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Client:

Purdue Pharma L.P. of Stamford, Connecticut is recognized for its pioneering research in managing chronic pain caused by cancer and other serious illnesses. Innovation is a priority for a pharmaceutical firm that focuses on pain-fighting treatments, and that drive extends to the information technology behind Purdue Pharma's operations.

Challenge:

Purdue faced challenges in two areas where Windows^®-based servers were deployed - the data centers for corporate and manufacturing. The number of Windows-based servers in Purdue Pharma's corporate data center had reached a point where the facility would soon be outgrown. Where manufacturing data is collected and maintained, Purdue has to secure the batch history and data to avoid having to reject a batch that may be valued at more than a million dollars.

Solution:

The team selected VMware, Inc.'s VMware^® GSX Server^TM software, which in this case would permit up to 30 servers to be consolidated onto a single system. ftServer systems supply the high levels of system uptime and data integrity demanded by server consolidation and other essential Windows-based applications. At this writing, Empower^TM HPLC software from Waters Corporation is being qualified for use in the QC laboratory. Stratus ftServer systems will run the embedded Oracle^® database that stores the data collected during drug sample testing. Also being implemented on the Stratus ftServer platform is Wonderware Industrial SQL Server^TM plant historian software, which will acquire and store data from manufacturing equipment such as tablet presses, mixers, and environmental controls (temperature and humidity).

Result:

Having achieved the availability level necessary to support the Windows server virtualization, Purdue Pharma currently runs five ftServer systems in its data center. These are capable of replacing more than 100 physical servers when fully loaded. The savings will repay the company's investment in fault-tolerant servers many times over. Purdue Pharma also expects to benefit from the ftServer systems being deployed in its QC lab.