Inphi

In terms of approach, Inphi deployed a centralized data center that maximizes its ability to supply the speed and reliability its employees need—an approach that is both simple and flexible. “OpenText Exceed TurboX is a key enabler of a centralized data center approach,” said Scott Clark, vice president of information technology and security for Inphi. “We use thin-client technology to make sure that we have good controls and visibility into where our data goes.”

Speed and reliability

Engineers need a fast and reliable infrastructure to run simulations, fully vetting a semiconductor design before it goes into production. If this access is unreliable or slow, risk increases in terms of product performance and time-to-market—an expensive prospect, as cutting a new mask for a 7nm device could run into significant cost.

It is also critical to avoid missing a schedule, which could result in the loss of a customer. Thus, for engineers with fast, reliable access, utilizing Exceed TurboX is critical to Inphi’s overall mission. Clark explained: “We make sure our engineers can get their jobs done. The task can be completed quickly and with high predictability.”

With Exceed TurboX, Inphi reported improved responsiveness from its global workforce and it demonstrated the greatest performance boost among alternative solutions. Inphi engineers across the globe now collaborate in a responsive, high-performance graphical environment. They can even disconnect from their sessions, as an external session proxy allows users to run simulations without losing work.

Further, Clark noted that efficient centralized management returns economic results. With a less costly infrastructure, Inphi puts the savings into resources for engineers. “If you look at it from the value to the company, we get to throw all of those resources at each chip design,” he explained. “We make sure that everybody gets as many resources as they need to meet their schedule.”

Simplicity

Consolidation into a single data center also simplifies management for Inphi’s lean IT staff. “The more data centers you have, the more data replication you have to do and the more complex your environment gets,” Clark said. Instead, Exceed TurboX joins other technologies and processes chosen for their reliability and simplicity. “By leveraging Exceed TurboX, we dedicate less staff to information technology management and mandate that our environment be simple instead of complex,” Clark noted.

Flexibility

Finally, a single, on-site data center allows Inphi to scale infrastructure. Instead of taking a year to retrofit new locations after an acquisition, Inphi’s IT team completed system integration in a few months. Through careful management, no hiccups accompanied the transition to combined engineering. “On Friday, everybody was doing design in their data centers, and on Monday they were doing design in our centralized data center,” Clark recalled.

For the future, Inphi plans to continue evolving its latency story with Exceed TurboX, building near realtime responsiveness to the end user. Together, Inphi and OpenText are extending the reach of today’s tools for tomorrow’s innovation.