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SUCCESS STORYWeb-hostingProvider1&1 PROBLEM SOLVED1&1’s switch to NetApp SolidFire from traditional storage architecture forits 1&1 Cloud Server simplified the company’s internal complexity and itsend-user cloud experience.Delivering a First-ClassCloud ExperienceAs one of the world’s leading web-hosting providers, 1&1 makes servingadaptable solutions to its customers a top priority. The company deployedits 1&1 Cloud Server on NetApp SolidFire storage, eliminating performancelag issues while giving customers unprecedented flexibility in choosing thetype of cloud needed to support their businesses.1&1 GIVES ITS CUSTOMERS MORE SERVERCONFIGURATIONS WITH NETAPPFROMTO1,000IN 10 MINUTES2 millionIN 55 SECONDS NETAPP.COM/CONTACT
REDUCING COMPLEXITYTRADITIONAL STORAGE ARRAYSNETAPP SOLIDFIREApplication andvirtualized environmentsare siloedSimplified and consolidatedworkloads deliver guaranteedperformance and moreflexible serviceQUIETING THE “NOISY NEIGHBOR”Serving consumer, business, andTRADITIONALSTORAGEARRAYSdeveloperusers, 1&1’saward-winning productsrange from webUser experiencesahostingand domainsthe pro-oneperformancelag ningof dedicated,priperformance.vate and cloud servers, email, ande-commerce packages. It servesAustria, Canada, France, Germany,Italy, Mexico, Poland, Spain, the UK,and the United States.1&1 aims to satisfy a clear need inthe market: simplifying the use oftechnology and making the cloudfully dependable and accessibleto small businesses, resellers, andenterprises. Recently, 1&1 introduced the new 1&1 Cloud Server,which allows customers from smalland medium sized companies(SMBs) to benefit from an easy-touse, flexible, and high-performanceproduct, which IREwiththe needsof SMBs.Eachapplicationhas theresources it requires withoutimpactingthe performanceofHOW 1&1 DIDWHAT’Sotherapplications.NEVER BEEN DONE1&1 has renewed its cloud portfolioto create a new generation of cloudsolutions. The main goal was todesign a new cloud offering for SMBsto deliver enterprise-level flexibilityand power within an easy-to-useproduct. Uniquely, 1&1 customers caneasily create high-performance clouddeployments and scale them up anddown based on their business needswithout any prior training or additionalinvestment. This allows companies,developers, and integrators to easilymove their web projects and businessapplications to a flexible and high-performance cloud environment.BEST TECHNOLOGY, LESSCOMPLEXITYStorage is the foundation of anycloud solution. 1&1 was lookingfor a trusted storage partner and,after a thorough evaluation, realized the SolidFire storage platformwould greatly simplify end-usercloud experiences, while simultaneously reducing internal complexity with its Quality of Service(QoS) and scale-out architecture.Each time 1&1 adds a storagenode, it benefits from predictable performance and capacitygains. SolidFire’s QoS guaranteehas also allowed 1&1 to safeguardagainst “noisy neighbor” problems where a user could experience a performance lag becauseone application affects another’sperformance. With SolidFire, 1&1can provide each application withthe resources it requires withoutimpacting the performance ofother applications. This has meant1&1’s operations team no longerneeds to constantly managethe storage infrastructure whenparticularly resource-intensiveapplications are deployed bya customer.WHAT THIS MEANS TO 1&1CUSTOMERS1&1 Cloud Server customers have atremendous amount of flexibilitywhen it comes to choosing the typeof cloud they need to support theirbusiness. “Compared to the 1,000server configurations that could
previously be delivered in 10 minutes, thanks to SolidFire’s platform,1&1 can now offer its customerstwo million server configurationswhich isdelivered in 55 seconds,clearly a massive improvement forus and our users. And with stateof-the-art, solid-state storage, theynever need to worry about performance, availability, or reliability,”says Javier Salcedo Gadea, head ofProduct Management Cloud at 1&1.THE WHOLE STORY1&1’s cloud solution was originallybuilt on a traditional storage architecture from a range of vendors.As part of this cloud offering,customers chose between performance tiers, with each tier havinga different architecture and pricepoint, rather than offering a single solution providing guaranteedperformance. 1&1 aimed to reducethis complexity and found thattraditional storage was no longersufficient for the needs of demanding clients. While 1&1 was able tomeet its customers’ needs with thisoffering, it began to realise that thelimitations of traditional storagecould be holding it back. The primary concern was that these traditional storage arrays introducedcomplexity, both for customers andthe operations team managing 1&1’sinternal infrastructure.The main complexity for customers was the choice they had tomake between performance tiers.Performance requirements oftenchange during the lifetime of a project and traditional storage madechanging between tiers a highlydisruptive process. This introduceda layer of complexity that wentagainst the overall aim of deliveringsimple-to-use cloud services. Atthe same time, 1&1 was also keen togive customers as much choice andflexibility as possible.“Compared to the 1,000 server configurationsthat could previously be delivered in 10minutes, thanks to SolidFire’s platform, 1&1can now offer its customers two millionserver configurations deliveredin 55 seconds.”Javier Salcedo GadeaHead of Product Management Cloud, 1&1BUSINESS BENEFITS Guaranteed performancefor all of 1&1’s customers Reduced storageinfrastructure complexity Improved flexibility andperformance for all cloudcustomers Ability to easily scale-outstorage infrastructureInternally, it was also importantfor 1&1 to improve the management process for the supportteams. The main issue was that inorder to guarantee performancefor end-users, operations staffhad to fine-tune storage performance whenever a particularlyresource-hungry virtual machinewas created. This meant they wereconstantly faced with the needto balance competing customerresource demands. “Always guaranteeing performance in spite of‘noisy neighbors’ presented us witha constant challenge. While it waseasy enough for us to add storagenodes thanks to our SAN setup,adding more customers madethe problem of juggling resourcedemands more complex,” SalcedoGadea explains.
THE SOLUTIONAs 1&1 continued to grow, it becameclear the company needed to lookbeyond traditional storage. It recognized all-flash, solid-state storageas the obvious choice to replace theexisting cloud storage infrastructure.Once 1&1 identifiedall-flashTRADITIONALSTORAGEARRAYSstorage as the next step for meetApplication anding its storage infrastructure needs,virtualized environmentsthe team quicklyarenarrowedsiloed downa list of vendors. Their primaryconsideration was to reduce thecomplexity of 1&1’s storage infrastructure, both in terms of managing performance and offeringcustomers a simplified and moreflexible service.After assessing a number of vendors, 1&1 chose SolidFire for itsnext generation storage platform.SolidFire was selected because itwas the only storage technologythat enables the company to simply control performance levels toeach andevery SOLIDFIREworkload with zeroNETAPPWhat’sdisruption to customers.Simplified and consolidatedmore, its in-line deduplication andworkloads deliver guaranteedcompressiontechnologywouldperformanceand moremean 1&1flexiblecould seesignificantcostservicebenefits over other solutions.REDUCING COMPLEXITYBENEFITS OF WORKINGWITH SOLIDFIREAfter thoroughly testing SolidFire’sstorage solution, and followinga two-month beta phase, theQUIETING THE “NOISY NEIGHBOR”TRADITIONAL STORAGE ARRAYSUser experiences aperformance lag because oneapplication affects another’sperformance.NETAPP SOLIDFIREEach application has theresources it requires withoutimpacting the performance ofother applications.SolidFire’s QoS guarantee has also allowed 1&1 to safeguard against “noisy neighbor”problems where a user could experience a performance lag because one applicationaffects another’s performance. The SolidFire solution has meant 1&1’s operations teamno longer needs to constantly manage the storage infrastructure when particularlyresource-intensive applications are deployed by a customer.“Always guaranteeingperformance in spiteof ‘noisy neighbors’presented us with aconstant challenge.While it was easyenough for us toadd storage nodesthanks to our SANsetup, adding morecustomers made theproblem of jugglingresource demandsmore complex.”Javier Salcedo GadeaHead of Product Management Cloud,1&1
advantages of SolidFire’s all-flasharrays were clear. Not only didthe SolidFire storage platformgreatly simplify end-user cloudexperiences, but it simultaneously reduced internal complexity—primarily thanks to SolidFire’sscale-out architecture andbuilt-in automation.FUTURE PLANSFor an international company like1&1, it is important to work witha storage vendor that is able todeliver its own global expertise,as well as one that supports it indelivering easy-to-use, powerful,and flexible cloud solutions to itscustomers. SolidFire will continueto be an important partner, thanksto its global reach. As a result ofSolidFire’s scalability, guaranteedperformance, and reliability, 1&1 isnow able to deliver the power andflexibility of an enterprise solutionto SMBs with the simplicity thatmakes it accessible to even thesmallest business.LEARN idfire NETAPP.COM/CONTACT 1 877 263 8277Leading organizations worldwide counton NetApp for software, systems and servicesto manage and store their data. Customersvalue our teamwork, expertise and passion forhelping them succeed now and into the future.To learn more, visit www.netapp.com. 2017 NetApp, Inc. All Rights Reserved. NETAPP, the NETAPP logo,and the marks listed at http://www.netapp.com/TM are trademarksof NetApp, Inc. Other company and product names may betrademarks of their respective owners. CSS-6890-0117
1&1 has renewed its cloud portfolio to create a new generation of cloud solutions. The main goal was to design a new cloud offering for SMBs to deliver enterprise-level flexibility and power within an easy-to-use product. Uniquely, 1&1 customers ca
