Client: National Logistics & Freight Company (Confidential)
Location: Ontario, Canada
Duration: 8 weeks | Team Size: 5 engineers

Project Overview:

Led a large-scale, complex virtualization migration for a major logistics and freight company, transitioning from a legacy Scale Computing HC3 platform to a modern, enterprise-grade Microsoft Hyper-V cluster environment. This initiative was critical to improving infrastructure reliability, scalability, and disaster recovery readiness for over 130 production virtual machines supporting business-critical applications. The project involved deploying a 7-node Dell PowerEdge Hyper-V cluster connected to a Dell EMC SAN 9200T storage array via Fibre Channel switches, complemented by an additional Hyper-V host integrated with NetApp SAN storage for dedicated backup and disaster recovery workloads.

Key Challenges:

• Migrating 130+ VMs across mixed OS environments (Windows Server, various Linux distributions) without disrupting 24×7 logistics operations.
• Ensuring high availability and fault tolerance with zero unplanned downtime during live migration and cutover phases.
• Designing scalable infrastructure capable of handling forecasted 3-year business growth, including peak seasonal demands.
• Integrating disparate SAN storage platforms (Dell EMC and NetApp) with Fibre Channel connectivity and Hyper-V cluster networking.
• Maintaining compliance with strict industry regulations and internal IT security policies throughout migration.

Deliverables and Activities:

• Performed a comprehensive infrastructure audit, including detailed capacity analysis, network topology review, and storage performance benchmarking.
• Developed a tailored migration roadmap balancing risk, business continuity, and resource availability, with milestone checkpoints and rollback procedures.
• Procured, racked, and configured 7 Dell PowerEdge R640 servers with Windows Server 2022 Datacenter and Hyper-V role, implementing Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) for VM storage.
• Architected and implemented Dell EMC SAN 9200T storage connectivity through redundant Fibre Channel switches, optimizing multipath I/O for throughput and failover.
• Provisioned an 8th Hyper-V host with direct NetApp SAN access via Fibre Channel for offloading backup workloads using Veeam Backup & Replication.
• Executed live migration of 130 production VMs, including complex SQL Server Always On clusters and ERP systems, with detailed pre- and post-migration testing to ensure data integrity and application availability.
• Configured Veeam Backup & Replication with automated backup verification, incremental backups, and scripted failover testing to validate disaster recovery readiness.
• Implemented Cluster-Aware Updating (CAU) and integrated cluster and storage monitoring into PRTG Network Monitor for proactive health and performance alerts.
• Delivered extensive end-user and IT team training on the new platform’s operational procedures, failover management, and backup/restoration processes.

Project Impact:

• Achieved a 40% increase in virtual machine performance and responsiveness, improving overall end-user experience and operational efficiency.
• Reduced virtualization licensing and hardware costs by 35% through optimized cluster sizing and resource allocation.
• Established a highly available, scalable virtualization environment designed to support significant business growth over the next 5 years.
• Centralized disaster recovery capabilities with Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) under 30 minutes for mission-critical workloads, enhancing business resilience.
• Strengthened IT operational maturity with enhanced monitoring, automated maintenance, and proactive issue resolution workflows.