Kane County Streamlines IT With EqualLogic And VMWare

Originally, Siles purchased Network Appliance, Inc. (NetApp) devices for file server consolidation. At the same time, he implemented VMware ESX Server and started by virtualizing print servers. Just prior to a 16-terabyte NetApp upgrade, Siles discovered EqualLogic at VMworld and was impressed by the capabilities and value of the PS Series storage arrays. "We did an internal bake-off and were blown away!" he exclaims. "After completing our evaluation, we canceled a $90,000 NetApp purchase in favor of the EqualLogic iSCSI SAN."

EqualLogic's unique product architecture, providing advanced storage management functionality at no extra cost was a key part of Siles' decision. Kane County had invested heavily in a disaster recovery strategy that includes running active-active hot data centers, so that all critical infrastructure is duplicated at the remote site six miles away. Says Siles, "Replicating data with NetApp's mirroring cost me a pretty penny because it requires an expensive license; but with EqualLogic, replication is included right in the box at no extra cost. Buying EqualLogic was a no-brainer."