Eclipse Aerospace Case Study - VCE

AEROSPACEClientEclipse Aerospace, maker oftechnologically advanced,twin-engine jetsChallengeReplace outdated systemswith a virtualized data centerthat supports the businessmore efficiently and costeffectivelySolutionVblock Systems running SAPbusiness applications andSiemens Teamcenter and NXCAD Server softwareResultsReduce the IT infrastructurefrom three computer roomsto three racks and cut costsfor power, cooling, space,and managementVBLOCK HELPS ECLIPSE RESURRECTINTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FROM AGINGINFRASTRUCTURE AND TAKE FLIGHTBuilding an Agile, Cost-efficient Business using aVirtualized Data Center.In 2009, Eclipse Aerospace acquired the assets of the former maker of theEA500 twin-engine jet. In doing so, it inherited the opportunity to enhancethe design and capabilities for owners of the 260 EA500 jets in service—as well as to grow the fleet by introducing new models with significantinnovations in many of the jet’s aircraft systems.But the challenges that Eclipse Aerospace faced were daunting. Years ofadvanced design and manufacturing know-how were sitting in a rapidlydeteriorating IT infrastructure spread across the former company’s 3computer rooms.To “lifeboat” everything from the jet’s design and enterprise-classengineering applications to critical CRM tools—and provide reliable backupand scalability going forward—Eclipse Aerospace created an agile, easy-tomaintainvirtualized environment running on Vblock Systems from VCE.www.vce.com

“The only way we couldrun our infrastructure wasthrough virtualization—therewas no other alternative. Ifwe had tried to work with,clone, and move around ourlarge data sets and volumeswith the original hardware,I think we’d still be doing it!”— Jeremy LawrenceDirector, InformationTechnology EclipseAerospaceThe ChallengeWhen the previous maker of the EA500—the world’s first very light jet (VLJ)—ceased operations, it left behind an awardwinningaircraft design and engineeringdiagrams cataloging 30,000 parts in 75configurations. The data was stored involumes of six to ten terabytes, which—along with the company’s business andoperational applications and information—were running in three computer roomsusing more than 200 servers.Designed for a much larger companysupported by an IT staff of 60, the ITinfrastructure had been neglected forseveral years during the previous firm’sshutdown. Hardware and softwarewere generations out-of-date and airconditioning failures had damaged piecesof the infrastructure. “We were holdingour breath,” said Jeremy Lawrence,Director–Information Technology,Eclipse Aerospace. “If we lost any ofthis data, the cost to redesign it wouldhave been prohibitive.”SolutionTurning to Vblock Systems from VCE,Eclipse Aerospace found the cost-efficient,highly available, and exceptionally scalable,virtualized environment it needed. WithCisco Unified Computing System (UCS)blades, Eclipse Aerospace achievedthe performance density required toconsolidate the sprawling server farm.VCE partner Presidio led the rollout of theVblock System infrastructure, with a highlyexperienced project manager on-sitethroughout the one-month go-live and thefollow-on fine-tuning period. Upgradesof key SAP, Siemens Teamcenter and NXCAD Server software, and other virtualizedapplications—plus the decommissioningof outmoded systems—continued forapproximately a year.“We owe Presidio a lot of credit—thiswouldn’t have been possible on our own,”Lawrence remarked. “We virtualized 100%of the company while keeping the businessrunning—and most never experienced aservice interruption.”Eclipse Aerospace also invested in anEMC Avamar disk backup system toprovide the desired redundancy. EMCAvamar is the deduplication backupsystem and software that provides highlyefficient, variable-length deduplication,with tight integration to EMC purposebuilt,backup appliances. In addition,the company relies on both VMwarevCenter Operations ManagementSuite and Cisco UCS Manager tostreamline the management of itsvirtualized environment.ResultsWith VCE and Presidio, Eclipse Aerospacewas better positioned for the complexproduction start-up for the nextgenerationEclipse 550 jets. The new jetshave begun moving down the line andthe company’s order book is filling up fastwith first deliveries planned in 2013.Eclipse Aerospace has benefited from itsvirtualized Vblock Systems environmentin a number of ways:• The company’s IT infrastructure hasshrunk from three computer roomsto three racks with excess capacity tosupport expected business growth.• Eclipse Aerospace is reaping asignificant savings on power, airconditioning, and space costs.• The physical-to-virtual migrationwas effectively accomplished in justthree months.• An IT staff of only ten now efficientlymanages the entire environment.• The IT team can “dial up or down” theresources needed to address businessrequests without worrying aboutperformance or capacity.“One additional benefit is that we’ve beenable to confine most of our upgrades tobusiness hours,” noted Lawrence. “Witha small IT staff, it’s nice to avoid thedisruption to people’s lives that occursin handling everything in the evenings oron weekends.”Copyright © 2013 VCE Company, LLC. All rights reserved. VCE, VCE Vision, Vblock, and the VCE logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of VCE Company LLCor its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.www.vce.comTHE WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED CONVERGED INFRASTRUCTURE