Success Stories
Is There Affordable And Reliable Backup For NAS?
Integrator Secure Systems, Inc. found a cost-effective secondary backup solution for a $2.3 million network and won a new client as a result.
Business Solutions, March 2008
Written by: Megan Burns
Secure Systems, Inc. has reached the status many VARs and integrators strive for with their clients-trusted advisor. Several of Secure Systems' clients have been with them for more than a decade and refer other businesses to them. In fact, the integrator doesn't advertise. "Over 90% of our clients are from referrals," states Kevin Rhea, president of Secure Systems.
The integrator focuses on the SMB market. These businesses cannot have or don't want an inside IT department and look for an integrator who will act as their IT department. A key for Secure Systems to keeping these SMB clients and earning their trust has been service. According to Rhea, people will spend more if they perceive they're receiving a higher level of service. "Quality lingers long after price is forgotten," he stresses.
Recently, Secure Systems upgraded the network for Color Portraits, a 15-year client. Color Portraits are school photographers that specialize in kindergarten through eighth grade. The company switched to all-digital photography in the last few years. The photographers are required to keep their images for at least one year, and they shoot thousands of images each month. Image sizes range from 16 MB to 32 MB per image.
Secure Systems designed and upgraded Color Portraits' network over the years. The network, with 80 workstations, is a custom-designed, high-speed gigabit network that runs Kodak photo software. The primary storage currently in use is high-end RAID (redundant array of independent disks) level 5 NAS (network attached storage) appliances. The entire network is valued in excess of $2.3 million.
Increase Storage Reliability With RAID 5
During the most recent network upgrade, Secure Systems recommended Color Portraits install a secondary backup NAS. The secondary NAS would be online all of the time for quick retrieval of images if one of the high-end NAS appliances failed. Backing up to CD or tape was not an option because of the time and manpower required. Retrieving images from CD or tape would also be cumbersome. "A NAS will fail at some point," explains Rhea. "These are mechanical devices, and something in them will eventually break; you need to be prepared."
Secure Systems wanted to find a secondary backup solution that was cost-effective and still highly reliable. The integrator had installed some Buffalo TeraStation Pro appliances for several other clients and recommended them to Color Portraits. The client decided to try one appliance for a year before committing to the others.
In late 2006, Secure Systems installed a Buffalo TeraStation Pro II appliance at Color Portraits' Illinois office. Rhea and his team checked the NAS appliance periodically to make sure it was backing up properly and the data was there. After the year-long pilot, the integrator installed seven more appliances in the Illinois office and two in the Colorado office. This gave the photographers about 15 TB of total usable storage. The total cost for the 10 appliances was less than $20,000.
The new NAS appliances Secure Systems installed for Color Portraits have been highly reliable. In the two years Color Portraits has been running the appliances, only three drives have failed, and because of the RAID 5 configuration, there was no data lost. The most dramatic proof of their reliability occurred when a sprinkler pipe broke and flooded the Colorado office. The backup NAS TeraStation appliance was in an equipment closet. After two days, the humidity level in the office was so high, water was dripping on the inside of the windows. Rhea recommended Color Portraits replace the NAS appliance as a precaution. Color Portraits decided to wait; the appliance was working, and none of the drives failed despite the high humidity level it was in for two days.
As a result of this upgrade, Color Portraits referred several other companies to Secure Systems. One in particular, Advanced Imaging, has purchased a TeraStation Pro from the integrator based on its work at Color Portraits and is considering a second unit in the next few months.
www.buffalotech.com
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