Capgemini collaborates with the administration of the port of Lisbon to improve data center performance

 The success of this project was due to three factors. Firstly, due to the project’s meticulous preparation, since its initial assessment, having APL and Capgemini elements working together as a team. Secondly, because of the technical capability and experience of the Capgemini team which we realised, from the beginning, as being knowledgeable on the subject which was reflected in every detail. Lastly, on the maturity and robustness revealed by both the chosen hardware and software.

Fernando Almeida, IT and Communications Director, APL, S.A.

The Situation

After renewing servers which were at the end of their life cycle, the Administration of the Port of Lisbon (Administração do Porto de Lisboa, APL) started the next phase of their project. The company began a data center assessment and then moved on to deploy a server virtualisation platform. APL’s management chose virtualisation in order to rent infrastructure as a service, and increase flexibility and scalability of their IT assets. Physical servers generate a large volume of waste, especially with regards to processing capacity so virtualisation was seen to be more costeffective. The concept was supported by a business case, where the potential gains obtained from this solution were measured against the alternative option to renew the system and migrate to new equipment.

The Solution

Capgemini implemented the recommended server virtualisation platform, which consolidated a set of 31 servers into just three sets of high-performance equipment. Besides the large reduction in the amount of equipment and respective property costs, this also increased the efficiency and effectiveness of its computer systems, with availability levels very close to 100%. The project involved three distinct phases:

• a detailed data center assessment of existing systems and the development of a business case for decision support
• implementation of the virtualisation platform and integration with the existing infrastructure
• server migration to the new platform, without the need for specialised systems reinstallation services

The Result

With implementation of the new infrastructure complete, Capgemini used the old redundant systems as back-up to minimise any risk of system failure. The project reduced:

• the number of physical servers required by 90%
• installed capacity needed for the same performance level by 54%
• the amount of occupied space in the data center by 76%.

All of these actions represent a direct impact on the data center’s energy consumption, increased levels of systems availability (almost 100%) and a reduction of service levels associated with the technical assistance contracts.