Microland successfully managed a complex NextGen Software Defined Everything (SDx) infrastructure for the world's largest Professional Networking organization

Overview

The client is the world's largest Professional Networking organization, with a platform designed to connect professionals from various industries, enabling them to build and expand their professional networks, showcase their skills and experiences, and discover new career opportunities. In the face of the client's explosive expansion, the need for a scalable, agile, and efficient network infrastructure became undeniable. Microland undertook the management of a complex NextGen Software Defined Everything (SDx) infrastructure. Microland's solution involved modernizing the infrastructure, implementing automation, analytics, and orchestration, and ensuring continuous service improvement.

Challenge

The client's exponential growth demanded a scalable, agile, and efficient network infrastructure. With over 300,000 servers, 16,000 switches, 60 PB of data, and four data centers, the complexity was immense. Moreover, managing 100+ software-defined storage boxes and 17,000+ SDN devices posed significant challenges. Frequent incidents and manual processes hindered performance and responsiveness, prompting the client to seek a comprehensive network solution.

Solution

Infrastructure Modernization

Microland implemented a cutting-edge Software Defined Everything (SDx) approach, leading to a fully Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC). This transformation brought unparalleled scalability and cost efficiency. By replacing legacy EMC storage boxes with SD-NAS (GPFS) and SD-SAN (Excelero) storage, we achieved enhanced flexibility and significant cost savings. Migrating from Cisco SDN to OpenStack SDN further streamlined the SDDC network, resulting in increased adaptability and improved performance. The introduction of an immutable infrastructure ensured enhanced consistency, reliability, and predictive deployment.

Automation, Analytics, and Orchestration

Microland automated incident resolution and firewall rules management, effectively reducing high-priority incidents and accelerating response times. We helped the client leverage advanced analytics to identify device outage patterns, enabling proactive issue resolution, and 24/7 network monitoring. The adoption of Kickstart for automated image management led to faster server provisioning and more efficient configuration management, establishing a robust and stable infrastructure. Microland's technology-led, people-assisted approach enabled seamless management of the client’s extensive server infrastructure at an impressive 5000:1 ratio.

Continuous Service Improvement and Enhanced Run Services

The client experienced seamless execution of business-critical applications with VM deployment featuring pre-installed Puppet software. The implementation of CFEngine automated software deployment and configuration management significantly reduced manual efforts and ensured consistent operations. Real-time monitoring enhanced infrastructure performance and effectively mitigated failures, contributing to overall network efficiency. Through smooth storage upgrades and data migration with minimal business impact, Microland ensured uninterrupted operations for the client’s critical services.

Microland Solution

Value Delivered

The successful collaboration with Microland yielded remarkable results for the client, helping the client:

• Achieve 100% uptime, ensuring smooth business operations.
• Ensure 50% reduction in high/critical incidents through automation and self-healing capabilities.
• Realize an impressive 91% reimage automation success rate, streamlining server provisioning.
• Gain enhanced scalability, agility, and cost efficiency, setting the stage for continued growth.