Arc Systems provide a range of infrastructure solutions for both in-house and co-location. From server hardware to virtualisation and storage we have it covered. Click on an area of interest below, call 01268 288 100, or get in touch.
Virtualisation is a key component to many systems now, it allows for many services to be hosted removing the traditional ties to hardware. The virtualisation of the services makes them portable between systems and even between premises and the cloud. This portability can be used also to increase availability of the services provided, a cluster of more than one server work in conjunction with each other reducing the reliance of the underlying hardware platform. In clustered solution, if a physical server were to fail or go offline for any reason the remaining physical servers pick up the virtual services until the failed server is put back in production. Another major benefit of a virtual cluster is the ability for the cluster to move resources based on load to hosts preserving the performance of the system.
Arc Systems has extensive experience with virtualisation from both our Datacenter and customer systems. With virtualisation being commonplace in the market, this has allowed for it to mature as a technology providing a very stable platform for systems of any size. Arc Systems supports a wide base of Microsoft Hyper-V and VMWare deployments ranging from single hosts to full failover cluster models. Drawing from this experience, Arc Systems are able recommend the right solution, being vendor-agnostic means you will get a bespoke design for your business. Whether you are looking to virtualise an ageing server estate, migrate virtual platforms or update existing virtual systems Arc Systems can help advising on the right virtualisation platform and hardware for your project.
The needs of every client are different. Arc does not operate a ‘one size fits all’ policy but instead we work to understand your business taking several factors before recommending a bespoke solution for you. Our considerations include capacity, performance, scalability, availability, data protection and budget.
Servers sit at the heart of any organisation, allowing users to access data, run applications and utilise peripherals such as scanners and printers.
Arc analyses the business applications you are running and their requirements before recommending a solution to fit your business needs. SMB typically only require a single server or a hybrid solution with email being hosted in the cloud. Larger organisations typically require multiple servers to host their business applications and data to provide resilience and performance.
When hardware is as critical as a server, Arc always advocate redundancy options, from disk RAID solutions right through to clustered servers for the highest protections.
Arc work closely with HPE hardware for servers, we believe they are the best of breed and are the industry standard aspired to by many manufacturers. HPE server solutions can cater for any size requirements from the most basic deployment all the way up to a full data centre server blade chassis solution utilising Hyper Converged technology.
HPE Nimble storage is set apart from the competition with HPE InfoSight. Through HPE InfoSight advanced machine learning, problems are predicted and prevented before customers even realise they have an issue – not just for the array but across the infrastructure stack. HPE InfoSight takes the guesswork out of managing your storage. It tells you how you can improve performance, optimize your resources, and plan ahead. HPE Nimble Storage has proven availability of 99.9999% across its installed base and guarantees it for every customer and every array. HPE Nimble Storage is driven by a resilient architecture, which gets even better with HPE InfoSight predicting and preventing problems before your business is impacted.
Arc Systems uses data storage technologies for both our own Datacentres and for our customers. Having the unique position of using our own solutions brings a perspective as a user when engaging with customers giving us more insight than a typical solution provider. Arc Systems will engage with you and understand your requirements to bring you the best solution for your business. Storage is a key part to any system; no matter the size, it must fit the business needs and be sized correctly to deliver a solid foundation to build your systems on. Arc Systems works from a principle of keeping it simple, secure and scalable to meet growth requirements of any system. Arc Systems partners with HPE for our storage solutions, we believe that they are the most complete manufacturer in the marketplace for storage, networking and servers for business of any scale. HPE storage solutions are fully supported with both VMWare and Microsoft Hyper-V deployments.
The glue that holds a network together is a switch. It is often disregarded as an area of importance in a network. Arc believes that this area is as important as your servers, firewalls, cabling etc. A poorly chosen switch will make your network perform badly and even create reliability issues that do not always appear to be generated by the switch itself. A considered switch selection will always be at the forefront of Arc’s consultation process when looking at a system holistically. Arc have many network specialists on our team with years of experience at CCNP level qualification so you can be assured you have the best possible person working with you. From small networks to a full data centre our network specialists have extensive experience and will understand your network requirements.
Getting the right switch for the right job is critical, Arc consider requirements of all areas of your network and will offer a design that fits no matter the size from the core all the way to the access layer.
Arc work closely with HPE and Cisco hardware, we believe they offer best of breed network solutions from SMB to full Enterprise based deployments. If you need to connect 5 users or need to refresh your switching in your data centre, Arc will have the right solution that works for you and your business.
Arc Systems often take on projects of varied sizes from single network point installs to full re-wires or even green field sites. Arc Systems work with the latest copper standards and fibre standards allowing us to deploy for any requirement from endpoint desktop to back bone datacentre pipes. External installations are also regularly carried out with fibre and copper. All works are carried out by qualified engineers to the highest standards.
Structured cabling is often the most overlooked part of any network. Typically, they are organic in their makeup and have been left for years without planning their design. While this approach is often used, it is nearly always waiting for the next major incident to bring itself in the forefront and cost valuable system downtime in serious cases. Arc Systems have years of experience in structured cabling, this can be from the simplest ‘on the wall’ cabinet to a full datacentre deployment like our own. We can survey existing sites and make recommendations of improvements that are required, this is done in conjunction with you as the customer. All our works are carried out by qualified engineers and carry a guarantee for peace of mind.
A reliable IT system is only as good as the infrastructure it is built on. For us here at Arc that represents the core of your system which must be reliable and deliver for your business. Arc can assist in every area of your infrastructure from the network cabling all the way to the heart of your network with Servers, Storage and Switching.
Using the best of breed across solutions for the core elements of your infrastructure, Arc are well equipped to recommend the right solution for you and your business. We deal with systems of many sizes every day from the most straight forward 5 user networks up to networks handling many hundreds of users, so you can be assured we will have the right experience to support you with your system.
Arc have our own specialist team who are on hand to discuss, plan and implement any infrastructure requirements that you may be looking to undertake.
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An unmanaged switch is basic, connecting devices with a fixed configuration. They do not have any management features and are just plug & play.
Whereas a managed switch allows you to manage, configure, and monitor the settings of your LAN, including controls over LAN traffic, prioritising certain channels, and create new virtual LANs to keep smaller groups of devices segregated and to better manage traffic. Managed switches also offer redundancy features that duplicate and recovery data in the event of a device or network failure.
Some advantages to installing managed switches: –
Security – open ports on unmanaged switches are a security risk. Managed switches ports can be disabled to prevent unauthorised access.
Redundancy – provides the ability to safeguard a network in case a connection or cable fails by providing an alternate data path for traffic. Standard protocols such as STP prevent loops and establish the redundant links as a backup to keep integrated systems available. This can ultimately prevent downtime.
Quality of Service (QoS) – guarantee high-priority applications and traffic under limited network capacity. Measurements of concern to QoS are bandwidth (throughput), latency (delay), jitter (variance in latency), and error rate. The most common use cases for QoS are voice and video streams.
VLAN’s – allow different computers and devices to connect virtually to each other as if they were in a LAN sharing a single broadcast domain all in the same switch. VLAN’s segment larger networks into smaller segments. For example, you can segment traffic between machine groups or traffic types like Servers, PC’s, DMZ’s, CCTV providing better network performance and an additional level of security.
Management & Monitoring – Managed switches use protocols such Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for monitoring devices on a network. SNMP queries can determine the health of the network or the status of a particular device. This allows you to troubleshoot problems without taking your network out of service and proactively manage traffic flows.
Switch Stacking – Switches can be connected to work as one switch stack. This provides a high level of redundancy.
A HPE Nimble array provides high-speed flash storage, highly efficient data reduction, unprecedented reliability, and cloud integration to support hybrid IT. If your requirements are for all flash, disk, or hybrid storage then a Nimble Storage Array ensures your environment is always-on, always-fast, & always-agile.
It is an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that predicts and prevents problems before they arise. Eliminate headaches and wasted time with a predictive model of management and support that analyses millions of sensors every second to predict and prevent problems. HPE InfoSight watches over your infrastructure 24/7.
Hybrid Storage Arrays have a mixture of HDDs and SSDs, while an All-Flash Array (AFA – also known as a solid-state storage disk system) is equipped only with SSDs. A hybrid storage array can feature a lot of flash or just a little. Adding a small number of SSDs to a traditional array can improve its overall performance immensely, and it involves less of an upfront expense than an AFA.
You should virtualise your environment to use a physical machine’s full capacity by distributing its hardware resource amongst many users or environments. … It is the same hardware; you are just using it more efficiently. The most important function of virtualisation is the capability of running multiple operating systems and applications on a single computer or server. … Virtualisation improves overall application performance due to technology that can balance resources and provide only what the user needs. More complex Virtual environments can include feature like storage clustering and Continuous Data Protection (CDP) to ensure the best possible uptime.