BASF IT Services exploits the Benefits of Storage Networking

BASF operates European-wide and generates an annual revenue of more than 400 Million Euros. The company provides the complete portfolio of services essential to a multinational company - from managing PC workstations to designing, implementing and operating servers, networks and applications. The company´s most important location is in Ludwigshafen, Germany, where 1,400 of the more than 2,000 BASF IT Services employees are based.

BASF maintains two data centers in Ludwigshafen which house almost 500 AIX, Solaris, HP-UX, Novell NetWare and Windows servers providing IT services for some 50,000 users in Europe. These comprise the platforms for a number of applications of which SAP R/3 is by far the most important, in addition to Lotus Notes email systems, databases, gateways, print servers etc. The disk storage inventory, from a variety of vendors, amounted to approximately 90 TB by 2002, annual data growth runs at 50% and the tape technology installed consists of ten Magstar 3494 libraries.

SAN: Yes or No?

Kurt Ziemlich, Systems Operations Manager at BASF IT Services provides the answer, "Whereas in the area of tape processing there was no real alternative to a SAN - with SCSI it simply was not possible to bridge the distances involved - there was no urgent need to find an alternative technology for the disk subsystems. We were able to meet all the requirements made. However, we soon found that SAN technology also opens up a wealth of new opportunities for disks."

Flexibility for Cost Benefits

The fast growing user needs for more disk space was accompanied by corresponding increases in additional administration. A SAN configuration was expected to significantly reduce this administrative effort. For BASF IT Services it was even more important that a SAN enables disk storage capacities to be better matched to reflect user needs. Existing configurations, however, would only have permitted upgrades in relatively large volumes. "With a SAN we can begin with a relatively low capacity and upgrade in line with user requirements. Thus, for example, a user who initially requires 400 GB and later requires a further 200 GB will only be charged for the exact capacity he is currently using", comments Kurt Ziemlich.

These financial benefits are not immediately offset by the costs of migrating to a SAN topology. Ziemlich explains, "A cost analysis showed that a RAID 5 implementation in combination with a SAN and a SAN management tool would reduce costs when compared with mirrored Direct Attached Storage." A clear cost advantage for SAN technology exists particularly when the ability to upgrade disk storage flexibly according to actual user needs is taken into account.

Two strong Partners for BASF IT Services: COMPAREX and McDATA

For the installation of the SAN, designed and implemented by Comparex in close cooperation with BASF IT Services, the decision was taken to use McDATA Fibre Channel switching devices. This decision followed a comprehensive market analysis which demonstrated that McDATA equipment would best fulfil the company´s criteria. Christian Popp, responsible for Storage Networking at BASF IT Services explains, "Integrating Directors with a high degree of availability is, for us, fundamentally vital for stable operations. An extremely important aspect also is the ability to upgrade firmware and software online and nondisruptively. McDATA was the only vendor able to meet these criteria."

BASF IT Services and COMPAREX first implemented a disk SAN with four 32 port switches. In a second phase the number of switches in the two data centres was doubled to four each with redundant connectivity. In early 2002, in a third phase, a backbone was implemented across the two data centers providing for increased redundancy. All of the work was carried out nondisruptively while applications were online. “Every phase naturally had its own problems." admits Christian Popp, “It is not easy to install four additional switches whilst simultaneously implementing a backbone architecture and we were fortunate in being able to count on the experience and support COMPAREX provided.

Phased Migration

Kurt Ziemlich, "Most of our disk storage is still Direct Attached Storage. We will keep these systems up and running as long as it is costeffective to do so and, when required, migrate and integrate them in the SAN."

SAN Management for enhanced Transparency
BASF IT Services selected McDATA's SANavigator as its preferred SAN management tool. Christian Popp explains, "SANavigator provides documentation and a graphic overview of the components, the topology and network activity. By this means we can identify to what extent devices are under load and what additional loads can be tolerated. The software was fast to install and after only a short time we already had the first results. Incredible!"

Evaluation and Futures

Looking back at the installation so far Kurt Ziemlich concludes, “As far as we are concerned the system has lived up to our expectations. It is stable, achieves high levels of performance, enables us to be more flexible and runs smoothly. You occasionally have to adjust a screw here and there but you can easily connect up platforms such as SUN, HP and Linux to the SAN."

The present stage of development is by no means the last. BASF IT Services has always planned to integrate both the disk and the tape SAN. When this will be carried out, however, has not been decided. This will depend upon when technologies such as LANfree, Serverless backup are needed. "As soon as it makes sense to combine the two SANs, we will do so." says Popp. "As long as this is not the case, we will continue to operate them separately."