HomeMy WebLinkAbout13.F.1. Authorize Purchase of Two Storage Area Networks (SANs) City of Shakopee � � � �� � ► ,
MEMORANDUM '
TO: Mayor and City Councii ',
Mark McNeil, City Administrator ',
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FROM: Kris Wiison, Assistant City Administrator ;; �,.!;� ',
SUBJECT: Authorization to Purchase Z 5torage Area Networks (SANs) ',
DATE: October 27, 2011 ,
Introduction
The City Councii is asked to authorize the purchase of two new storage area networks (SANs) for the ,
City's IT network. ',
Background '
in 2006, the City purchased its first SAN from Xiotech. The SAN provides centralized and secure data '
storage that can be accessed by ail of the City's servers and applications. In 2008, the City purchased a
second Xiotech SAN as part of our development of a disaster recovery system. The original SAN, which
is housed at the Police Station, backs up to the second SAN, which is currently housed at City Hail.
{Plans call for moving the back-up SAN to the new Fire Station once it is completed, as that building will
have a generator for emergency power.)
dur two Xiotech SANs will no longer be supported by the company, and therefore require replacement,
appraximately one year from now. However, the need to take action this year has arisen as a result of '
changes to a complimentary software. ',
The link between the City's two Xiotech SANS is a third-party software device called Timescale. This ',
actually completes the duplication between the two SANS, so that our back-up SAN contains an exact ',
copy of all data stored on our primary SAN. The company that owns Timescale has changed their ',
business model — and the name of their product, which is now called InMage. As a result, the City is ',
facing a$22,000 annual bill for the maintenance and support agreement on this software, which we '
have not previously faced. Therefore, to continue as we are currently operating, we would need to pay
$22,000 in 2011 and $24,000 in 2012 and then replace our SANs at the end of 2012 anyway. Or — we
can move up the purchase of the new SANs to this year. The new model SANs have the duplication
software built in, which allows us to avoid having to spend any more money on software such as
Timescale or InMage. �
To prepare for a possible SAN replacement, staff has researched the new model offered by Xiotech, as ,
well as competing SAN products made by EMC and Hewlett Packard. The HP SAN is the most expensive,
and was eliminated from further consideration for that reason. The Xiotech upgrade and EMC product
are very comparable in price.
While we have been happy with our existing Xiotech units and the upgraded model they are currently
seliing has several advantageous features, one notable downside is that it is not "scalable" — meaning
we wauld be unable to add smali or modest sized chunks of storage as the City's needs grow.
The EMC SAN quoted to us is made by the same company that makes VMWare, which is another
backbone component of our IT network that is used to virtualize the City's servers. Using both VMWare
and an EMC SAN would result in easier integration of our system. Additionally, the EMC unit would
provide more usabie storage to begin with, allow us to expand our storage capacity in smaller, more
affordable increments and be easier for staff to manage and administer.
Recommendation
' Based on the features of the Xiotech and EMC options, staff recommends purchase of EMC SANs as the
I best option for the City's IT network.
; Budget Impact
The cost of the recommended EMC SANs is $134,215, which inciudes a three year maintenance
agreement. The units would be purchased from SHI, which is a vendor on the state contract, thereby
eliminating the need for formal quotes or bids. This purchase wauld be paid for out of the IT Fund.
� Requested Action
If the Council concurs, it is asked to offer a motion to authorize the purchase of two EMC Storage Area
Networks from SHt, at a cost not to exceed $134,215.
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