Johnnic implements new backup, storage solution

News and information provider Johnnic Publishing has completed a R1 million backup and data protection project, installing a larger library with new tape drives to cut down on back-up and retrieval time.

Partnering with Datacentrix, the company converted all its existing Solstice Backup software to Legato NetWorker storage management software and installed a new 72-slot ADIC Scalar 100 tape library with three LTO tape drives.

According to Johan Schoeman, IT development manager at Johnnic Publishing, the organisation needed a solution that was scaleable enough to cope with its frequent increases in data.

"The large archive for the editorial side of the business was one of the main reasons a new enterprise system was necessary," he explains.

"Previously a complicated procedure as full backups for our publications are done on different days and the number of manual tape changes, we are now able to run a full backup for all publications at the same time."

Schoeman explains that Johnnic Publishing selected Legato NetWorker because of the easy upgrades and good local support offered. "The ADIC product is essentially the core of the backup system - it is scaleable and offers greater capacity as we can add more devices as needed. We have already found that the backup window is much smaller and there is far less operator intervention as manual tape swaps are infrequent."

Johnnic Publishing is currently running both the old and new systems in parallel, for easier access to older information, but according to Schoeman, the old system will be phased out and this stage of the project was completed by the end of January.

In addition, Schoeman believes that retrievals will be faster than ever, with a bigger window available for backup and restore. "We also now have the ability to conduct backups and restores at the same time. Johnnic Publishing decided to partner with Datacentrix in this instance because of the company`s expertise, high levels of support and investment in resources. Since the start of the project, we have been in good hands and have received commendable support," says Schoeman.

Bruce Patience, senior account manager at Datacentrix, explains that Datacentrix` strong relationships with Legato and ADIC were also instrumental in clinching the project. "Datacentrix is a Legato Enterprise Service Provider Partner and an ADIC reseller. We are the only company in SA to have both of these accreditations. This enables us to offer a competitive price and the best service possible," he says.