PB Lifttechnik – A new HPE IT infrastructure

PB Lifttechnik – A new HPE IT infrastructure.

PB Lifttechnik GmbH’s working platforms have been in use for over three decades. The leading German manufacturer and expert for innovative, reliable and economic lifting solutions produces compact to large-sized scissor lifts. The working platforms are known for their ingenuity and easy accessibility. PB Lifttechnik is always on the cutting edge of technology, especially in development. To this end, Bechtle developed a future-oriented and foolproof IT infrastructure with a virtualisation host based on HPE hardware, operated with VMware hypervisor ESXi.

Project details.

Services

IT Security
Networking Solutions
Server & Storage

Industry

Manufacturing

Manufacturer

HPE, VMware

Company size

< 250 employees

Challenge.

PB Lifttechnik GmbH looks back on 30 years of company history. Initially specialised in the repair and maintenance of self-propelled working platforms, the company situated in Oberbechingen in Bavaria became one of the leading German manufacturers of scissor lifts. This development is driven by innovation and quality, which made PB working platforms a success all over Europe and the globe. After updates to their production and service possibilities at their location in Bavaria, in 2020, the network infrastructure was renewed.

With the support of the “Digitalbonus Bayern”, one of the first digital funding programmes, a new server landscape with an adequate domain structure and a new backup system was to be created at PB. With the support programme of the Free State of Bavaria, companies should be able to digitalise themselves through hardware and software and improve their internal IT security. It’s exactly these requirements that PB’s new network had to fulfill. By introducing new network components, the working platform manufacturer wanted to achieve more performance in the network. A new firewall solution was needed for additional security. In addition, the server and storage infrastructure had to be renewed, including the entire backup area, to guarantee data security and scalability. Protection from system failures or attacks from the outside but also an increased and stable computing power were further reasons for the complete overhaul of the IT infrastructure. In addition to this, PB required stable and secure communication, to conduct its business worldwide quickly and efficiently.

We wanted to set up our server landscape in such a way that we’re not only using an updated, stable technology but that we’re able to administrate it too. Bechtle accompanied us in this extensive project from the start to the finish. The new design of the server, storage and network infrastructure based on HPE offers just this and meets our requirements. The existing, developed environment was updated by Bechtle cost effectively.

Dieter Pawlowski, CEO, PB Lifttechnik GmbH

Solution.

Bechtle answered all of PB’s questions concerning the renewal of the IT network. From this, the IT partner drew up an action plan as well as the extensive hardware and service list for the planned project. It was clear from the start that the new computer centre had to be moved into a new room. A backup concept covering all fire regulations was also needed to keep the data safe—and without it taking too much administrative effort. In terms of hardware, for its new network, PB opted for Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) devices. With these, all subcomponents of the new IT landscape could be implemented. Through HPE CarePack Services, PB ensured that the manufacturer would directly respond to any problems.

The strength of the standardised HPE solution, consisting of an HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 server, an HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 backup server with 36 TB, an HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 domain controller and HPE Aruba 2540 switches, lies primarily in the good integration of Microsoft and VMware products. PB therefore continues to use Windows Server—now in version 2019—as its operating system. With the existing VMware vSphere ESXi—now in the Essentials PLUS Edition—Bechtle hosted PB’s existing virtual machines (VM). The data backup was performed with Veeam “Backup & Replication”.

Once the network had been reconfigured by Bechtle, the data had to be configured and migrated to the updated domain structure. Thanks to the perfectly coordinated components, the experts from Bechtle, together with the project team from PB Lifttechnik GmbH, completed all this within a short implementation period.

Business benefits.

The new HPE networking technology and the new HPE Aruba switches work perfectly with Microsoft, VMware and the new Veeam Backup. This allows PB to administer the network with less time than before. The current, stable technology reduces overall operating expenses and keeps all processes running within the company. Data loss, time-consuming performance gaps or even concerns about the security of the system are now things of the past for PB.