CHINT Chinese Manufacturer Supports Growth and Cuts Database Size by More Than 80 Percent

To improve support for global operations, CHINT Group upgraded its SAP environment with an affordable solution based on Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 and HP servers. As a result, it has cut its database size by more than 80 percent and simplified administration by using built-in capabilities and fewer vendors. By implementing the solution, CHINT can invest more money in enhancing mission-critical applications and business processes.

Based in Wenzhou, China, CHINT Group is a leading manufacturer of electrical equipment. Since its founding in 1984, the privately owned company has expanded its line to include products for electric power grids and solar energy production, low-voltage parts used in construction, and measuring and monitoring equipment.

CHINT runs our entire business on HP servers and Microsoft technology such as SQL Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2. We see HP and Microsoft as one team.  Shi Chengzhang Infrastructure Manager CHINT

CHINT needed to improve scalability and performance. It also wanted to better serve its multilingual operations by converting from non-Unicode to a Unicode data format supported by an SAP release. In addition, CHINT required a solution that would maintain a low cost of ownership, work smoothly with existing technology, and be well-supported by its vendors. “CHINT is a private company with ambitious growth and profit targets, as well as a strict control on spending,” says Xiao Ju, General Manager of the Information Management Department at CHINT Group. “When evaluating technology, our criteria are simple. The product must be fit for purpose, integrate well with our existing solutions, and have a low total cost of ownership.”

Instead of acquiring products separately, CHINT asked Microsoft Services Premier Support and HP Global Delivery Center to collaborate to ensure that the solution was optimally designed, implemented, and configured. In May 2011, the HP Global Delivery Center performed a combined upgrade and Unicode conversion with SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse 7.0 Enhancement Pack 1 and SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 Enterprise running on HP BL680c G7 servers. The company uses an HP 8400 Enterprise Virtual Array for storage.

The SAP and database software run on the Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Enterprise operating system. “Because of the excellent support and product integration offered by HP and Microsoft, we knew that CHINT would benefit from a solution based on SQL Server 2008 R2 and industry-standard HP Intel servers,” says Long Bo, Business Application Manager of the Information Management Department at CHINT Group. “During our upgrade, we had HP Global Delivery Service Teams working with Microsoft Services Premier Support to ensure that our systems were optimally designed, configured, and tuned.”

The solution also includes Hyper-V technology, which CHINT used to consolidate its SAP environment from four to two physical servers.

By using page compression in SQL 2008 R2 with all tables and secondary indexes, CHINT reduced its database size from 2.5 terabytes to just 450 gigabytes. As a result, it has cut storage costs significantly by conserving disk space and easing backup and database administration. CHINT also takes advantage of support for 15,000 table partitions, an option available with both SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 and SP2. CHINT plans to upgrade its SAP ERP system to ECC 6.0 Enhancement Pack 5 running on Windows 2008 R2 and SQL 2008 R2 in January 2012, again turning to HP and Microsoft for a solution.

With the Microsoft mission-critical platform and HP servers, CHINT has improved support and performance while easing administration. It has also cut costs with the streamlined, affordable solution.

CHINT has improved support for global operations with the Microsoft mission-critical platform and HP servers. “CHINT runs its entire business on HP servers and Microsoft technology such as SQL Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2,” says Shi Chengzhang, Infrastructure Manager of the Information Management Department at CHINT Group. “We see HP and Microsoft as one team responsible for delivering a world-class solution that meets or exceeds the expectations of our business and customers. We are pleased to see the collaboration between HP and Microsoft, which offers CHINT a single point of ownership for all technical issues.”

As business expands, CHINT can better support the growing volume of data while improving performance and scalability. With page compression, it has cut database size by more than 80 percent and its SAP server infrastructure by 50 percent with Hyper-V. It is also simplifying administration by using fewer vendors. “Managing too many vendors is difficult and time-consuming,” says Bo. “Instead, we achieve the best outcome by using HP servers and SAP implementation services with Microsoft products.”

By running its SAP environment on the Microsoft mission-critical platform with HP servers, CHINT can maximize its technology investment and adapt to marketplace changes faster. Ju says, “With a solution from Microsoft and HP, we can invest more in enhancing application functionality to ensure that CHINT stays ahead of our competitors.”

Ju believes that his company’s implementation points to a new direction for Chinese businesses. “There is still a perception in some companies in China that UNIX and Oracle are required to run multi-terabyte SAP systems,” he says. “However, SAP benchmarks and research from IT analysts such as Gartner, IDC, and Forester now show that affordable Intel-based servers from vendors such as HP together with Windows and SQL Server are now at parity with UNIX and Oracle for reliability, availability, and serviceability.”

The HP and Microsoft solution also helps CHINT save money. “We have shown that SQL Server 2008 R2 running on standard HP Intel servers has the same capabilities as more costly, proprietary solutions,” says Ju. “CHINT benefits because we hold our team from SAP, Microsoft, and HP responsible for delivering world-class solutions at a reasonable cost.”