Outlook Foundation

CUSTOMER PROFILE

The Outlook Foundation is a nonprofit organization located in Las Vegas that repurposes used computers for children in need and for military personnel being deployed. By connecting people with technology, the foundation changes lives for the better: Disadvantaged children having better access to computers helps prepare them for success in today’s information-driven economy and military families narrow the communication gap between soldiers and their loved ones who may be separated by thousands of miles.

With the ThinkServer® TS430, we can make IT choices based on our needs, rather than technology limitations. The increased capacity is letting us make changes in operations that we had put on hold for too long, and it’s comforting to know that we can expand further when we need to.”

- John H. Iasiuolo,
President, Outlook Foundation

BUSINESS SITUATION

The Outlook Foundation cured its growing pains by replacing its aging server with a Lenovo ThinkServer® TS430. This server is equipped with the Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1200 family, which delivers up to 30 percent more performance than the previous generation1, improved data protection, and room to grow with excellent expandability.

Like many small organizations, the nonprofit Outlook Foundation had outgrown the server at the center of its operations. Compromises imposed by the use of a server designed for home use had become a fact of life, limiting flexibility in current operations and effectively preventing the use of technologies needed for improved efficiency.

Putting the Lenovo ThinkServer TS430 to work changed all of that for the better. The Outlook Foundation is now implementing technology strategies that it has planned for a long time, but which have been impossible until now.

Challenge

Help the Outlook Foundation overcome the limitations associated with outgrowing their HP MediaSmart Server EX470. In particular, expand the network beyond the current limit of 10 client PCs and implement advanced server technologies such as Active Directory.

Solution

The Lenovo ThinkServer TS430 supports the expanded server features and capabilities the Outlook Foundation wants:

• Dramatically improved performance based on the Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1200 family
• Superior data protection with RAID 0/1/10
• Expandability in key areas such as memory, hard drives, networking, and redundancy
• Comprehensive server management with ThinkServer EasyManage

Benefits

Even as the organization puts the technologies in place to improve current day-to-day operations, the staff looks ahead to possible expansion of the organization to new cities. The robust new server prepares them to offer multi-site services, extending the foundation’s mission.

The Power to Enact Positive Change

When the Outlook Foundation began operations, it implemented an HP MediaSmart Server EX470, which it has been using to support remote desktop, client backup, and file/print services. Seeking better performance and data protection, the foundation replaced it with the ThinkServer TS430.

New Capabilities for a Growing Organization

The Outlook Foundation is able to implement a large number of improvements to its environment as a direct result of implementing the ThinkServer® TS430 and Microsoft® Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials:

• Flexible user support. The old server required some on-site users to use remote desktop, because of a limit of 10 machines on the network; the ThinkServer TS430 allows those users to join a domain.
• Enhanced security. More sophisticated file permissions can be configured, and replacing client-side user accounts with serverbased ones allows them to be used on any client machine.
• Network policy. By configuring Active Directory on the new server, Outlook Foundation will have the ability to use powerful, policy-based central management.

PERFORMANCE, DATA PROTECTION, AND FUTURE EXPANDABILITY

The ThinkServer TS430 that the Outlook Foundation has obtained from Lenovo is configured for robust capabilities today, but more importantly, it has the ability to expand for future growth as needs dictate.

Configuration of Outlook Foundation’s ThinkServer TS 430:

• 5U tower form factor
• Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1220 (four cores, 8 MB cache, 3.1 GHz, 80 watts)
• 8 GB DDR3-1333 SDRAM (upgradeable to 32 GB)
• Two 500 GB, 7200 RPM, 3.5” enterprise-grade hot-swap SATA hard drives (upgradeable to 16 TB)
• 400-watt power supply (upgradeable with redundant 450-watt power supply) RAID 0/1/10 data protection (upgradeable with multiple options)

COMPREHENSIVE, SINGLE-CONSOLE SERVER MANAGEMENT

ThinkServer® EasyManage provides simple, effective server management using the intuitive, powerful management console:

• Health dashboard. Remote problem notification and remediation.
• Monitoring and alerting. Proactive alerting before problems happen, even if the OS isn’t running.
• Integrated ThinkServer Update. Seamless delivery of hardware driver and firmware updates.