EMC Corporation announced today that Reynolds Metals Company has implemented EMC`s Symmetrix Enterprise Storage systems and software to dramatically improve their ability to continue operations after a disaster and to better manage their critical information across both mainframes and open systems. The world`s third largest producer of aluminum products has implemented EMC`s Symmetrix Enterprise Storage Systems, Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) software and Symmetrix Enterprise Storage Platform (ESP) software. The company previously planned for up to ten days after a disaster to recover all mission-critical data. With SRDF, Reynolds expects to resume full operations within four hours or less when additional computer capacity is acquired later in 1998. SRDF - the industry`s most widely adopted storage-based business continuance solution - enables EMC Symmetrix customers to maintain a duplicate copy of all or some of their data. Data from a primary Symmetrix system is "mirrored" to a secondary Symmetrix located in the next building or across long distances. In the event of a planned or unplanned interruption at the primary site, the data needed for continuous operation is available at the secondary site. "One of the applications protected by EMC`s SRDF software is Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), which is one of the most mission-critical applications we have. It`s an essential link to our customers," said George Cain, Reynolds` Director of Computing Services. "The impact of this application being down for several days would cause a major disruption to our businesses." "SRDF is the only disaster recovery solution we have found that enables us to resume complete operations in a matter of hours with no degradation in performance," Cain continued. Using SRDF, mainframe and open systems data will be mirrored across two Symmetrix systems located in separate Reynolds data centers. The two data centers are 35 miles apart and are connected via a SONET ring, a high-speed fiber communications link. Staying Ahead of Dynamic Business Changes The Fortune 500 Richmond, Va.-based manufacturer also has purchased EMC`s Enterprise Storage Platform (ESP) software for consolidating mainframe and open systems data onto the same Symmetrix system. According to Cain, the ability to consolidate open systems and mainframe data onto the same Symmetrix systems with ESP software is a significant competitive advantage. "Business is very dynamic today, and our shifting storage requirements reflect that. EMC Enterprise Storage allows us to leverage storage technology originally purchased for our mainframe into our growing open systems area. With this kind of flexibility, we can better utilize the storage capacity that we have and allocate it where it`s needed most." "Being able to move our EDI application from mainframe to open systems without having to invest in additional storage is a great example of the investment protection and flexibility that EMC Enterprise Storage provides. There`s also benefit in EMC`s ability to support NT applications, which are growing very rapidly here at Reynolds." Reynolds stores 100 percent of its mainframe data on the EMC Symmetrix systems, which support an IBM CMOS mainframe system running financial, human resources, payroll, distribution, and EDI-based order entry applications. With the ESP and SRDF software, the Symmetrix systems will store and remotely mirror Reynolds` open systems data. Reynolds is moving its EDI application from the mainframe to IBM RS/6000 servers, which will rely on the Symmetrix systems for high-performance storage. "Protection and management of increasingly valuable information, across mainframe and open systems platforms, has become of absolute paramount concern among IT executives," noted Robert Dutkowsky, EMC`s Executive Vice President of Markets and Channels. "To a great extent, EMC`s differentiation resides in a variety of exceptional enterprise storage software solutions exclusively focused on managing and safeguarding mission-critical data and applications."
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