Pace University selects CA`s BrightStor Enterprise Backup to safeguard crucial data

Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA), today announced that Pace University (Pace), an independent university with 13,000 students and seven sites across the Metropolitan New York area, has chosen CA`s BrightStor Enterprise Backup (BrightStor EB) to help ensure the constant availability of administrative and educational applications used daily by faculty, staff, and students.

Pace is deploying BrightStor EB to back up the nearly 70 Windows NT servers driving dozens of critical applications, including the university`s email system, website and online education program, as well as maintenance orders and classroom scheduling. With BrightStor EB underpinning an upgraded storage infrastructure, backup times have already been reduced by 50 percent or more, freeing Pace`s IT staff to focus on more strategic projects while significantly increasing their productivity. Pace is also using CA`s Unicenter Remote Control to monitor and troubleshoot servers remotely.

"Our users demand that the university`s online resources work reliably and efficiently all day, every day," said Frank Tramontano, Pace University`s Chief Technology Officer. "By increasing our backup speed significantly, BrightStor EB ensures dependable access to the data that keeps our infrastructure running smoothly."

Pace`s previous backup environment required 10 hours for nightly updates and more than 50 hours each weekend for full backups of 500 gigabytes of data. With network use growing and the university`s online course offerings tripling each year, Pace sought a complete overhaul of its data storage system. After evaluating software to support newly deployed tape drives and a storage area network (SAN), the university chose BrightStor EB over Tivoli Storage Manager based on the price, performance, ease of use and the school`s prior impressive experience with CA technology.

Servers that once took 12 hours or more to back up now require five hours or less, for a near 60 percent decrease in total backup time. With the integrated disaster recovery option of BrightStor EB, Pace enjoys maximum data protection in case of failure. BrightStor EB agents ensure files are duplicated even when in use. Moreover, Unicenter Remote Control allows IT staffers to fix server glitches from their office several floors above Pace`s server farm or from their homes at night and on weekends.

Pace plans to create a single backup site to house data from its five campuses and two additional locations, using BrightStor High Availability to create multiple, redundant synchronized servers.

"With BrightStor EB and Unicenter Remote Control, we can store more data more quickly and effectively while saving considerable time on maintenance," Tramontano said. "Thanks to CA, we expect to reap exceptional cost savings while providing the university community with the network services they need and expect."