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CUSTOMER EXAMPLE #1 – z9 consolidation to z10; ESCON director replacement
“As part of our new data center and mainframe consolidation project, Prizm allowed us to implement a pure FICON infrastructure between 3 sites while maintaining our mission critical applications that are dependent upon the ESCON-based tape drives and communications controllers. Relative to our ESCON device connectivity requirements, we were able to drastically simplify the host infrastructure by consolidating 96 ESCON channels to 8 FICON channels.” – A Large European Bank
Original Configuration
- All ESCON infrastructure with ESCON Directors
- 96 ESCON channels on (3) System z9’s
- Mix of ESCON device types (STK 9490, IBM 3746, IBM 3590, NCR Teradata)
Phase 1 – System z Conditioning
- ESCON to FICON Simplification/Consolidation
- 96 ESCON channels consolidated to 12 FICON channels
- 2 ESCON directors replaced by 4 Prizm units
- Same ESCON device pool remains
Phase 2 – Final Configuration
- (2) z10’s replace (3) z9’s at New Data Center
- 10km of dark fiber connects New Data Center to Data Center A
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CUSTOMER EXAMPLE #2 – single ESCON mainframe upgraded to dual mainframes leveraging FICON
“Prizm allows us to redeploy existing USD ESCON channel extension gear to other applications, ultimately saving us money. Eventually, we intend to replace all of the existing USD’s using the Prizm technology.” – A Large Global IT Services Company
Original ESCON Configuration, single mainframe
Upgraded to a 2 mainframe sysplex leveraging switched FICON
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CUSTOMER EXAMPLE #3 – ESCON channel extension replacement
“After upgrading our environment from a single mainframe to a multi-mainframe sysplex configuration, we were able to avoid further investment in ESCON cable infrastructure and ESCON directors by leveraging Prizm and its inherent switching capability to share ESCON devices between mainframes. Further, we actually did not have the necessary floor space to add an ESCON director frame and Prizm was installed in an existing cabinet.” – A US Based Transportation Company
Before – ESCON channel extension
After – cascaded FICON and Prizm
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CUSTOMER EXAMPLE #4 – ESCON director replacement and remote tape via cascaded FICON
“When we opened our new DR data center, the combination of Cisco MDS and Prizm allowed us to avoid the cost and complexity associated with deploying net new ESCON channel extension gear. We were able to take advantage of the FICON fabric between our 3 locations to support both native FICON storage and the remaining ESCON device types.” – A Large US Based Retailer
Original Configuration – ESCON director topology
Phase 1 – replacement of ESCON directors leveraging Prizm
Phase 2 – remote ESCON device connectivity via cascaded FICON
