.
Ronald Plaizier, chief information officer, KPR District Public School Board, said, "With our curriculum becoming ever more reliant on educational software tools, students completing more of their class work on school-owned systems, and school administrators utilizing technology to interact with parents and maintain student records, our school boards need to ensure that critical IT services can be assessed and restored quickly in the event of potential outages. With Conpute’s assistance in the deployment of the solution relative to our Business Continuity Plan, we are now able to mitigate the impact due to loss and recovery of vital board functions."
Terry Buchanan, vice president, services, Conpute, stated, "By leveraging off-the-shelf compression and data replication technology, we were able to design a turn-key solution that met the customer’s assessed risk and mitigates the impact of lost IT services during a disaster, dramatically improving their overall business continuity capabilities. The wireless component enables long distance-high speed IP network connectivity between respective data centers, for a total CAPEX that averages to a few months of traditional TELCO T3 leasing costs. This eliminates OPEX traditionally associated with remote replication bandwidth and allows funding to be allocated to a disaster recovery infrastructure."
Hitachi Data Systems
