H&R Reit ensures continuous operation of its critical email services by creating a hyperconverged environment StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN)

CHALLENGE

Before StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN), H&R Reit’s IT infrastructure relied on a single-server Exchange server setup, posing a significant risk of downtime due to the lack of redundancy at the host level. Although the servers were well-equipped with redundancy at the storage and network levels, the absence of host-level redundancy jeopardized the Exchange service’s continuity. An existing solution, based on Veeam replication to a backup host, became unsustainable, leading to unacceptable recovery times.

The firm needed a solution that utilized existing hardware and eliminated single points of failure (SPOF).

StarWind appeared to be the hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) solutions that meet our budget and able to work with the existing hardware without significant changes.

Edrissa Jarju, IT manager

SOLUTION

StarWind VSAN emerged as the ideal hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution for H&R Reit. It facilitated the creation of a two-host redundant VMware cluster, a two-host Windows Server cluster, and a two-member Exchange DAG cluster. This addressed the infrastructure’s risk exposure at a considerably lower cost compared to other explored options. Importantly, the transition plan ensured minimal service disruption, eliminating the need for a complete overhaul.

The new H&R Reit’s infrastructure allows concurrent maintainability of components supporting the email service, enabling updates to Windows and Exchange servers without service interruptions.