While Aruba provided an overhaul of Ducati‘s on-premise data centre hardware in the form of a service in private cloud mode, which increased security and implemented disaster recovery capabilities, Lenovo focused on upgrading the motorcycle manufacturer’s HPC cluster.
Lenovo’s ThinkSystem SD530, SR630 and SR650 servers provided the base for the HPC upgrade, while further transformation was leveraged for the configuration of two new data centres, one in Bologna, and the other in Bergamo.
With workloads dedicated to production and development, as well as testing, distributed across the two centres, Ducati can now apply GDPR-compliant failover procedures in the event of a disaster with minimum downtime, which can be activated at a later stage in the business continuity project.
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The scalable infrastructure transformation using Aruba and Lenovo technology has allowed Ducati to shift from a desk-based culture to that of a mobile-first approach in a few days, and the company can now use all computational resources dedicated to disaster recovery to test and develop environments, as if they were primary resources.
The project, which began in 2018, has also made workload migration from the main headquarters to peripheral sites, including the disaster recovery site in Bergamo, which can be used for other purposes besides disaster recovery.
Four new 2D VDI nodes have been added at the Aruba Global Cloud Data Centre since the project’s inception, which aids migration of workloads, as well as ensuring guaranteed service access while remote working.
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“Using the latest and most advanced technologies is part of Ducati’s DNA,” said Konstantin Kostenarov, chief technology officer at Ducati. “Relying on the best technologies made available through our partners has significantly contributed to the overall improvement of processes, while at the same time increasing the value of the results achieved.
“The choices made two years ago and the projects that have been carried out since then have allowed us to tackle the various complexities of this sport in the most effective way possible.”
Giorgio Girelli, general manager of Aruba Enterprise, commented: “Among the technologies that have emerged as a result of Covid-19, the cloud is undoubtedly one that has proven its worth and made it possible to better face crisis situations.
“An internal commissioned survey reveals that 59% of those who were able to use cloud solutions during emergency situations considered its use to be fundamental to their operations.
“The sharing and combination of the latest technologies between the three companies involved has given life to a very innovative project focused on one goal: obtaining maximum performance.”
Alessandro de Bartolo, Lenovo Data Centre Group’s country general manager for Italy, added: “The recent Covid-19 crisis that we are still experiencing globally has forced companies to implement and strengthen their remote working practices.
“Our collaboration with Ducati is making full use of our latest Lenovo ThinkSystem technologies that supports business continuity and promotes remote working.
“We are particularly pleased with the effective and synergistic collaboration that has been established between everyone involved in the project.”
