LAUSD Deploys TwinStrata CloudArray For Cloud-Based Continuous Data Protection
Deployment across 15 remote locations will save school district an estimated $283,000 by eliminating tape, using cloud storage and using commodity servers over the next five years
TwinStrata, Inc., the leading innovator of cloud-based data storage, backup and disaster recovery solutions, recently announced that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the largest public school system in California and second largest public school district in the U.S., has deployed TwinStrata CloudArray in fifteen remote locations to provide continuous data protection. The deployment allows for a seamless replacement of primary storage, tape and backup software while instantly providing disaster recovery to any location globally.
With TwinStrata CloudArray, LAUSD is now able to back up primary data to an Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) cloud by placing CloudArray virtual appliances, which take daily snapshots in the S3 cloud, for all fifteen remote locations across the district. Previously, each site required either BackupExec or homegrown archiving scripts to back up a file server and then write to tape or ship the data across the WAN to a central location.
"We were at a crossroads in our search to replace some failing hardware in the individual sites and didn't want to continue purchasing storage, tape and file servers," said Steve Saitman, senior systems specialist for LAUSD. "After a fairly lengthy evaluation process, we chose TwinStrata over competing solutions because the combination of performance, ease of use, and storage array feature set provided everything we were looking for from traditional storage arrays and backup software for far less cost without the added maintenance overhead."
LAUSD was able to deploy each site in less than 4 hours, and once all data was synchronized to the cloud with full disaster recovery capabilities to any one of its other sites. Just as important as quick setup, pay-as-you-go storage and like-local access to data were the cost savings. As a result of deploying TwinStrata CloudArray, LAUSD estimates it will save $283,000 over five years by eliminating tape and using lower-cost commodity servers.
"Moving to the cloud has not only reduced the cost and burden of maintaining the multi-site infrastructure, it has eliminated the need for future data migrations and costly upgrades," added Saitman. "Our upgrade plans now are to simply purchase new servers every three years."
Available in both virtual and physical appliance configurations, the TwinStrata CloudArray cloud storage gateway connects customers' applications and backup infrastructure to the cloud, enabling them to enjoy limitless storage capacity, escape the cost, complexity and risk of off-site infrastructure or tape, and recover data instantly to any location. CloudArray supports the broadest ecosystem of public and private cloud storage providers including AT&T, Amazon, EMC Atmos, Mezeo, Nirvanix, PEER1, and Scality. Other features such as dynamic caching, in-flight/at-rest data encryption, deduplication, bandwidth optimization, in-cloud snapshots, high availability and ability to access restored data from anywhere make it easy for businesses to deploy and use.
CloudArray appliances are available from TwinStrata with software appliances available for immediate free download at http://www.twinstrata.com/CloudArray-download. For more information, visit www.twinstrata.com/cloudarray.
About TwinStrata, Inc.
TwinStrata is an innovator in enterprise-class data storage, data protection and disaster recovery/business continuity solutions using cloud storage. With TwinStrata CloudArray, companies of all sizes can simply and economically leverage the scalability and efficiency of cloud storage while maintaining the availability, performance and security of local storage. CloudArray software and hardware solutions support all file and operating systems, and deliver substantial advantages over traditional off-site storage solutions, including a pay-as-you-go model, unlimited elastic capacity, local performance, in-cloud snapshots and disaster recovery, dynamic caching, automated policies, AES256 encryption, and continuous access to data. For more information, visit www.twinstrata.com.
SOURCE: TwinStrata, Inc.