Shop in a Box: StorMagic and APC by Schneider Electric Deliver Lean, Affordable Storage for Retail Environments

Published On: 3rd June 2021//2.5 min read//Tags: , , , , , //

StorMagic and APC by Schneider Electric’s all-inclusive Shop in a Box solution is the leanest edge computing retail solution on the market. This one-of-a-kind offering enables retail stores to process, manage and store data in minutes. It is ideal for retailers who operate at the network edge where space and resources are often limited, delivering an incredibly low cost and compact design.

Retail businesses specifically find Shop in a Box’s lightweight, cost effective, and easy to manage design to be particularly beneficial. Retail environments are often plagued with several common challenges when it comes to IT, such as minimal floor and rack space, limited budgets (especially when store counts are high), and the disruption of downtime when systems fail. Shop in a Box addresses all of these challenges by providing the smallest edge solution on the market that is highly available and remarkably affordable.

Shop in a Box combines StorMagic SvSAN software, two x86 servers (such as HPE’s ProLiant range), and APC’s 6U Wall Mount EcoStruxure Micro Data Center into a single, consolidated, hyperconverged architecture. APC’s self-contained, secure, wall-mountable product is great for organizations with small physical locations – such as retail stores. It is also simple and fast to deploy, enables 100% uptime, and can be managed remotely, making it beneficial for stores that do not have onsite IT staff.

The complete solution can be tailored to meet exact customer requirements and includes the following components:

  • APC’s 6U Wall Mount EcoStruxure Micro Data Center – This fully integrated infrastructure solution is composed of a unique wall-mountable low-profile enclosure, APC Smart-UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply), and customizable physical security, remote management and servicing options.
  • Any Two x86 Servers – The solution supports the use of any x86 server hardware including the HPE ProLiant server range, with any combination of disk drive, memory and processor.
  • Server Virtualization Software – Customers can choose from VMware, Microsoft or open-source KVM hypervisors.
  • StorMagic SvSAN Software – SvSAN provides storage virtualization, high availability and a lightweight remote witness that can manage up to 1,000 edge sites.

The co-operation between StorMagic and APC is well established. A large retail chain based in the US deployed SvSAN on HPE servers, installed in APC racks across thousands of store locations. Previously, they had been experiencing an average of 100 outages per year and 6 hours of downtime per outage. RAID failures and drive replacements were costing them time and money, and they needed a solution that would reduce both their CAPEX and OPEX. Using SvSAN on HPE and with APC racks helped them realize significant cost savings, achieve true high availability, and centralize their IT, reducing complexities in their environment. It also enabled them to scale down on their hardware per store, preserving space and budget. To learn more about how this customer was able to overcome their challenges and optimize their infrastructure, read our customer case study.

Learn more about our Shop in a Box solution and why it’s perfect for retail environments here.

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