Challenge…
- A leading supermarket chain experiencing rapid growth
- To service this growth, they needed a new IT system that would be reliable, robust and scalable with a fast database at its core
- Their single SQL Server instance had been poorly designed and configured, so was no longer fit for purpose
- They had high Recovery Time and Recovery Point Objectives (RTO and RPO) – meaning a low level of resilience
- Business as usual had to be maintained in the face of an IT disaster
Our Solution
We began with a detailed assessment of their needs. Then we proposed a solution that would ensure that the supermarket’s critical systems would be functional, even in the event of a complete data centre failure.
This solution consisted of a 2-node active-passive Microsoft SQL Server cluster located in two data centre locations. It was underpinned by hardware infrastructure that could be scaled-up as demand increased. We used Microsoft SQL Server replication (locally and cross site) to ensure that two identical sets of business data were maintained consistently.
This was supported with 24x7x365 monitoring and management, against which project success could be continually measured. This proactive service keeps the client informed of support and maintenance demands, increased data resilience and reduced RTOs and RPOs significantly.
The Result
- RTOs and RPOs reduced significantly and resilience maintained
- The supermarket continues to function in the event of an IT disaster
- Proactive monitoring identifies potential issues before they affect operations
- The customer remains happy and convinced of the value of database specialists
12,089
The mean number of database transactions per minute for one of our supermarket clients.
