Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Wake Technical Community College Adds Server, Storage and Virtualization Appliance

Wake Technical Community College in North Carolina has implemented an integrated server, storage and virtualization appliance in an effort to improve application performance.

The community college serves more than 70,000 students across five campuses, two training centers and multiple community sites. The college operates more than 130 Lenovo servers to run its Blackboard learning management system and databases for student records, accounting and other applications. "But as the school continued to grow and students began placing higher demands for computing resources and storage, we needed something more powerful," said Ryan Schwiebert, vice president for information technology services and CIO at Wake Technical Community College, in a news release.

The school selected an all-flash HyperScale CX-12 appliance from Atlantis Computing to work with its Lenovo servers and installed the system with the help of Nirvana IT. According to information from Atlantis, the HyperScale CX-12 appliance works on a Lenovo server platform with two Intel E5-2680 v3 12-core processors, and it provides up to 12 terabytes of storage. The system also supports up to 800 virtual desktops with either the VMware vSphere 5.5 or Citrix XenServer 6.5 hypervisor.

Since implementing the new system, the school has reported improved performance of its applications and better service for faculty and students. "Their cost-effective flash storage solution helps us offer more services with better performance than we would otherwise be able to implement," said Schwiebert. "Our partnership with Atlantis enables us to improve the services we currently provide for our students, faculty and staff."

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • woman speaking into microphone

    Best Practices for Designing Higher-Ed AV Environments

    Cloud-based management, interoperability, and upfront planning are helping campuses build AV infrastructure that performs at scale.

  • data figures moving across a network

    Addressing the Cyber Skills Gap: Retention & Recruitment Secrets from Higher Education

    Institutions are working to ensure the retention and recruitment of top cyber talent by continually investing in professional development, fostering collaborative work environments, and equipping teams with the latest tools available to protect and defend against threats.

  • Abstract digital cloudscape of glowing interconnected clouds and radiant lines

    Cloud Complexity Outpacing Human Defenses, Report Warns

    According to the 2026 Cloud Security Report from Fortinet, while cloud security budgets are rising, 66% of organizations lack confidence in real-time threat detection across increasingly complex multi-cloud environments, with identity risks, tool sprawl, and fragmented visibility creating persistent operational gaps despite significant investment increases.

  • workshop participants discuss sustainability in open science and research

    Open Source: Advancing Our Digital Commons

    IT leaders are recognizing the benefits of a return to open strategies. CT asked Jack Suess, VP of IT and CIO at UMBC, for his views on returning to the digital commons of open source.