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TELECOMMUNICATIONCUSTOMERCaseStudy/1CUSTOMERcasestudyPeninsulaRegionalMedicalCenterPeninsulaRegionalMedicalCenterAchievesITInnovationThroughVMwareVirtualization"WithVMwarevirtualization,wehavebetteruptime,andourinfrastructureiseasiertomaintain.
Andadoptinga'virtualizationfirst'policyhasallowedustoavoidhavingtoexpandourdatacenter—anexpansionthatwouldhavecostanunimaginableamountofmoneythatwe'dratherinvestinourclinicalsystemsandfacilities.
"PaulLade,SeniorSystemsAdministrator,PeninsulaRegionalMedicalCenter——PeninsulaRegionalMedicalCenterhasalong-standingreputationforITinnovation.
Forseveralyears,themedicalcenterhasbeenrecognizedasa"mostwired"health-caresysteminruralandmostimprovedcategories.
PeninsulawasalsoanearlyadopterofvirtualizationwithitsdeploymentofVMwarevirtualizationtechnologysevenyearsago.
Butthemedicalcenterknowsitmustcontinuetoinnovate.
Itsstrategicplan,forexample,identifies"fragmentation"asoneofthebiggestpotentialbarrierstoquality,efficiencyandcostcontrol.
TheplanthennamesITasakeydrivingstrategytoovercomefragmentation.
It'snosurprisethatPeninsula'sITorganizationhassoughttofurtherleveragethevalueofitsVMwarevirtualizationtechnology,includingpairingitsVMwareenvironmentwithCiscoUnifiedComputingSystem(UCS)serversandEMCstoragetoprovisionatightlyintegratedandrobustenterprisecomputingplatform.
InnovationThroughVirtualizedIT"ItellpeopleIworkfortheinnovationsdivision,"saysPaulLade,SeniorSystemsAdministrator,PeninsulaRegionalMedicalCenter.
Ladewasonthescenewhenthemedicalcenter—a362-bedfacilitythatformsthehubofthePeninsulaRegionalHealthSystem—firstlearnedaboutVMwaretechnology.
HerecallsthatPeninsula'sdatacenteratthetimehadjustreachedfullcapacity.
"We'dmovedonelastrackintoit,"Ladesays.
"Afterthat,wewereoutofspace.
"Thetimewasripeforvirtualization,andLadeoversawapilotprojecttodeployVMwareonahandfulofserversinthemedicalcenter'stestanddevelopmentenvironment.
Theresultsshowedimmediatepromise.
"VMwareconsistentlydidwhatitsaiditcoulddo,"saysLade.
"Itwassimpleandeasytouse.
"ThensomeonecametoITwithanurgentrequestforaserver,andtheteamdecidedtoprovisionavirtualizedsysteminsteadofscramblingtoinstallnewphysicalhardware.
"Withinayear,halfofourtestsystemswerevirtualized,andwewerestartingtoclearspaceinourdatacenter,"Ladesays.
Ayearafterthat,Peninsulahadadoptedaformal"virtualizationfirst"policyforitsentireITinfrastructure—includingmission-criticalproductionsystemsaswellasitstestanddevelopmentenvironment.
Whathappenednextwasatwo-yearlullinhardwareacquisitions,awelcomechangefromtheunabatedserversprawlthatPeninsulafacedpreviously.
"Todaywhenmanagerstourourdatacenter,theyareflabbergastedbyhowbareitis,"Ladenotes.
profileIndustryHealthcareCorporateHeadquartersSalisbury,MarylandEmployeesApproximately3,000AnnualOperatingBudget$352,000,000THENUMBERSServerinfrastructure75%virtualized2,000MicrosoftExchangemailboxesINBRIEFObjectivePeninsulaRegionalMedicalCenterunderstandsthatITinnovationiscriticaltoitsabilitytomeetstrategicgoals.
Butitmustinnovatecost-effectivelytoensurethatfundingisfocusedonclinicalsystemsandfacilities.
SolutionVMwarevirtualizationtechnologyhasallowedthemedicalcentertodeploystate-of-the-artapplicationsthatdriveprocessintegration,collaborationandcommunication,whileminimizingITcosts.
BusinessImpactPhysicalserverfootprintreducedfrom185to110DidnothavetofundcostlydatacenterexpansionImprovedserveravailabilityManageabilityreducesFTEcostsby$80,000–120,000annuallyFasteremailperformancesupportsstrategicgoalsofcollaboration,communicationCUSTOMERCaseStudy/2CUSTOMERcasestudyThemedicalcenter'sITinfrastructureisnow75percentvirtualized,andfromapeakof185physicalservers,itisnowdownto110despitehavingenricheditsapplicationenvironmentconsiderablyalongtheway.
PeninsulaalsorecentlymigratedfromolderversionsofVMwareESXtothecurrentversionofVMwarevSphereHypervisor,whichisbasedonVMwareESXi.
"MovingtoVMwareESXihelpedusslimdownourserverfootprint,"saysLade,whodescribestheESXihypervisoras"easytoinstall.
"TheupgradetoESXiisalsoconsistentwithPeninsula'sforward-thinkingapproachtotechnologyadoption.
ItpositionsthemedicalcentertomoveaCiscoNexus1000VVirtualEthernetModuleandtakeadvantagesofcapabilitiesVMwarewillincorporateintofutureversionsofVMwarevSphere.
LeveragingVCECoalitionPeninsulaconsidersitsadoptionofVMwarevirtualizationascentraltoitsstrategyofITinnovation.
However,VMwaretechnologyisonlyonepieceofthatstrategy.
ThemedicalcenterhasalsoevolveditshardwareplatformtoleveragethevalueoftheVirtualComputingEnvironment(VCE)coalitionofCisco,EMCandVMware.
AssistinginthepilotrolloutprogramandthefinaldeploymentwasClearpathSolutionsGroup,aleadingproviderofVCE,andvBlock-basedsolutionsinthemid-Atlanticregion.
"Clearpath'sexpertiseandrelationshipswithCisco,EMCandVMwarewereinstrumentalinmakingthisprojectacompletesuccess,"commentsLade.
Fromthestart,themedicalcenter'svirtualizationstrategywenthand-in-handwiththedeploymentofincreasinglypowerfulhardware.
"Westartedoutwithdualprocess–typethreadedservers,"Ladesays.
"Whenweneededmorehorsepower,wewenttoquadcore,thenbladetechnology.
"Formanyyears,PeninsulausedHPservers,butwhenCiscolauncheditsUCSservers,themedicalcenterdecidedtomigratetoaCiscoplatform.
"CiscoUCSaddressedthemanagementissueswewererunningintowiththeHPblades,"Ladesays.
TheCiscoserversdidn'trequirethemultipleswitchesoftheHPbladechasses,forinstance.
"WefoundtheCiscoserverstobeeasierandcleanertomanage.
"AmonthaftertestingitsfirstCiscoUCSserver,Peninsulahadmigratedthree-quartersofitsvirtualinfrastructureontothatplatform.
"Wehadfaithinitfromdayone,"Ladesays.
"Andwe'vebeenrunningwithiteversince.
"Today,PeninsulaisstandardizedonCiscoUCSB230BladeServers.
Forstorage,themedicalcenterusestwoEMCCLARiiONCX4model240storagearrays(plustwoolderEMCSymmetrixDMX-3950arrays).
"Theprimaryrestraintwefacedwithvirtualizationwasstoragecosts,"Ladenotes.
"MovingtoCLARiiONsystemskeepsdownourstorageacquisitioncosts.
"Thehardwarearchitectureisdesignedtodrivehighavailability.
"Wehavefourstoragearrayscross-meshedbetweenourmaindatacenterandaseconddatacenterupstairs,"Ladeexplains.
VMwarevMotiontechnology"floats"Peninsula's330virtualmachinesbetweenthetworooms.
Anunplannedoutagethattookupto4hourstorecoverfromhasbeenreducedtojustminutes.
ReliablePlatformforEnterpriseApplicationsPeninsulatruststhereliabilityoftheplatformsomuchthatithasnothesitatedtovirtualizemission-criticalapplications,includingitsMicrosoftExchange2010environmentandcoreMcKessonelectronicmedicalrecords(EMR)software.
"OurExchangeenvironmentiscompletelyvirtualized,"Ladesays.
"It'seasiertomanagethanouroldExchangedeploymentandmorehighlyavailable.
""VMwarevirtualizationalwaysdeliverswhatitpromises.
It'sarock-solidproduct.
"—PaulLade,SeniorSystemsAdministrator,PeninsulaRegionalMedicalCenterCUSTOMERCaseStudy/3CUSTOMERcasestudyTheperformanceofExchangeemailalsoimproveddramaticallyassoonasPeninsulavirtualizedit.
"Weweredelightfullysurprisedtoseehowquicklymessagestransmitnow,"Ladesays.
"Emailsusedtotakeaslongas30secondsbetweensendandreceive.
Nowwereceivethemalmostinstantaneously.
"Othermission-criticalapplicationsPeninsulahasvirtualizedincludeMcKesson'sHorizonCardiologyPACS(picturearchivingandcommunicationsystem)andEnterpriseRevenueManagementsolutions.
"WewerethefirstsiteinthecountrytomigrateMcKesson'sHorizonCardiologyPACStoavirtualenvironment,"Ladenotes.
ThemigrationallowedPeninsulatoretireoneofitslegacyHPserversthatLadedescribesas"expensivetomaintain.
"Itisnowdeployedas32virtualmachinesononeproductionandonequality-assuranceCiscoUCSserver.
ImplementingMcKessonEnterpriseRevenueManagementunderVMwarewasanotherindustryfirst.
"Wewerethefirsthospitaltovirtualizetheapplicationfromdayone,"Ladesays.
"Wewouldhaveneeded34single-useserversifwedidn'tgowithvirtualization.
"Instead,EnterpriseRevenueManagementisdeployedas35virtualmachinesonfourCiscoUCSbladesandincorporatesgrowthcapacityaswellashighavailability.
FreeingResourcesforClinicalUseVMwarevirtualizationhasdeliveredsignificantvaluetoPeninsula.
OnemajorbenefitLadecitesiseaseofmanagement.
"Wecanmanageourentirevirtualizedinfrastructurethroughasinglepaneofglass,"hesays.
Herelatesanincidentwhentheenvironmentwashitbyavirus.
"Wewereabletocheckacoupleofhundredvirtualmachinesinafractionofthetimeitwouldhavetakentocleanup200physicalservers,"Ladenotes.
EaseofmanagementmeansPeninsularequiresfewersystemadministratorsthanwouldotherwiseberequiredtomanageitsdatacenters,whichsavesthemedicalcenter$80,000–120,000annuallyinlaborcosts.
VMwarevirtualizationallowedthemedicalcentertoavoidevenlargercostsinitsfacilitiesbudget.
Peninsulaisinthemiddleofamultimillion-dollarexpansion,andthankstovirtualization,itwasabletofocusthatexpansiononitsneedsasahealth-careservicesprovider,ratherthanitsITorganization.
"Ifwehadn'tvirtualized,wewouldhavehadtoaddmoredatacenterspaceaspartoftheexpansion,"saysLade.
Asmallerserverfootprintfreesupresourcesaswell—resourcesthatarecriticaltoPeninsula'smedicalequipment.
Takepower,forexample.
Astechnologyplaysanincreasingroleinthedeliveryofmedicalcare,medicalcenterssuchasPeninsulaneedmorepowertorunthattechnology.
Today,Peninsulaispreparingtotransitiontoalargeruninterruptiblepowersupplytomeettheincreasingneedsofboththedatacenterandtheinstitution.
Thatwouldn'tbeaneasytaskifthemedicalcenterhadn'tvirtualizedthemajorityofserversinitsinfrastructure.
ThecutovercanessentiallybedoneriskfreeandwithoutdisruptionbymovingeverythingovertoitsalternatedatacenterthroughvMotion.
VMwareDeliversWhatItPromisesAlthoughPeninsulahasfocusedprimarilyonvirtualizingitsserverinfrastructure,italsohasplansinplacetodeployaVMwareViewvirtualizeddesktopenvironment.
VirtualizeddesktopswillbemoreflexiblethanconventionalPCs,allowingPeninsula'sclinicianstomoreeasilycheckonpatientsorondatasuchastheoutputfromfetalmonitoringsystems.
"Wewantourclinicianstobeabletoaccessapplicationsanywhereatanytime,"Ladesays.
"InthesixyearssincewefirstdeployedVMwaretechnology,wehaveonlyneededtoplacetwocallstoVMwaresupport.
"—PaulLade,SeniorSystemsAdministrator,PeninsulaRegionalMedicalCenterVMware,Inc.
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ItemNo:VMW-CS-PENINSULA-REGIONAL-MEDICAL-CENTER-USLET-102CUSTOMERCaseStudyToday,themedicalcenterisrunningasmallViewpilot.
Eventually,itwillimplement1,000virtualdesktopsonWysethinclients.
EventhepilotdemonstratesthatVMwarevirtualizationopensopportunitiesforPeninsulatofostercommunicationandcollaborationacrossitsenterprise.
It'sagreatexampleofhowPeninsulaembracesinnovativeITtomeetitsstrategicgoals—innovationthatisenabledbyVMwarevirtualization.
"Againandagainovertheyears,we'vefoundthatVMwaredeliverswhatitpromises,"Ladesays,adding,"andI'venevermetanyonewhodisagreeswiththat.
"IMPLEMENTATIONOVERVIEWVMwareProducts:VMwarevSphere4VMwareESXiVMwarevMotionVMwareViewApplications:MicrosoftExchange2010McKessonElectronicMedicalRecords,HorizonCardiologyPACSandEnterpriseRevenueManagementsolutionsPlatformCiscoUnifiedComputingSystem(UCS)B230BladeServersEMCCLARiiONCX4model240networkedstorageEMCSymmetrixDMX-3950systemCiscoNexus5000and1000VVirtualEthernetModule