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Lake Erie College reduces its operational costs by replacing outdated hardware and moving to hyperconvergence with StarWind HCI Appliance (HCA)

January 04, 2024
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Brad Luhta
Director of Information Technology. A seasoned professional with over 13 years of experience and a strong skill set in infrastructure, network administration, and cloud computing.
Director of Information Technology. A seasoned professional with over 13 years of experience and a strong skill set in infrastructure, network administration, and cloud computing.

CHALLENGE

Before using StarWind HCI Appliance (HCA), Lake Erie College had multiple hosts, two HP servers, and a VMware hypervisor. Although they engaged in regular backups, the absence of redundancy beyond the disk level left the college vulnerable to potential crashes. The existing infrastructure, only 4-5 years old, required an upgrade for improved performance and greater failover options. Additionally, the need for cost- effective solutions was crucial.

Lake Erie College considered the possibility of purchasing VMware vSAN, but the characteristics and price of StarWind’s solution became a safe bet.

StarWind offered the best of several worlds: improved performance, lower cost, and increased redundancy and failover capabilities.

Brad Luhta, Director of Information Technology

SOLUTION

Lake Erie College chose StarWind HCI Appliance as it allowed for replacing outdated hardware and moving to hyperconvergence even with the strictest budget. The college also started using Microsoft Hyper-V. Together, this allowed the college to gain reliable backup, facilitate the adoption of SSDs, and ensure Hyper-V live migration by minimizing downtime.

The transition to StarWind HCI Appliance significantly streamlined maintenance tasks, eliminating the burdensome processes associated with the previous infrastructure. The system now satisfies all requirements, providing Lake Erie College with a stable, high-performance IT environment and laying the foundation for future scalability and efficiency.

About the Company
Lake Erie College, founded in 1856 in Painesville, Ohio, is a private institution offering tailored education with 35 undergrad majors and master's programs in business, education, and physician assistant studies, prioritizing a personalized college experience and empowerment.
Region
NA (North America)
Country
United States
Industry
Education
Product
StarWind HCI Appliance (HCA)
Inspired by Brad Luhta’s success? Want to improve business continuity for your business-critical apps and services?
Taras Shved StarWind HCI Appliance Product Manager
Look no further! StarWind HCI Appliance (HCA) is a plug-and-play solution that combines compute, storage, networking, and virtualization software into a single easy-to-use hyperconverged platform. It's designed to significantly trim your IT costs and save valuable time. Interested in learning more? Book your StarWind HCA demo now to see it in action!