Microsoft Case Study: RepliWeb Speeds Deployment of ... - Attunity

Software Vendor Speeds Deployment ofWeb-Based Applications by up to 75 PercentCustomer: RepliWebWeb Site: www.repliweb.comCustomer Size: 70Country or Region: United StatesIndustry: Professional services—Information technologyCustomer ProfileBased in Coconut Creek, Florida,RepliWeb offers enterprise software thatautomates the distribution of content,code, and files.Software and Services• Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise• Technologies− Hyper-V− Internet Information Services 7.5− Windows PowerShell 2.0Hardware• Dell and HP server computersFor more information about otherMicrosoft customer successes, pleasevisit:www.microsoft.com/casestudies“We found it easy to optimize our products forWindows Server 2008 R2 and to incorporateessential IIS 7.5 functionality.”Shai Cohen, Vice President of Products, RepliWebRepliWeb—an independent software vendor focused onoptimizing Web deployment and content replication processes—wanted to ensure that its products supported the most currentoperating system technology. As a result, it implementedWindows Server® 2008 R2 and is taking advantage of newInternet Information Services 7.5 features to streamlineadministration. With the new solution, RepliWeb is ready to meetthe future needs of its customers.Business NeedsRepliWeb offers software and services thathelp organizations automate andaccelerate the distribution of timesensitiveinformation and digital assets.Based in Florida, RepliWeb serves multipleindustries including healthcare,government, media, retail, and finance.Many RepliWeb customers operateglobally with a distributed IT infrastructure.The company designs software thatautomates processes and ensures contentand code continuity throughout enterpriseIT infrastructure. With its products runningat the core of mission-critical businessprocesses and IT workflows, RepliWebcarefully tracks technology trends thatcould affect software performance. Forexample, RepliWeb performed a survey inearly 2009 and learned that many of itscustomers planned to upgrade theiroperating systems throughout their Webinfrastructure. Garrick Herrmann, VicePresident of Sales and Marketing atRepliWeb, says, “We invest a lot of timeworking with customers to understandtheir change management practices.”RepliWeb estimated that at least 15percent of its existing customers plan toupgrade to the Windows Server® 2008 R2operating system, and it wanted to ensurethat its software would be fully compatible

and interoperable. Beyond that, thecompany wanted to take advantage of newcapabilities that it could use to enhance itsproducts.SolutionIn March 2009, RepliWeb began deployingWindows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise withInternet Information Services (IIS) 7.5 in thecompany’s development environment,quality assurance laboratory, and customersupport centers. The company is usingserver computers from both Dell and HP.Next, RepliWeb set up a simulatedproduction environment and began testingcore capabilities of Windows Server 2008 R2including content replication, IISconfiguration deployment, complexsubdirectory and file replication, and largefile transfer processes. RepliWeb wanted toensure that its applications ran well on thenew operating system. It also sought toidentify features within Windows Server2008 R2 that could enhance performanceand streamline administration processes.For example, RepliWeb is taking advantageof a new IIS configuration system based ona hierarchy of XML configuration files thatwas first introduced with IIS 7.0. Thecompany’s RepliWeb Deployment (R-1)product works with the configurationsystem to provide additional control andmore-detailed replication capabilities for IISdeployment processes.RepliWeb is also using the WindowsPowerShell Snap-In for IIS 7.5, anapplication programming interface thatextends the functionality of the WindowsPowerShell 2.0 command-line shell andscripting language. The company’s R-1product can be used with the snap-in toautomate complex content deploymentprocesses.RepliWeb provides back-end replication ofcontent and media file assets forcustomer-facing production servers thatare operated by its large client base in themedia, gaming, and e-commerceindustries. While deploying WindowsServer 2008 R2, RepliWeb noted multiplenew features that its customers could useto improve operations.For instance, the company felt that newintelligent media serving capabilities suchas Bit Rate Throttling—an IIS 7.5extension—would offer value tocustomers. Bit Rate Throttling is aconfigurable tool that can be used tomanage bandwidth allocation and controldownload speeds.RepliWeb has also found that customeruse of Hyper-V virtualization technologyhas accelerated since the release ofWindow Server 2008 R2. The company’sLarge File Accelerator (LFA) protocol—which speeds the delivery of large fileassets over wide area networks—is gainingin popularity with customers who useHyper-V to improve scalability.The company uses Hyper-V internally toenhance service and support deliverablesfor existing customers. “We use Hyper-Vextensively in support operations,” saysHerrmann. “Our team is constantlyrebuilding simulated environments thatmodel our customers’ environments.”BenefitsRepliWeb is simplifying administration byimplementing Windows Server 2008 R2and IIS 7.5, and it is ready to meetmarketplace demands with the newsolution.• Eases interoperation. When RepliWebimplemented Window Server 2008 R2, itwanted to facilitate a smooth transitionto the new operating system for itscustomers. RepliWeb reports that itsproducts perform well on WindowsServer 2008 R2 without modification. “Itis easy to upgrade to Windows Server2008 R2,” says Shai Cohen, VicePresident of Products at RepliWeb. “Wefound it easy to optimize our productsfor Windows Server 2008 R2 and toincorporate essential IIS 7.5functionality.”• Reduces deployment time. RepliWebproducts running on Windows Server2008 R2 ensure that content—whethermultimedia files, online gaming code, orfinancial data—is current and deliveredconsistently across the enterprise. Andby using built-in administration tools,the company can reduce the time spenton file replication and other criticaldeployment tasks by up to 75 percent.“The Shared Configuration feature of IIS7.5 helps us automate and streamlineWeb site maintenance,” Cohen says. “Wecan provision IIS configuration settingsand application content across multipleservers in one deployment.”• Meets future needs. RepliWeb hassuccessfully completed the WindowsServer 2008 R2 Logo Program forsoftware, which confirms that itsproducts meet Windows® standards.RepliWeb is confident that using itssoftware with Windows Server 2008 R2will help it stay responsive to itscustomers and ahead of themarketplace. “New features in IIS 7.5 willbe very useful for implementing oursolutions,” says Cohen. “We also believethat the high level of overall productionreadinessin Windows Server 2008 R2means that it will be an increasinglycommon environment for our clientsand prospective customers.”

Windows Server 2008 R2Windows Server 2008 R2 is the latestversion of the Windows Server operatingsystem from Microsoft. With WindowsServer 2008 R2, you can create solutionsthat are easier to plan, deploy, and managethan with previous versions of WindowsServer. Building on the features, security,reliability, and performance provided byWindows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008R2 extends connectivity and control to localand remote resources. This means that yourorganization can benefit from reduced costsand increased efficiencies gained throughenhanced management and control overresources across the enterprise.For more information, go to:www.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2008R2This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published October 2009