Global pharmaceutical company maintains non- interrupted access to ECS with Kemp

Why include Connection Manager in ECS deployments

Dell EMC customer faces some specific challenges. As a research company, their data is everything. Pharmaceutical companies' data must be stored indefinitely as their scientists may need to retrieve research and other data at any time in the future. They also need to store their data on- premise as other storage solutions may be too expensive for their needs. Dell EMC ECS solution, Isilon, was the obvious solution for the customer, allowing for data to be tagged, archived and stored within their network indefinitely. Kemp is an industry leader in application delivery technology and a trusted Dell partner in delivering Dell EMC ECS load balancing needs. The load balancing provided by Kemp‘s ECS Connection Manager ensures the smooth flow of data.

The UDS Engineer at Dell EMC, described the customer's ECS implementation and why Kemp load balancing is an essential piece of their ECS solution.

The Challenges

The customer's data is generated by a mix of users and complex devices. Cryo-EM is a cryogenic electron microscope based on Nobel Prize winning technology. It generates large data sets that are compared to results from other electron microscopes. The Cryo-EM projects alone can generate 10 to 15 Terabytes of data daily. Users are constantly moving this data around the archives, from hot to cold tiers, and need this process to function smoothly. Users also need to tag data, index it, and retrieve on an as needed basis and in an automated fashion.

Availability and reliability are key requirements for these users. Bottlenecks caused by server failures can be disastrous. This is complicated further by the fact that all solutions must be on-premise. As such, solution performance and optimization were also key considerations. This was only possible with Dell EMC’s Isilon and the ECS Connection Manager.

The Solution

The pharma company realized that any ECS solution without integrated load balancing would be incomplete. ECS requires that the network runs at peak efficiency with speed and reliability. A single failed server can cause a failure which, in turn, could lead to a loss of data. ECS Connection Manager ensures that this doesn’t happen, by proactively balancing workloads between servers, helping to maximize network efficiency and reliability.

The End Result

It was very important for the customer that load balancing features were included with the Dell EMC ECS solution, so they chose to deploy Connection Manager, within the same project and budget. This integration, coupled with Kemp’s excellent staff and on-site support package, ensured a seamless implementation.

The customer chose to take advantage of Kemp’s on-site installation package. This installation was carried out by Kemp’s Enterprise Engineering Team in conjunction with Dell’s EMC ECS team, ensuring the all-around success of the deployment.

ECS Connection Manager helps ensure improved user and application experience across the customer's networks. It is future-proofed and poised to grow with the pharmaceutical company's needs. The customer plans to further utilize Kemp’s expertise for balancing SSL loads as they grow their network. Kemp is, and will remain, a cornerstone of customer's ECS solution.