CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY

Oilstop Uses VMware for Reliable IT Infrastructure to Deliver Top Quality Service

Oilstop Services More Cars and Cuts Costs Using VMware Software

Building a Scalable IT Infrastructure Enterprise-Wide Results RESULTS to Keep up With Growing Demand Oilstop has six servers in its central data center. Four Dedicated to providing the best possible customer servers run on VMware ESX Server and are con- service, Oilstop wanted to update its computing nected to thin clients at corporate-owned stores • 4:1 server consolidation ratio infrastructure in order to best serve its customers and franchises. The SCSI drives in the servers provide storage at Oilstop’s Novato datacenter for the thin • Hardware savings of $20,000, or “Guests,” as Oilstop refers to them. The oil change lower total cost of ownership company needed a scalable new infrastructure to clients at each Oilstop location. keep up with its growing business, which increased Results of using the VMware software include: • CPU utilization percentage rose from 18 locations in 2001 to 27 locations in 2004. from 2 percent to about 60 • Server Consolidation. Oilstop was able to achieve percent But the company did not have a large IT budget a 4:1 server consolidation ratio with VMware soft- to invest in a large number of servers. “We needed • Server deployment time reduced ware. from hours to minutes to maximize the productivity we got out of our hardware budget,” says Ben Erickson, information • Increased Server Utilization. Oilstop was able to • Technicians can service more cars systems manager for Oilstop. “We were looking for increase server utilization from about 2 percent to per day a solution that would mean the lowest total cost of 60 percent. • High performance and reliability ownership and the highest return on investment.” • Time Savings for the IT Team. Server deployment • Return on investment: increased Oilstop IT contacted consulting company Entisys for time has been reduced from hours to minutes. revenue and maximized a solution. Entisys, a VMware VIP Reseller, provides “There are a variety of efficiencies from using the efficiencies its clients with complete enterprise solutions. “We software,” Erickson says. “The management features were able to show Oilstop that VMware would allow us to save time, and because it increases the provide a cost effective solution that would bring reliability and availability of the system, we spend results,” says Michael Strohl, President for Entisys. “It less time attending to problems or crashed servers.” would allow them to fully utilize its servers, while increasing performance and reliability.” • Better Customer Service. Oilstop technicians are able to work more efficiently, saving Guests’ time, Oilstop evaluated VMware software in January, 2003. and servicing more cars per day. After a successful test run, the company, with the help of Entisys, implemented VMware GSX Server in • Increased Business. “VMware software provides us February, 2003 and ESX Server in November, 2003 with a reliable IT Infrastructure to provide a higher in order to create a high performance, scalable IT number of Guests with our excellent services,” says infrastructure. Erickson. “It gives us more business and enables us to scale as the company continues to grow.”

“Oilstop is able to increase its revenue by decreasing the amount of time that each Guest spends getting his or her car serviced, so that technicians can service more cars per day. We can provide the highest quality service, and we can do it more efficiently, benefiting the company and our Guests.”

Ben Erickson Information Systems Manager Oilstop, Inc. OILSTOP

CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY

• High Performance and Reliability. “We are able “VMware ESX Server has a wide variety of useful fea- to manage our resources and guarantee service tures, it provides rock solid reliability and ease of use levels throughout the company with the VMware – especially with the Web console, which gives us VMWARE GSX AND ESX SERVERS AT software,” Erickson says. ultimate server management capabilities.” Erickson WORK adds. “We have the peace of mind that our systems are more stable and will not crash.” • ESX Server on 2-CPU HP DL380 An Enterprise Solution That Will Grow Servers, 1.6 GHz Pentium III with With the Company The software also gives Oilstop the agility to quickly 2.5 GB of RAM respond to business needs, being able to quickly Erickson says the software’s value becomes more deploy servers and applications. “VMware technol- • GSX Server on 1-CPU HP DL 360 and more evident as the company grows. “The ogy allows us to meet the demands of growing busi- Servers, 1.6 GHz Pentium III with benefits of having virtual servers is huge – and the ness by providing employees with the computing 2.5 GB of RAM larger our company grows, the more valuable it will resources they need to do their jobs.” become to have this virtual IT infrastructure with • Host : Red Hat 7.3 VMware technology in place,” he says.

• Guest Operating System: Windows VMware software has allowed the company to 2000 Advanced Server keep up with growing business. “Oilstop is able to increase its revenue by decreasing the amount of • Applications running on virtual time that each Guest spends getting his or her car machines: Citrix and SQL Server, serviced, so that technicians can service more cars Active Directory, a print server, per day,” says Erickson. “We can provide the highest custom in-house applications to run the service centers, network quality service, and we can do it more efficiently, administration applications benefiting the company and our Guests.”

• Disaster Recovery: use the Undoable Mode feature of ESX Server

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VMware, Inc. 3145 Porter Drive Palo Alto CA 94304 USA Tel 650-475-5000 Fax 650-475-5001 www.vmware.com Copyright © 2004 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Protected by one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,397,242 and 6,496,847; patents pending. VMware, the VMware “boxes” logo, and ESX Server are trademarks of VMware, Inc. is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. IBM, eServer, and xSeries are regis- tered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. , Windows, Windows NT, and Windows Server are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Citrix is a registered trademark of , Inc. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.