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August 12, 2003
It is my pleasure to write this letter of reference on
behalf XL Financial Weather & Energy, Inc. for the
exemplary work performance by Kit Somal, Master SAN
Architect.
We were seeking a comprehensive solution to inadequate
database server storage and processing power. In order
to accommodate expected rapid growth in our business,
we faced a fork in the road with our IT infrastructure
: do we continue to add database servers, with the
inevitable effect of islanding our growing
volumes of information, or seek a better way.
We hired Metro Business Systems in Stamford,
Connecticut and worked closely with their SAN
architect, Kit, to help us achieve three primary
goals: Flexibility to add storage and processing power
when needed to scale our system, facilitate disaster
recovery and keep to a tight budget. His solution
helped us consolidate the storage of three database
servers and one file server onto an Hewlett Packard
EVA 5000 storage area network. In addition, he helped
us migrate our SQL Server databases onto one Compaq
DL-580 4 processor system attached to the SAN. He also
installed and configured a tape library to take the
pain out of backing up the SAN. Our database
application performance has improved 300% - 600% with
nearly unlimited flexibility to increase our initial
storage capacity and throughput on the EVA. A job well
done indeed.
However, this is not the whole story. What really made
Kit stand out were the conditions under which he had
to work. Our new server room was part of a larger
construction project under way to allow our company to
expand its existing office space. The construction
schedule kept
slipping, but we faced hard deadlines with respect to
rolling out several IT upgrades several months in the
planning stages, which now depended on Kit's SAN and
server solution. We had no choice. Kit had to work
around the construction crews daily while building the
new system. Building a SAN is hard enough under ideal
conditions. Always with a smile and
cheerful attitude under less
than ideal conditions (imagine circular saws, paint
perfumes and tile glue), Kit's professionalism and
adaptability proved the winning formula.
In summation, if you are planning a major IT
infrastructure upgrade or need assistance in exploring
possibilities to stretch your existing IT
infrastructure investment, I heartily recommend Kit
Somal. He has clearly demonstrated the knowledge,
ability and the professionalism required to accomplish
the mission.
Michael
Laudenslager
John Bundy
Systems
Administrator
Database Administrator
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