Using Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization on IBM System x3550 M2 servers to run multiple instances of Windows Server 2008 R2, it was possible for Nihon matai to consolidate the entire former infrastructure to just six physical systems.

1. Nihon Matai consolidates SAP Overview
applications from 20 to six servers, Challenge
cuts costs by 30 percent Nihon Matai was running a
wide range of SAP applications
Founded in 1947 selling simple jute IT Planning Manager in the Business to manage every aspect of
bags, Nihon Matai Co Ltd has grown Planning Department, comments: its business. With the original
to become an all-round manufacturer "Our employees were fully familiar hardware at end-of-life and the
producing bags, packaging and with the existing infrastructure, but as SAP software maintenance due
containers for medical products, food the storage maintenance and other to expire, Nihon Matai wished to
items and chemical products. In 2009, agreements were coming to an end, find a strategic solution to its IT
the company became a member of the it became inevitable that the system infrastructure challenges, suitable
Rengo Group and is striving to develop would be updated. for implementing the latest
new demand and create new markets. versions of SAP software.
"Although we thought about extending
Nihon Matai introduced its first SAP the maintenance period, we had issues Solution
applications in 2006, covering financial with the management workload and Using Microsoft Hyper-V™
accounting, management accounting, potential business risk, so we decided virtualization on IBM System
sales administration, inventory and to update the storage systems and x3550 M2 servers to run multiple
purchasing management, process the processors for the entire SAP instances of Windows Server 2008
production, data warehousing and environment. The objectives were R2, it was possible to consolidate
select components of strategic to optimize the landscape, reduce the entire former infrastructure to
enterprise management (SEM). complexity, increase flexibility and cut just six physical systems.
costs."
With the original hardware at end-of- Key benefits
life and the SAP software maintenance Virtualization success on IBM Nihon Matai improved operational
agreement due to expire, Nihon Matai System x3550 M2 efficiency and achieved a 30
wished to find a strategic solution for Nihon Matai chose to replace its percent reduction in running costs
its IT infrastructure needs, suitable existing estate of 20 servers with by introducing server virtualization
for implementing the latest versions six IBM System x3550 M2 servers and high-performance unified
of SAP software. Mr. Hiroyuki Hanyu, powered by Intel Xeon processors. storage.
Case study

2. To achieve the consolidation, Nihon
Matai implemented Microsoft Hyper-V
to allow multiple virtual instances of “Nihon Matai has
Microsoft Windows Server to run on a achieved around 30
single physical machine. percent reduction in
Business Challenge
costs.”
The IBM System x3550 M2 offers
exceptional energy smart performance Hiroyuki Hanyu
Nihon Matai was running a wide
in a dense 1U mechanical package IT Planning Manager, Nihon Matai
range of SAP applications to manage
delivering leadership virtualization and
every aspect of its business.
powerful systems management.
regulate power consumption and
With the original hardware at
intelligently adjust server performance
end-of-life and the SAP software
according to your application needs,
maintenance due to expire, Nihon
maximizing both energy efficiency and
Matai wished to find a strategic
performance.
solution to its IT infrastructure
challenges, suitable for
Hiroyuki Hanyu says, "In terms of
implementing the latest versions of
Offering industry-leading performance the total cost for the monthly data
SAP software.
per watt computing, highly compact center and hardware and software
memory designs with 16 DDR3 RDIMM maintenance, Nihon Matai has achieved
slots, and powered by up to two quad around 30 percent reduction in costs.”
or dual-core Intel Xeon Series 5500
processors, the IBM System x3550 M2 The trigger for the landscape refresh
consolidates workloads and performs was in fact the ending of storage
more work in a shorter period of time. maintenance contracts. The company
took the opportunity to review its
The Intel Xeon processor 5500
® ®
information management strategy, and
series, based on the latest generation chose to virtualize its data storage, too.
Intel microarchitecture, provide key
®
features such as extended lifecycle Nihon Matai selected the IBM System
support along with options for Storage® N3600 unified storage
thermally constrained applications solution. The N3600 uses iSCSI, which
while maintaining compatibility with offers excellent price-performance
enterprise platform configurations. The for connections between servers and
5500 series processors automatically storage.
2

3. Load distribution using multiple Nihon Matai also uses SnapMirror,
connections per session (MCS) which duplicates data by synchronizing
allows bandwidth to be secured that between controllers on the different
is equivalent to Fibre Channel and servers. The data is stored on LTO4
provides a high level of redundancy, at tapes in an IBM System Storage
very much lower costs. TS3100 tape library, connected to the
Solution
backup server.
The N3600 is designed to help
The existing SAP solutions were
enterprises to consolidate fragmented More flexible data storage
running on 20 physical servers.
application-based storage and The existing SAP IT landscape could
unstructured data into one unified, easily only support one test environment,
By adopting virtualization, Nihon
managed and expandable platform. It principally owing to restricted storage
Matai aimed to improve operational
offers intelligent management software, capacity, and it was not possible
efficiency and enable greater
data protection capabilities, advanced to carry out multiple projects
business flexibility.
connectivity and onboard remote simultaneously. In fact, the time taken
management from a single, easily to copy and process production data
Using Microsoft Hyper-V™
configured, system. meant that Nihon Matai did not take
virtualization on IBM System x3550
regular, recent data for testing, which
M2 servers to run multiple instances
Using the N3600 Snapshot function, weakened the validity of the results.
of Windows Server 2008 R2, it was
Nihon Matai completes its daily backup
possible to consolidate the entire
of SAP production and SAP NetWeaver With the previous SAP system,
former infrastructure to just six
Business Warehouse data in a couple of production machine data was copied
physical systems.
seconds. Snapshot takes a disk-to-disk to the test environment using the client
copy of data, which is then backed up copy method, a process that took
to tape separately – about one month’s about three days. On one of those
data, or some 40 generations, of data days, SAP operations would have
can be stored on the disk. to be suspended, which meant that
copying would always be scheduled
In the past some backups to tape might over the weekend to minimize business
fail, owing to tape faults. Because the interruption. The copying issue was
data is stored on disk as an intermediate solved by duplicating the production
step, if the tape transfer fails, the database for each volume using the
process can be restarted without N3600 high-speed copy function.
impacting production, ensuring that the
fault can be remedied and that the tape Using this process, it became possible
transfer completes successfully. to prepare a test environment with
3

4. the latest production machine data in
about three hours even during business
hours on weekdays, an improvement of “With respect to
around 96 percent. a large-scale,
company-wide
Key Solution Components
In addition to the quality assurance infrastructure such
environment, the new IT infrastructure as SAP, we think
Industry
on IBM x3550 M2 servers provides that achieving stable
Manufacturing
three SAP instances as a full test operations is our
environment, with independent access prime objective.
Applications to current data stored on the N3600.
SAP R/3 Enterprise for financial
®
Using the N3600, Nihon Matai is able “IBM technology
accounting, management to run multiple test scenarios in parallel, helps us ensure that
accounting, sales administration, greatly increasing the development we have reliable
inventory and purchasing team’s efficiency. Currently, four test solutions fully
management, process production, SAP instances are operating in parallel. capable of meeting
data warehousing and select our objectives.”
components of the SAP strategic Improved system monitoring
enterprise management (SEM) Nihon Matai has introduced SAP Hiroyuki Hanyu
application, SAP NetWeaver ®
Solution Manager to its system IT Planning Manager, Nihon Matai
Business Warehouse, SAP Solution management landscape.
Manager
The previous monitoring tool was
Hardware unable to monitor internal information alerts are controlled and only serious
IBM® System x3550 M2 servers, IBM from the SAP system, and could not errors are notified. As a result, the
System Storage TS3100 tape library,
®
check how much the data volumes had company has successfully reduced the
IBM System Storage® N3600 increased. Not all the monitored items workload on the technical personnel.
were appropriate for Nihon Matai’s
Software purposes, and multiple alerts were Hiroyuki Hanyu comments, "SAP
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2,
®
issued for minor errors, with the result Solution Manager monitors internal
Microsoft Hyper-V™ that technical personnel might easily SAP system information, and the robust
overlook a notification of a serious error. reporting function allows visualization
of data easily, which helps us with our
SAP Solution Manager has been system planning.
optimized by tailoring it to Nihon Matai’s
SAP solution, so that unnecessary "Even better, this tool is included as

5. Making technological advances
By introducing server virtualization and
“I believe that the high-performance unified storage, the
number of man-hours company was able to both improve
put in by operation operation efficiency and reduce running
personnel on costs.
Business Benefits
unnecessary alerts
and tape trouble The company, however, is making
• Improved operational efficiency
has certainly been additional technological advances.
and achieved a 30 percent
reduced.” Hiroyuki Hanyu concludes, "With
reduction in running costs by
respect to a large-scale, company-wide
introducing server virtualization
Hiroyuki Hanyu infrastructure such as SAP, we think
and high-performance unified
IT Planning Manager, Nihon Matai that achieving stable operations is our
storage.
prime objective. Across a long period of
time, various challenges arise, such as
• Production machine data can now
the end of a hardware lease, expiration
be copied to the test environment
standard with the SAP system, so we of maintenance agreements, upgrades
96 percent faster and run in
can use it without incurring extra costs. to the SAP applications and migration
multiple parallel scenarios, greatly
When a problem occurs in a monitored to the cloud environment.
increasing the development team’s
system, the administrator is notified by
efficiency.
email. “To fulfill our responsibility as
a manufacturer, we respond to
• The number of racks required was
"With the previous system, the notified changes in society and provide
reduced from three to one, which
content often did not make it possible excellent products that always satisfy
reduced both capital and operating
to determine what the initial action customers. We will continue to optimize
costs for the data center.
should be. With SAP Solution Manager, systems and strive for business and
the email alerts include a predefined technological innovation.”
initial action, and the person in charge
is able to take the necessary steps
without hesitation.
“We are still estimating the TCO, but I
believe that the number of man-hours
put in by operation personnel on
unnecessary alerts and tape trouble
has certainly been reduced."

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