Onet built a scalable, new data center with 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity.
Challenge
One of Poland's first Internet companies, Onet (http://www.onet.pl) is the country's largest Internet portal and the 45th most popular website in the world. When founded in 1996, Onet served static webpages. Today, the company is also offering web 2.0 applications such as streaming video, video on demand, blogs, and forums, and plans to deliver content to televisions and mobile devices in addition to PCs.
To deliver more high-bandwidth video traffic, Onet needed a new data center architecture. Previously, the company had four data centers that housed 2000 servers connected to a Gigabit Ethernet core. "We realized that, even in a challenging economy, we needed to make a significant investment in our data center to prepare for growth," says Pavel Leżański, chief technology officer. Requirements for the new data center architecture included:
• Scalability and low latency to deliver streaming video and video on demand
• Bandwidth for server virtualization, a strategy to reduce server and management costs
• Support for Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), to consolidate previously separate Ethernet and storage area networks (SANs)
Solution
Onet built a brand-new data center with a 10 Gigabit Ethernet environment using Cisco Nexus switches and Cisco® firewall solutions. "Cisco has provided our IP network infrastructure from beginning," Leżański says. "We consider Cisco a trusted advisor because it can share its experiences with other global companies to help us achieve our business objectives." The Cisco Nexus family met Onet's technology objectives because of its low price per port for 10 Gigabit Ethernet and support for FCoE. "Our network administrators already know how to use the Cisco IOS Software, and the NX-OS resembles it closely enough that we had an easy time introducing it into our production network," says Wojciech Ehrenfeld, IT operations director.
Onet deployed redundant Cisco Nexus 7000 Switches for the network core. Cisco Nexus 5000 Switches are deployed at the top of the rack, connecting blade servers to the core over 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders provide cost-effective connectivity for older Gigabit Ethernet servers.
Results
Onet's new data center environment provides the bandwidth and low latency to deliver video content to PCs, televisions, and mobile devices. Following are the major business benefits.
Low Capital and Operational Costs
Support for FCoE reduces costs because the Onet no longer needs separate fabrics, server cards, and cabling for Ethernet and the SAN. "We regard the cost savings from unifying our Ethernet network and SAN as the most significant benefit of the Cisco Nexus architecture," says Ehrenfeld. The high port density of the Cisco Nexus family also reduces the cost per 10 Gigabit Ethernet port.
Reduced Energy Consumption
Higher port density means Onet needs less equipment, lowering energy costs. The front-to-back airflow in Cisco Nexus 5000 Switches supports the hot-aisle/cold-aisle layout in Onet's data center, reducing cooling requirements.
Business Agility
"The high 10 Gigabit Ethernet port density of Cisco Nexus switches will enable us to continue introducing innovative video-based content to our customers without making any more large capital upgrades," says Leżański. "We expect that the Cisco Nexus will serve as our platform for at least five years." Onet expects that video content will strengthen visitor loyalty and increase market share.
Ease of Management
Onet's IT personnel can manage the new Cisco data center solutions as well as other products using CiscoWorks. This capability reduces operational costs and simplifies the data center.
Leżański concludes, "Cisco is providing solutions as well as valuable guidance to help us adopt virtualization and make our business more green."
Next Steps
Onet is considering deploying the following Cisco technologies to further increase its competitive advantage and reduce operational costs:
• Cisco TelePresence Solutions: Onet wants to implement Cisco TelePresence™ solutions in its Krakow and Warsaw offices to enable collaboration. "Standard videoconferencing quality is not good enough, so currently we prefer to travel," says Leżański. "Cisco TelePresence provides excellent voice and video quality to create an in-person experience, and we expect to pay back the investment through travel and time savings."
• Cisco Nexus 1000V: To support server virtualization, the company plans to use Cisco Nexus 1000V, a software-based switch, to deliver VN-Link virtual machine-aware network services.
• Unified Fabric: The FCoE support in the Cisco Nexus 5000 Switch will enable Onet to consolidate its Ethernet network and SAN into a single converged network, reducing SAN capital costs.
• Cisco Content Delivery Network: To deliver content to three screens, Onet needs a solution with the intelligence to format the content properly. The IT department is investigating using the Cisco Content Delivery Network to move content closer to customers, delivering an excellent user experience.
