An Intelligent FAN Architecture for Improved Branch Office File Data Protection and Management
Leon Verriere, Infrastructure Consultant, Mohawk Industries

In business for over 120 years as a world-leading manufacturer and distributor of flooriing products, Mohawk Industries generates enormous amounts of instructured file data ranging from spreadsheets and databases to carpet and tile patterns.  Much of this information, which is distributed across Mohawk's more than 500 branch offices, must be stored, backed up and readily accessible on a daily basis.  To improve the reliability of its branch office data backups and overall business continuity, Mohawk implemented a FAN architecture including file virtualization, migration, consolidation, byte-level file differential replication, and failover services.  As a result, Mohawk now has a solid, more cost-effective strategy for efficiently managing its burgeoning storage needs throughout its highly distributed enteprise. 

As a result of participating in this session, attendees will able to: 

• Implement a FAN which addresses needs to keep file servers in branches
• Discuss the benefits realized as a result of implementing an intelligent FAN architecture
• Integrate data obtained through recent acquisitions into an enterprise IT infrastructure with a FAN implementation