Case Study: Xi’an Jiaotong—Liverpool University achieves 10x storage performance and 80% management efficiency with NetApp All‑Flash (AFF8040)

All-Flash Storage Accelerates IT Modernization at XJTLU

Xi’an Jiaotong—Liverpool University (XJTLU), a China–UK joint university, needed a modern, unified data system to support rapid growth in online users and campus services. Legacy infrastructure suffered degraded performance at peak times, lacked comprehensive data protection and visibility, and couldn’t meet requirements for integrated, user-centric information services across administrative, teaching, and research systems.

NetApp deployed an all‑flash AFF8040 solution with SnapMirror replication and OnCommand Insight (plus SnapVault, FlexClone, Snapshot) to provide SAN/NAS support, real‑time management visibility, and rapid cloning for development. The rollout delivered a 10x+ boost in storage performance (single AFF8040 ~250K IOPS, <0.5ms latency), an 80% increase in management efficiency, reduced asynchronous data‑loss windows to <10 minutes and downtime to <60 minutes, and improved data availability—resolving peak‑hour outages and strengthening campus data protection.

Xi’an Jiaotong—Liverpool University

Xudong Feng

Director, Management Information Technology and System Office