SK Shipping Acheives 10x Faster Disaster Recovery with Synology Storage Solutions

SK Shipping previously had to have dedicated IT personnel manage an x86-based file server, which was used to store sensitive data crucial to their operations. Their backup solution involved moving existing files to a SAN by using third-party software and then backing up to tape. In the event of a catastrophic equipment failure or natural disaster, data needed to be restored through those tapes, which was a slow and laborious process. This method also costs the company 7 million Korean Won (~6000 USD) per year on maintenance alone.

Dealing with certain sales claims was also a headache. When large amounts of already archived data needed to be restored from tapes, not only was it difficult to find and restore specific files back to the server, but the whole process could take over a week or more. Significant time and human resources were required for these claims, putting a strain on IT teams and negatively impacting the work efficiency of everyone.

Their previous process was expensive, slow, and resource hungry.

"With so many data management products on the market, it wasn't easy to decide on a solution. After carefully researching the strengths and weaknesses of each product and its manufacturer, we finally decided on Synology", said Kwak Ho-Dong. "In a corporate environment, data storage is mission-critical, so our NAS needed to be stable and easy to work with. From this point of view, we felt Synology was the logical choice. Their stable, intuitive, and easy to use DSM operating system puts them in a league of their own," Kwak added.

SK Shipping currently uses a Synology SA3200D as the primary file server, hosting data for over 200 employees, about 50 of which work off-site in Ulsan, Busan, and Geoje. Designed for high availability and scalability, the SA3200D allows IT administrators to easily deploy, expand, and manage important services while maintaining service continuity.

In place of tape backup, the company now uses Hyper Backup to create daily backups of data from the SA3200D to a separate RS819 unit. Automating this process has eliminated the need for human intervention, freeing up IT resources, and saving the company time and money.

In addition to Hyper Backup, SK Shipping has implemented Synology Snapshot Replication, to provide point-in-time backups of shared folders dating back three years. Data recovery can now be performed by the employees in only a few clicks, and without IT support, making it easier and 10x faster than it used to be.