Modernizing Mission-Critical Shipboard Infrastructure with NetApp MetroCluster

Enterprise Availability at Sea

Byteworks designed and implemented a highly available, multi-site data center architecture aboard an operational vessel using NetApp MetroCluster, VMware vSphere, Cisco Nexus switching, and Microsoft infrastructure services.

The result is an enterprise-class environment engineered to keep critical workloads and services available wherever the vessel operates.

The Challenge

The customer needed to modernize the infrastructure supporting critical applications aboard an operational vessel. The environment had to provide enterprise-class availability across two physically separated locations while keeping core workloads and services resilient onboard.

The architecture needed to:

• Eliminate single points of failure
• Maintain storage availability across two shipboard locations
• Provide redundant, high-speed connectivity between locations
• Support VMware workloads from shared enterprise storage
• Deliver resilient identity and network services onboard
• Give operations teams the information needed to support and troubleshoot the environment

The Solution

Byteworks engineered an integrated architecture that brings enterprise-class data center resiliency to the unique environment of an operational vessel. The design translates the redundancy and availability of a traditional multi-site data center into two physically separated infrastructure locations aboard the vessel. By distributing critical infrastructure across two physically separated locations, the design provides redundancy while maintaining the performance, availability, and manageability required at sea.

At a Glance

The Results

Resiliency Across the Vessel
Distributing critical infrastructure across two physically separated locations reduces single points of failure and helps maintain operations if one location experiences an issue.

Continuous Storage Availability
NetApp MetroCluster keeps shared storage available across the vessel, providing a resilient foundation for critical shipboard workloads.

Greater Workload Flexibility
Shared storage and VMware vMotion allow workloads to move between hosts, giving operations teams greater flexibility for maintenance and infrastructure management.

More Autonomous Operations
Core identity, network, compute, and storage services run onboard, helping the vessel maintain critical IT capabilities without depending entirely on external connectivity.

Easier Long-Term Support
Comprehensive as-built documentation gives operations teams a clear view of the environment, making troubleshooting, maintenance, knowledge transfer, and future planning easier.

Technology Stack