HP ProLiant BL480c Intel® Xeon® E5410 Quad Core Processor 2.33 GHz 12MB 2GB 1P Blade Server 459500-B21 プリント
製品コード
459500-B21
Their operation has grown into the world’s largest
industrial auctioneering company. In 2008, Ritchie
Bros. achieved gross auction proceeds of $3.57 billion
by auctioning trucks, cranes, planes, and other heavy
equipment related to the construction, transportation,
mining, forestry, marine, and other industries. The
company achieved this result by conducting 340
unreserved auctions all over the world.
industrial auctioneering company. In 2008, Ritchie
Bros. achieved gross auction proceeds of $3.57 billion
by auctioning trucks, cranes, planes, and other heavy
equipment related to the construction, transportation,
mining, forestry, marine, and other industries. The
company achieved this result by conducting 340
unreserved auctions all over the world.
But the IT infrastructure behind the business couldn’t
keep up with the company’s targeted annual growth
rate. “We had a single file server at each auction
site and it was typically five or six years old,” recalls
Andy Karmody, manager of IT deployment at Ritchie
Bros. “It didn’t give us the reliability or scalability
we needed. We also wanted to improve on the
way we move data, and give executives real-time
visibility—instead of daily batch processing—to
monitor customer activity and sales trends at each of
the auction sites.”
keep up with the company’s targeted annual growth
rate. “We had a single file server at each auction
site and it was typically five or six years old,” recalls
Andy Karmody, manager of IT deployment at Ritchie
Bros. “It didn’t give us the reliability or scalability
we needed. We also wanted to improve on the
way we move data, and give executives real-time
visibility—instead of daily batch processing—to
monitor customer activity and sales trends at each of
the auction sites.”
Thinking inside the box
After evaluating proposals from major technology
vendors, the IT team discarded the traditional rack-
mounted server approach in favor of HP BladeSystem,
specifically the HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure,
a.k.a. “Shorty.” It’s also known as an infrastructure
in a box.
After evaluating proposals from major technology
vendors, the IT team discarded the traditional rack-
mounted server approach in favor of HP BladeSystem,
specifically the HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure,
a.k.a. “Shorty.” It’s also known as an infrastructure
in a box.
Shorty is made to serve small sites with large
computing needs. It’s an enclosure about the size of
a compact refrigerator, and it can house four to eight
server, storage, and PC blades. It also includes built-in
networking that reduces cables by up to 94 percent
and power and cooling resources that reduce power
requirements by up to 26 percent, compared with
other blade solutions.
computing needs. It’s an enclosure about the size of
a compact refrigerator, and it can house four to eight
server, storage, and PC blades. It also includes built-in
networking that reduces cables by up to 94 percent
and power and cooling resources that reduce power
requirements by up to 26 percent, compared with
other blade solutions.
“The HP BladeSystem was almost 40 percent less
expensive than its rack-mounted competition,”
Karmody says. “And as a compact box on wheels, it
doesn’t require a lot of space or air conditioning—just
right for our server rooms. We can also expand
capacity easily just by adding another blade. It puts
us in a comfortable position to improve the business.”
expensive than its rack-mounted competition,”
Karmody says. “And as a compact box on wheels, it
doesn’t require a lot of space or air conditioning—just
right for our server rooms. We can also expand
capacity easily just by adding another blade. It puts
us in a comfortable position to improve the business.”
To provide redundancy, Ritchie Bros. is housing two
HP ProLiant BL480c server blades in the enclosure
at each site. VMware enables six virtual machines
(VMs) to run on the two hosts, and HP Insight Control
provides critical remote management capabilities.
HP ProLiant BL480c server blades in the enclosure
at each site. VMware enables six virtual machines
(VMs) to run on the two hosts, and HP Insight Control
provides critical remote management capabilities.
Cutting 40 percent off shipping—with HP’s help
The next big challenge was deployment at all 38 sites
in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and
Australia—quickly and without disruption.
The next big challenge was deployment at all 38 sites
in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and
Australia—quickly and without disruption.
“When you oversee a project like this remotely, it’s
hard to anticipate what might happen in the different
countries,” explains Karmody. “If you don’t have a lot
of feet on the ground, you are totally reliant on the
process working and the servers getting delivered on
schedule.” Members of the IT team had to coordinate
flights to be onsite. Any hiccups in shipping could
jeopardize the schedule and increase project costs.
hard to anticipate what might happen in the different
countries,” explains Karmody. “If you don’t have a lot
of feet on the ground, you are totally reliant on the
process working and the servers getting delivered on
schedule.” Members of the IT team had to coordinate
flights to be onsite. Any hiccups in shipping could
jeopardize the schedule and increase project costs.
Karmody called on help from the HP International
Business Center to get a recommendation for a
freight forwarder. “The HP International Business
Center reduced our shipping costs by 40 percent
and managed the logistics required for shipments to
foreign countries, including coordination with local
people at each auction site,” Karmody explains. “This
operation wouldn’t have worked without them.”
Business Center to get a recommendation for a
freight forwarder. “The HP International Business
Center reduced our shipping costs by 40 percent
and managed the logistics required for shipments to
foreign countries, including coordination with local
people at each auction site,” Karmody explains. “This
operation wouldn’t have worked without them.”
HP Factory Express provided customer-defined factory
configuration and racking of the HP BladeSystem
c3000 Enclosures, as well as onsite installation and
startup—everything that was required to bring the
solution up to an application-ready state.
“HP Factory Express saved us at least a half-day of
work per enclosure,” Karmody notes. “My IT person
just plugged in the system and had it up and running
within an hour.”
configuration and racking of the HP BladeSystem
c3000 Enclosures, as well as onsite installation and
startup—everything that was required to bring the
solution up to an application-ready state.
“HP Factory Express saved us at least a half-day of
work per enclosure,” Karmody notes. “My IT person
just plugged in the system and had it up and running
within an hour.”
At the auction sites, the server upgrade was
transparent. “We took out their server infrastructure
and deployed the new solution over the weekend,”
says Karmody. “When people came to work Monday
morning, they were working off the new server without
any interruption of business. HP delivered excellent
service to Ritchie Bros., ensuring that the entire process
ran smoothly. We met our schedule of 38 sites in
five months.”
transparent. “We took out their server infrastructure
and deployed the new solution over the weekend,”
says Karmody. “When people came to work Monday
morning, they were working off the new server without
any interruption of business. HP delivered excellent
service to Ritchie Bros., ensuring that the entire process
ran smoothly. We met our schedule of 38 sites in
five months.”
About Ritchie
Bros. Auctioneers
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
(www.rbauction.com) is the world’s
largest industrial auctioneer,
selling more equipment to onsite
and online bidders than any
other company in the world.
The company has more than
110 locations, including 38
auction sites worldwide. Its recent
technology infrastructure upgrade
supports growth in auction
operations, including potential
increases in online bidding.
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