Reference report: Stadtwerke Annaberg-Buchholz: Modern server technologies and archiving system

In order to remain competitive, Stadtwerke Annaberg-Buchholz continuously invests in strengthening its performance and security of supply. Of course, this also includes the use of modern information technologies. The need for action in this area was recognized early on in the district capital of the Erzgebirgskreis and information technology support was sought. So they looked for a regional service provider and decided in favor of SIGMA Chemnitz.

The challenge

In the search for optimization potential, the IT department quickly found what it was looking for. The task was to prioritize upcoming consolidation measures in order to replace the underperforming servers with a centralized and reliable platform.

Implementation of the IT project with Fujitsu Blade Server

Blade servers deliver more computing power, highest performance and maximum redundancy, yet with minimal space requirements, low power consumption and significantly simplified system management. These were exactly the reasons why the Fujitsu PRIMERGY Server Blade Eco System BX600 was chosen.

The business calculation and an analysis of the administration effort, which speak in favor of blade servers, as well as the conceptual support and consulting, which SIGMA Chemnitz additionally has in its repertoire, ultimately convinced those responsible of the project.

The primary objective of Stadtwerke Annaberg-Buchholz was to increase the availability of applications in use and to ensure scalability for an indefinite period. The Fujitsu PRIMERGY Server BX600 blade system is specifically designed for a wide range of applications, from web server or terminal server farms with lower performance requirements to high-performance database server or application server configurations.

Initial start-up difficulties despite the Linux compatibility of the Fujitsu PRIMERGY Server BX600 supported could be solved promptly in the project group formed together with SIGMA Chemnitz.

Where numerous application servers used to run, there is now only one chassis. The required computing capacity is now provided by five blade servers. In order to cope with the enormous amounts of data generated by the various applications, another blade server is to be purchased soon. Up to 10 can be accommodated in one chassis. Stadtwerke Annaberg-Buchholz is thus well equipped for the future and can meet possible additional server and storage requirements.

Advantages of the Fujitsu PRIMERGY Advanced Blade Ecosystem

The Fujitsu PRIMERGY Server Advanced Blade Ecosystem BX600 is characterized by its great flexibility. It allows dynamic software reconfiguration as well as unrestricted control via central, fault-tolerant access. Comprehensive software support for monitoring, management and deployment reduces administration costs and relieves operators of time-consuming tasks, allowing them to concentrate fully on the actual business. Only fully developed solutions that have been carefully tested in advance are delivered to customers by Fujitsu. These solutions are tailor-made for the respective requirements and can be optimally adapted to the company's needs at any time.
Even if the business changes, the blade servers of the Fujitsu PRIMERGY series grow with it without any problems and thus fully meet the new requirements. Even the software configuration can be adjusted on the fly if workloads change. These servers can be combined with all other rack modules - without any limitation.

Conclusion

By investing in modern FUJITSU blade servers, Stadtwerke Annaberg-Buchholz has strengthened its performance, security of supply and ultimately its competitiveness. They benefit from the flexible and easy-to-manage IT infrastructure and can rely on SIGMA, which has been supporting their EASY archiving system since 2004, as a strong IT partner.