Azure Site Recovery Deployment for K-12 Disaster Recovery Modernization

Replacing VMware RecoverPoint with Azure Stack HCI, Hyper-V, and Azure Site Recovery

The Challenge: Modernizing Disaster Recovery While Reducing VMware Costs

This Maryland K-12 school district needed to modernize its aging disaster recovery and virtualization infrastructure while reducing the growing operational costs associated with VMware licensing and legacy hardware platforms. The district’s existing VMware VxRail and RecoverPoint environment had become increasingly difficult to maintain due to rising subscription costs, infrastructure limitations, and long-term scalability concerns.

The district also faced the challenge of migrating approximately 40 virtual machines— 22 of which were active production workloads— from VMware to a new Microsoft-based virtualization platform without disrupting instructional services or critical school operations. Existing workloads supported a variety of applications and services that required careful planning, validation, and migration testing to minimize downtime and maintain business continuity.

In addition to replacing the virtualization platform, the district needed a modernized disaster recovery solution capable of improving resiliency, simplifying management, and reducing reliance on costly third-party replication technologies. Existing investments also needed to be preserved wherever possible, including the district’s current Alcatel switching infrastructure.

To address these objectives, the district partnered with Data Networks to deploy a comprehensive Azure Site Recovery solution integrated with Azure Stack HCI, Hyper-V, and Microsoft Azure management technologies.

The Solution: Azure Site Recovery Integrated with Azure Stack HCI

Data Networks designed and implemented a modern infrastructure platform centered around Azure Site Recovery, replacing the district’s legacy RecoverPoint disaster recovery environment with a scalable, Microsoft-based hybrid cloud architecture.

The solution leveraged Dell Apex Cloud Platform infrastructure consisting of Dell PowerEdge R760 and AX-760 servers running Azure Local/Azure Stack HCI 23H2. Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) was deployed to provide high-performance, software-defined shared storage across both production and disaster recovery sites while maintaining a cost-effective switchless SAN architecture.

The production environment included three Dell AX-760 nodes, while two additional AX-760 nodes were deployed at the district’s disaster recovery location. Data Networks configured Azure Stack HCI clusters at both sites and integrated them with Windows Admin Center, Azure Arc, and the Azure Arc Resource Bridge to enable centralized hybrid infrastructure management and monitoring.

At the core of the engagement was the deployment and configuration of Azure Site Recovery for site-to-site virtual machine replication and disaster recovery orchestration. Data Networks configured Azure Site Recovery policies, replication workflows, failover testing, and failback validation processes to ensure seamless recovery capabilities between the district’s primary and secondary environments.

To reduce infrastructure costs and preserve existing investments, the engineering team integrated the new environment with the district’s existing Alcatel network infrastructure using 10Gbps SFP+ connectivity for LAN and SAN traffic. Dell OpenManage integration with both Azure Arc and Windows Admin Center further improved infrastructure visibility, hardware monitoring, and operational efficiency.

The project also included upgrading and integrating the district’s existing IDPA 4400 backup appliance to support the new Azure Stack HCI and Hyper-V infrastructure. Backup jobs, retention policies, replication workflows, and recovery validation procedures were updated and tested to ensure comprehensive data protection across the environment.

Data Networks then performed VMware-to-Hyper-V migration services for 22 production virtual machines, carefully validating workload compatibility, storage performance, application functionality, and network connectivity throughout the migration process. Contingency and rollback procedures were established for critical systems to minimize operational risk during production cutovers.

Following deployment, Data Networks conducted extensive testing and optimization, including LiveOptics performance analysis, Storage Spaces Direct resiliency validation, and disaster recovery failover testing to confirm the environment met the district’s performance and continuity objectives.

The Outcome: Resilient Hybrid Infrastructure with Simplified DR Management

Through this Azure Site Recovery deployment, the district successfully modernized its disaster recovery and virtualization strategy while eliminating expensive VMware licensing dependencies and improving operational efficiency.

The new environment delivers centralized management through Azure Arc and Windows Admin Center, enhanced disaster recovery automation, improved resiliency, and scalable infrastructure capable of supporting future growth and evolving educational technology initiatives. By leveraging Azure Stack HCI and Storage Spaces Direct, the district also benefits from improved performance, simplified administration, and reduced infrastructure complexity.

Data Networks additionally provided operational documentation, knowledge transfer sessions, and post-deployment guidance to ensure the district’s IT staff could confidently manage Azure Site Recovery workflows, Hyper-V operations, and hybrid cloud infrastructure moving forward.

Tags: K12, data center, datacenter