archived press 2003
iProcess OnLine Selects Sanbolic Inc. for SAN File System
Business Outsourcing Company providing 24x7 Enterprise Services to Customers by deploying Melio FS

Watertown, MA, September 25, 2003 — Sanbolic Inc. today announced that iProcess Online Inc., a business process outsourcing company located in Baltimore, MD, targeting early stage through middle market companies has deployed Melio FS (File System) in their clustered SAN solution at the heart of their new 24x7 data center.

The goal of Henry Zektser, IT Manager for iProcess Online was to build a 24x7 (99.999 up-time) SAN environment, based on Windows operating system with the ability to scale past the limits of Microsoft Clustering Service and, also have the ability to do zero-impact backups.

The challenge was to build an architecture in which all the clustered applications such as MS SQL 2000, MS Exchange 2003, NSI Double-Take clustering and replication services, and MBS Great Plains accounting package, could access a single shared storage pool with all of the data available to all application servers at all times, and eliminate the need to replicate the data to a separate LUN or volume for each server.

iProcess Online needed to build an environment where numerous hosts could be attached to a SAN “on the fly”, and then do file-level data sharing among the hosts to enable application clustering for scalability. “To accomplish this would require the holy grail of storage file systems; and so, we turned to Melio FS”, says Henry Zektser. “We were looking for an innovative SAN storage solution that was available today. We are very risk-averse, given the nature of our business model”.

In today’s highly competitive economy, business process outsourcing continues to be recognized in the marketplace as the next generation of business services. Clients seek means of streamlining their organizations by improving performance and reducing costs.

“Our clients look to us to grow and sustain their competitive advantages in the marketplace by outsourcing non-core, but absolutely necessary functions and processes. Our storage infrastructure enables us to deliver highly reliable, flexible, and cost effective services,” stated Clifford Harris, President & CEO of iProcess Online Inc. “We chose Sanbolic because they provide technology that gives us and our clients a competitive advantage."

The initial SAN hardware infrastructure includes three Dual Xeon servers, and two Quad Xeon servers, connected through a 16 port Qlogic SANbox2 with redundant LSI 64bit FC HBA’s. The storage is a FC 2GB Chaparral RIO244 with 2.4 TB, ready to grow to 10TB of RAID protected storage on demand. The SAN is expected to grow to include as many as 20 servers later this year.

“Melio FS was designed to not only support, but also dramatically enhance the use of a SAN. The 64 bit layout, scalability, and robust journaling were targeted towards the enterprise market and we are pleased to see iProcess Online using Melio FS in a 24x7 environment for the past two months,” said Eva Helén, VP of Business Development at Sanbolic, Inc. “The ability to allow MBS Great Plains accounting package, Exchange, SQL and centralized backup to work simultaneously in a full collaboration on a single file system in real time, proves the enormous savings customers can realize by using Melio FS.“

About iProcess Online, Inc.
iProcess Online, Inc. is a business process outsourcing company located in Baltimore, MD. iProcess combines the attributes of an application service provider with those of a full service business process outsourcing and business advisory services organization. iProcess Online is a virtual functional disciplines provider targeting early stage through middle market companies. Their scalable solutions allow businesses to focus on their core competencies. For more information visit www.iprocessonline.com.

About Sanbolic, Inc.
Sanbolic, Inc. is a privately held company incorporated in 2000 and located in Watertown, Massachusetts. Sanbolic, Inc. is providing the market with the latest software for sharing and access of data. The product offerings are Kayo, volume sharing software, and Melio FS, a shared file system with heterogeneous operating system support for storage systems. Sanbolic distributes its products worldwide through a network of distributors, OEMs, VARs and system integrators.

Sanbolic, Kayo and Melio FS are registered trademarks of Sanbolic, Inc. All other company and product names contained herein are trademarks of the respective holders.

+ iProcess OnLine Selects Sanbolic Inc. for SAN File System (pdf) 13.2KB

related information:
+ iProcess Provides Cost Effective and Reliable Business Process with Melio FS Case Study (pdf) 44.8KB