OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.

Success Story

OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. ("OCLC") wanted to standardize on a single Linux platform to create a more stable and flexible environment. By moving its mission-critical applications to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, OCLC has reduced operating system costs by 64 percent and has consolidated servers by 30 percent.

Overview

Founded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to furthering access to the world's information and reducing the rise of library costs. More than 60,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories around the world have used OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend and preserve library materials.

Challenge

As a technology organization, OCLC works to expand access to library resources with the rapid deployment of new technology. With acquisitions and new product introductions, the organization had quickly added 300 servers to its data center. The IT staff needed to reduce the costs of its expanding environment, without sacrificing flexibility and performance.

OCLC had been using multiple platforms and wanted to standardize on a single Linux platform. The organization also needed to establish consistent processes for patch management to maintain the security of its data.

Novell solution

"We are moving all of our mission-critical applications to Linux. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server gives us a stable platform for the systems we make available for library access."

Mark Baker
Consulting Systems Engineer
OCLC

OCLC considered a number of Linux options before deciding to standardize its environment on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

"We selected SUSE Linux Enterprise Server based on price, licensing and the maturity of the product," said Mark Baker, consulting systems engineer for OCLC. "It is just as reliable, manageable and high-performing as UNIX, but delivers a dramatically lower cost of ownership. We also run an extensive number of virtual servers and Novell offers a favorable pricing and licensing model for this type of environment."

OCLC currently has approximately 360 HP and Dell servers running SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and is migrating another 750 servers. The company is moving all of its revenue-generating applications to Linux, including its Web servers, application servers and Oracle, MySQL, Sybase and DB2 database servers.

"We are moving all of our mission-critical applications to Linux," said Baker. "SUSE Linux Enterprise Server gives us a stable platform for the systems we make available for library access."

Currently, one third of the OCLC environment runs on virtual servers, using VMware, and the IT staff continues to leverage virtualization to support the organization's rapid growth.

"With virtualization, we can add new servers on the fly without having to go through a cumbersome purchasing process," said Bob Fenstermaker, systems support manager at OCLC. "We are also able to give each developer a personalized virtual server, which means we can push out new services more rapidly. This would have been cost-prohibitive on a platform other than SUSE Linux Enterprise Server."

OCLC has implemented Novell ZENworks Linux Management to patch, update and inventory its systems on a regular basis. OCLC established a schedule to patch its development and quality assurance systems before testing and putting them in production. With a stable platform, the IT staff spends fewer nights and weekends working on the environment.

"Using Novell ZENworks Linux Management, we can patch our servers how and when we like from a central location," said Chuck Dyer, manager of UNIX Systems at OCLC. "We thought it might be a huge undertaking, but we can patch our servers seamlessly with minimal downtime and disruption to users. Our security officer is a lot happier too."

With a Linux platform, the OCLC development staff also takes advantage of open source solutions, such as library and development tool kits, to reduce software costs.

Results

"With virtualization, we can add new servers on the fly without having to go through a cumbersome purchasing process. We are also able to give each developer a personalized virtual server, which means we can push out new services more rapidly."

Bob Fenstermaker
Systems Support Manager
OCLC

By migrating to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, OCLC has reduced its Linux operating system costs by 64 percent. Using virtualization, OCLC has consolidated 30 percent of its servers, and can continue to add more virtual servers without incurring a significant increase in licensing costs.

The ease of distributing patches with Novell ZENworks Linux Management allows the IT staff to do more of its maintenance during regular business hours, reducing the amount of on-call weekend hours. With a stable Linux platform, OCLC has reduced administration time by 50 percent.

"SUSE Linux Enterprise Server has consistently met our expectations in terms of performance and pricing," said Baker. "Having an open platform has significantly reduced our costs, which means we can pass this cost savings on to our library customers."