Experiment:

Deakin University Case Study

Technology Challenge
Deakin is one of Australias largest universities, with more than 32,000 students with campuses in
Melbourne, Geelong and Warrnambool. Established in the1970s as one of the new generation of
Australian universities, Deakin University combines a universitys traditional focus on teaching and
research with a desire to seek new ways of developing and delivering courses.
The university had recently been recording double-digit percentage information growth, making the
management of storage an ongoing concern. Deakins existing storage infrastructure was the IBM
DS8000 Series, but deciding it would be too costly to continually upgrade the existing system, the
university opted to issue a tender for a storage replacement strategy.
Deakin has a technology refresh strategy every four years for servers and storage. As Craig Warren,
Infrastructure Manager with Deakin University explains, Theres a story about a pilgrim who visits a
monk in a monastery at the top of a mountain. Every day the monk pulls a basket of goods on a rope up
the
hill to the monastery. Upon enquiring how often he replaces the rope, the monk explains to the pilgrim
every time it breaks.
Well, technology of course becomes obsolete at some point, so our four year storage replacement
strategy is about being proactive, before the rope breaks. The university also needed to ensure the
storage and back-up replication of critical services such as its Learning Management System and Student
Management System, both among Deakins busiest applications which respectively house all course
curriculums and student records, and are accessed between 20,000 and 30,000 times every day.
Overall, Deakin was looking for a new storage system that would be simple to run, easily facilitate
growth, and include all the management tools upfront without hidden software or maintenance costs.
recovery time in the event of a disaster. Previously, its disaster recovery system could only handle 10% of
the universitys applications now that figure is 90%. Deakin has recorded an approximate 20% increase
in storage array performance, a benefit illustrated by the universitys payroll application. As Craig Warren
from Deakin concludes, The simplicity of the IBM XIV Storage System is very smart. For example,
some 20-step management tasks are now achieved in just two steps. This is an example of the hype
absolutely matching the reality, and for us here at Deakin, it is terrific to not have to worry about storage
for another four years.
1. What were the technological challenges faced by the Deakin University and what was the
requirement for their storage system?
The university had recently been recording double-digit percentage information growth, making the
management of storage an ongoing concern. Deakins existing storage infrastructure was the IBM
DS8000 Series, but deciding it would be too costly to continually upgrade the existing system, the
university opted to issue a tender for a storage replacement strategy. Deakin has a technology refresh
strategy every four years for servers and storage. As Craig Warren, Infrastructure Manager with Deakin
University explains, but the technology became obsolete at some point, so the four year storage
replacement strategy should be proactive. The university also needed to ensure the storage and back-up
replication of critical services such as its Learning Management System and Student Management
System, both among Deakins busiest applications which respectively house all course curriculums and
student records, and are accessed between 20,000 and 30,000 times every day.
2. What are the customer benefits after implementing IBM XIV storage system?
Hard disk

Hard drives have a read/write speed

Hard disks stores data without the need of a constant electricity supply

Hard disks allow data to be stored in one place

Optical disk such as CD and DVD

CD ROM/DVD ROM

CD R/DVD R

CD RW/DVD RW

DVD RAM

Blu-ray

Mass storage capacity

Countable/uncountable storage units

High data stability

Portable hard disks

It can hold much more information

Stores data much faster

Data is not lost when you turn off the computer

Even more expensive than the Optical disk

Magnetic tapes

Various backup capacities available.

Easy to store and transport media.

Typically a fully automatic operation, requires no user intervention aside from changing tape
cartridges.

Long shelf life.

Have a write-protection mechanism.

Memory stick

Easy to transport

Can resist scratches.

Pen

drives

are

Flash memory cards

Small portable devices

Very durable.

Needs very little power to work

3. IBM XIV ARCHITECTURE

universal

(can

fit

in

any

computer)

This IBM Redbooks publication describes the concepts, architecture, and implementation of the IBM XIV
Storage System.
The XIV Storage System is a scalable enterprise storage system that is based on a grid array of hardware
components. It can attach to both Fiber Channel Protocol (FCP) and IP network Small Computer System
Interface (iSCSI) capable hosts. This system is a good fit for clients who want to be able to grow capacity
without managing multiple tiers of storage. The XIV Storage System is suited for mixed or random access
workloads, including online transaction processing, video streaming, images, email, and emerging
workload areas, such as Web 2.0 and cloud storage.
The focus of this edition is on the XIV Gen3 running Version 11.5.x of the XIV system software, which
brings enhanced value for the XIV Storage System in cloud environments. It offers multitenancy support,
VMware vCloud Suite integration, more discrete performance classes, and RESTful API enhancements
that expand cloud automation integration. Version 11.5 introduces support for three-site mirroring to
provide high availability and disaster recovery. It also enables capacity planning through the Hyper-Scale
Manager, mobile push notifications for real-time alerts, and enhanced security. Version 11.5.1 supports
6TB drives and VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes (VVOL).
In the first few chapters of this book, we describe many of the unique and powerful concepts that form the
basis of the XIV Storage System logical and physical architecture. We explain how the system eliminates
direct dependencies between the hardware elements and the software that governs the system. In
subsequent chapters, we explain the planning and preparation tasks that are required to deploy the system
in your environment by using the intuitive yet powerful XIV Storage Manager GUI or the XIV commandline interface. We also describe the performance characteristics of the XIV Storage System and present
options for alerting and monitoring, including enhanced secure remote support.
Program Outcomes
1. Ability to effectively apply knowledge of computing and mathematics to computer science
problem
2. Ability and skills to effectively use state of the art techniques and computing tools for analysis
design and implementation of computing systems which resolve real life problems