Microsoft Server Product PortfolioCustomer Solution Case Study

Chauffeur Service Attains Seven-Nines Uptime, Less IT Work by Using Virtualization

OverviewCountry or Region: United StatesIndustry: Transportation

Customer ProfileEmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services is one of the largest chauffeured transportation companies in the world. Based in Secaucus, New Jersey, it operates in more than 650 cities around the world.

Business SituationEmpireCLS wanted to improve the reliability of its IT infrastructure and also reduce the work of managing server and desktop computers. It also wanted to reduce IT costs.

SolutionEmpireCLS moved its data center servers to Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 and used Hyper-V technology to build virtualized server clusters. It also moved to virtual desktop computing using Windows 7.

Benefits Attains seven-nines uptime Boosts administrator productivity by

35 percent Cuts servers by 50 percent, power

costs by 33 percent

“By upgrading to Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, we’ve been able to achieve seven-nines uptime and reduce support calls by 75 percent. That’s critical for a business that centers on customer service."

Alan Bourassa, Chief Information Officer, EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services

In 2007, EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services jettisoned its Linux operating system–based IT infrastructure and moved its data center to HP servers running the Windows Server 2008 operating system. In 2010, it upgraded to Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 to take advantage of improvements in memory management and virtual desktop computing. With its new lean, virtualized data center and desktop environment, EmpireCLS has attained seven-nines server uptime, which is critical in providing top-notch customer service. It has also cut employee support calls by 75 percent, increased IT staff productivity by 35 percent, reduced its server infrastructure by more than 50 percent, and reduced power costs by 33 percent. Employees are happier with the improved reliability and with higher performance of key applications.

SituationHollywood celebrities and Grammy Award–winning artists are just some of the people who rely on EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services to safely travel to destinations on time and in style. Behind the polished appearance of each chauffeur, 600 employees work behind the scenes to manage reservations, global itineraries, and accounts. In addition to a luxurious ride, customers enjoy many concierge services and tools so that their interactions with EmpireCLS are easy, secure, consistent, and comfortable. "Empire is a premier brand within the industry due to its core strengths: people, technology, systems, service logistics, and fleet quality," says David Seelinger, Chief Executive Officer at EmpireCLS.

Before 2007, the company’s IT architecture ran on Red Hat Linux operating system–based servers and included software and hardware from a number of different vendors. The technology mix drove up complexity and costs, eroded stability, and made it hard to find IT employees with a range of specialized skill sets. Downtime was catastrophic to this customer service–focused business, and rising hardware and IT management costs were eating into profits.

In 2007, EmpireCLS decided to rebuild its data center on the Windows Server 2003 operating system and HP hardware. By doing so, the company simplified its IT environment, improved reliability, and streamlined data center administration. By 2008, 90 percent of the company’s server computers ran Windows Server 2008 Enterprise. Administrators made use of many tools from Microsoft to deploy

unified communications, server virtualization, enhanced disaster recovery, and automated workflow processes. EmpireCLS had met its original challenges, but it continued to seek new technologies to streamline operations.

SolutionIn 2009, EmpireCLS learned about the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system and decided to upgrade. Administrators wanted to use virtualization and server management capabilities such as the enhanced Hyper-V technology with live migration, and the Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) feature for failover clustering. With live migration, administrators can move virtual machines from one host server to another without interrupting running workloads. With CSV, multiple cluster nodes can simultaneously access the same disk or logical unit number (LUN).

EmpireCLS was also interested in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2008 R2 to create virtual desktop environments. VDI is an alternative desktop delivery model that allows users to access desktop environments that run on data center servers.

In September 2009, EmpireCLS deployed Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise on clustered HP ProLiant BL460c G6 server computers. In addition, administrators created virtual desktop environments by using the Windows 7 operating system and Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Premium Suite for its 250 office workers. Business applications and virtualized desktops were replicated across the new

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clusters and three existing clusters, which also ran Windows Server 2008 R2.

In addition, administrators deployed Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 to streamline server management and facilitate the rapid creation and configuration of virtual machines. EmpireCLS engaged Microsoft Services consultants to reconfigure its Active Directory Domain Services to support security-enhanced access to virtual desktops with almost any Internet-enabled device.

In September 2010, EmpireCLS deployed the Release Candidate of Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1), which provides improvements in Hyper-V memory management and the Remote Desktop Services experience. Specifically, SP1 introduces Dynamic Memory, a feature that EmpireCLS uses to achieve increased density when consolidating physical servers into virtual machines, providing it with predictable performance and linear scalability. With Dynamic Memory, EmpireCLS administrators can pool available memory on a physical host and then dynamically assign memory to virtual machines based on current workloads. Dynamic Memory results in more efficient use of memory and a higher virtual machine-to-host consolidation ratio. EmpireCLS is running two Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 production clusters using Dynamic Memory allocation for servers and VDI clients.

A second innovation in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 that appealed to EmpireCLS was Microsoft RemoteFX, a new feature of Remote Desktop Services. IT administrators

can use it to deliver a rich end user experience to employees who are using virtualized or session-based desktops. Using new protocol enhancements between Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 Enterprise, users can access virtual desktops from a wide variety of endpoint devices and still get a media-rich user experience with server-side graphics processing and support for USB peripherals.

BenefitsBy switching to Windows Server 2008 R2 and then upgrading to Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1, EmpireCLS has reduced support calls by 75 percent, sped administrator productivity by 35 percent, and slashed energy costs by 33 percent. Employees are happier and more productive with a better computing experience.

Attains Seven-Nines UptimeEmpireCLS has boosted system stability and uptime by deploying Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. “Our Linux-based architecture had too many different components, and we had issues day and night,” says Alan Bourassa, Chief Information Officer at EmpireCLS. “By upgrading to Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, we’ve been able to achieve seven-nines uptime and reduce support calls by 75 percent. That’s critical for a business that centers on customer service. We have been in production with Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 for more than three months and have experienced zero downtime with our user community.”

Boosts Administrator Productivity by 35 Percent

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“We’ve been really impressed with the RemoteFX feature in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. The reduction in power consumption and the rich graphical user experience are both significant advantages.”Alan Bourassa, Chief Information Officer,

EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services

With the new Windows Server–based infrastructure, EmpireCLS estimates that its IT administrators are accomplishing about 35 percent more work each day. “I can handle almost all IT tasks from my desktop, which frees up time to work on planning future projects,” says Bray Doherty, Systems Administrator at EmpireCLS. Not only can administrators manage applications and virtual machines from their desktops, but they can also manage hardware with tools such as HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) Advanced Pack, which provides remote access to HP server computers. Bourassa notes, “With a server farm this size, we couldn’t manage without HP iLO.”

Also, EmpireCLS can use the Hyper-V Management Console and System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 to reduce IT work because they simplify the creation and management of virtual servers. “With all the new features in Windows Server 2008 R2, midsize companies can implement technologies like clustering and virtualization on their own at a lower cost point,” explains Bourassa. “System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 is also a great tool for us because we no longer have to view each virtual server individually. Instead, information is aggregated so we can see what’s on each server by node.”

Consolidates Servers by 50 Percent, Cuts Power Costs by 33 PercentNew virtualization and clustering capabilities in Windows Server 2008 R2 boost server utilization, which means that EmpireCLS can get more work out of every host server. For example, in the past, each virtual machine required its own LUN or disk to support a failover configuration.

Today, virtual machines can failover to the same LUN.

“With Windows Server 2008 R2, we can run 8 virtual machines to each CSV and 24 virtual machines per server,” Bourassa says. “Previously, we could run only 8 to 12 virtual machines per server. Plus, with Hyper-V and Dynamic Memory, we've been able to consolidate our data center footprint by more than 50 percent, increase server capacity by about 35 percent, and reduce power costs by 33 percent.”

Improves Employee ExperienceEmpireCLS employees are happier with the new IT setup. With the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, they can quickly access needed information from almost any location and system performance has improved. By using live migration, EmpireCLS has also reduced scheduled downtime for events such as update management. “Today, we see much faster performance in our dispatch and reservation applications, which improves productivity throughout the day,” says Bourassa.

About Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 improvements, Bourassa says, “We’ve been really impressed with the RemoteFX feature in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. The reduction in power consumption and the rich graphical user experience are both significant advantages. We now use VDI for more than 75 percent of our work force worldwide. With Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, our employees get a rich graphical user experience, better phone quality, and USB remote access within the VDI session."

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“With Hyper-V and Dynamic Memory, we've been able to consolidate our data center footprint by more than 50 percent, increase server capacity by about 35 percent, and reduce power costs by 33 percent.”Alan Bourassa, Chief Information Officer,

EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services

Employees previously used expensive desktop computers with dual 30-inch high-resolution monitors to run the company’s proprietary Fleet Logistical System, used for critical tasks such as scheduling. With RemoteFX, EmpireCLS has been able to run that application on thin-client computers, at a $2,500 cost savings per knowledge worker that requires a rich graphical experience.

"With Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, we are experiencing service levels of seven nines,” Bourassa says. “With Hyper-V, Dynamic Memory, clustering, VDI, and Remote Desktop Services, our data center footprint has been reduced by more than 50 percent, our electrical costs have decreased by 33 percent, our overall support calls have gone down by 75 percent, and our user satisfaction levels with IT have increased dramatically. We are winning on all fronts."

Microsoft Server Product PortfolioFor more information about the Microsoft server product portfolio, go to:www.microsoft.com/servers

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For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:www.microsoft.com

For more information about HP products and services, visit the website at: www.hp.com

For more information about EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services products and services, call (800) 451-5466 or visit the website at: www.empirecls.com

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published January 2011

Software and Services Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise

Service Pack 1− Microsoft System Center Virtual

Machine Manager 2008 R2− Microsoft Virtual Desktop

Infrastructure Premium Suite Windows 7 Enterprise Services− Microsoft Services

Technologies− Active Directory Domain Services− Hyper-V− RemoteFX− Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote

Desktop Services

Hardware HP ProLiant BL460c G6 servers

Partners HP