Vblock Delivery Experience

   We recently engaged VCE with some requirements to rip and replace our existing aging Dell blade environment and to add capacity for both future growth and a new IP based CCTV project.  First of all I was extremely impressed with VCE from the initial kick off meetings all the way through to delivery and our vArchitect, David Owen, done an awesome job taking our very awkward requirements (Which included the kit needing to be onsite and signed off by 31st March due to budget requirements) and made them happen.  So, what did we end up with?  Our solution comprised of two Vblock 300’s with VNX 7500’s, Avamar and EMC RecoverPoint.  Ten cabinets spread across two sites with a mixture of B and C series blades with varying RAM and CPU’s all running VMware via an ELA.

   We purchased two Vblocks to go into two separate datacenters.  Datacenter A was supposed to be a very simple install with about a thirty meter run from the delivery bay to the final location.  What we ended up having to do is remove one of the internal door frames to ensure all five cabinets could be moved into place.  Below are a few photos taken of the delivery for Datecenter A:














   Datecenter B was a lot more difficult.  The Vblocks had to be delivered down two flights of stairs, across a ticketing concourse and through into a fire escape and then dropped down through a ceiling void into the datacenter all whilst the general public were still utilizing the area.  A custom lift had to be designed to lower the Vblocks and pretty much all hardware had to be removed including the cabinet doors and hinges and there was literally millimetres left to play with.  Below are some images taken of the delivery for datacentre B:

All in all a job well done.