Vision Solutions has collected new evidence that its enterprise-class MIMIX HA for i5/OS can easily and quickly execute multiple role swaps.

Insulectro, headquartered in Lake Forest, California, recently implemented a high availability strategy that relies on MIMIX HA for i5/OS. The company generates $170 million in annual revenue through 24 facilities throughout the world, including operations in the United States and China to supply printed circuit board materials and tools. With Vision Solutions' software, Insulectro has minimized exposure to business losses while enhancing customer service throughout the world. To ensure 24/7 reliability, Insulectro has performed 20 role swaps in the past four months-each took less than 10 minutes to complete.

"On a scale of one to ten, with ten being perfect, our level of readiness to role swap production and backup processes is at level ten," says Aun Qadir, Insulectro's manager of system operations. "In fact, when troubleshooting problems with applications, I will often role swap systems to see if the problem also exists on the twin server. It usually doesn't, but what's important is I can have users back into the application much faster than troubleshooting a problem while they wait. We can do this largely because MIMIX HA for i5/OS is so stable."

The Vision Solutions' software accommodated to Insulectro's automated operations scheme with APIs-including a console management system automating a wide variety of operational tasks. "Our internally developed message monitor and system console does what a human does," says Qadir. "When we first conceived of this system it only managed four tasks, and now it manages 80."

Insulectro now has two IBM 520s situated at facilities in Lake Forest and Bloomingdale, Illinois. Both machines are running Insulectro's internally developed ERP system, bar code printing software, and other core business systems. To synchronize the databases of these servers, they use MIMIX HA for i5/OS. The System i model 520s are connected by a dedicated T1 with a Cisco router on each end delivering continuous 4-to-1 data compression.

Dan Diesel, Insulectro's vice president and chief information officer, insisted that the solution chosen should allow for fully automated switches and that the switches be performed at least once per month. "For a solution to be proven, it must be continually tested," says Diesel. "I did not want a solution that we tested once, and then wait for a disaster to see if it worked."

They selected a turnkey solution, so a specialist from Vision Solutions' professional services group went to Insulectro's facility in California. Vision's specialist installed MIMIX HA and worked with Diesel's team to integrate this solution with their console management system. At the end of the fifth day, all of the key management metrics in MIMIX HA for i5/OS were being monitored automatically, and triggers were set up to react to anomalies. Role swaps could also be executed automatically through Insulectro's automated console management system. "We had the whole thing running on autopilot," says Qadir. "Vision's consultant helped a lot and overall support is fantastic."

"In the last four months, we completed 20 switches and everything has been perfect," added Qadir. "We are at a point where if someone calls me and says there is a big fire in the mountains, I can execute a switch and in ten minutes, all of our facilities worldwide can be on a different server without a hitch."

"Insulectro showcases the exciting potential that Vision products bring to businesses of all size," says Peter Sa, vice president of Vision Solutions' Global Services and Education. "Customers understand more than ever how our software helps them consistently meet recovery time and recovery point objectives - to keep their business systems highly available."

About Vision Solutions

Vision Solutions, Inc. is the world's leading provider of high availability, disaster recovery and data management solutions for IBM Power Systems (System i and System p platforms). With a portfolio spanning the industry's most innovative and trusted HA solutions from ORION, MIMIX and iTERA brands, Vision keeps critical businesses information continuously protected and available. Affordable and easy to use, Vision products ensure business continuity, increase productivity, reduce operating costs and satisfy compliance requirements. Vision also offers advanced cluster management and systems management solutions, and support for i5/OS, Windows, and AIX operating environments. As IBM's largest high availability Premier Business Partner, Vision Solutions oversees a global network of business partners and services and support professionals to help our customers achieve their business goals. Privately held by Thoma Cressey Bravo, Inc., Vision Solutions is headquartered in Irvine, California, with offices worldwide. For more information visit http://www.visionsolutions.com/ or call 800.957.4511.