Measured Progress Puts AutoVirt as the Foundation of Its Windows File Server Consolidation Initiative

AutoVirt, a provider of file virtualization solutions for Windows data migration and management, has stated that they have been selected to act as the basis of Measured Progress' Windows file server consolidation initiative. 

AutoVirt has stated that their file virtualization solution is expected to replace the NetApp Virtual File Manager (VFM) and to simplify and lower the cost of Measure Progress' ongoing Microsoft (News - Alert) Distributed File System (DFS) management.

Measured Progress offers full-service, customized, standards-based educational assessment programs.  As a critical component of the services, not only does it assist in the creation of the test, but once the tests are taken, it collects them, evaluates and scores the responses, and delivers a highly detailed and thorough analysis of the results. This process according to the company will generate 24 TBs of data this season alone and these data will be cycled through storage tiers based upon where it is in the collection, evaluation and/or reporting process - and eventually, into long-term archival storage.

The DFS masks this movement of data and offers the necessary redundancies that will ensure data availability in the face of failures or during peak load processing periods. Measure Progress had recently started a significant consolidation initiative intended to retire older storage devices storing highly business critical corporate user data.

Designing a Windows server consolidation initiative creates a set of challenges for the storage infrastructure - storage solutions must offer simplicity, performance, availability and ease-of-management. It is claimed that many IT departments are deploying virtualization techniques to consolidate and simplify the infrastructure for delivering a broad spectrum of Microsoft Windows services.

Officials with Measured Progress have stated that their company opted to use NetApp VFM, the OEM version of the Brocade (News - Alert) StorageX product, for a number of years to manage their Microsoft DFS environment. They used NetApp VFM, as they found that other tools for managing DFS were cumbersome and painful to use. They had only bought the AutoVirt solution for their data migration activities. And when they learned StorageX was being 'end-of-lifed' it made perfect sense to leverage AutoVirt for their DFS management too.

Brian Gladstein, vice president of marketing for AutoVirt has commented that Measured Progress is a great example of many of their customers, where AutoVirt was originally purchased as a highly-affordable data migration tool.  Measured Progress then experienced first-hand how easy the AutoVirt platform was to deploy and manage, as well as its ability to execute completely error free migration of file data with zero disruption to users. They are delighted that based upon this initial success, as well as after careful review of alternative solutions on the market, Measured Progress has chosen AutoVirt to manage its DFS environment, as well as its consolidation initiative.

Measured Progress has acknowledged that the AutoVirt solution eliminated the associated cost and added latency of an in-band approach, while allowing them to maintain greater flexibility and management control.