Grimshaw choose Datanet to host HP Zmini, update 9th May’22

International architecture practice, Grimshaw, choose Datanet at ARK for the home of their new cloud workstation project, providing desktop compute for their architects using HP Zmini, delivered from our new data centre- Update 9th May

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Grimshaw and the HP Zmini – The story continues…Part 3

The HP Zminis have arrived safely and are installed across 5 racks, another great days work for the Grimshaw IT team…. A period of testing will now commence in preparation for the cut over to going live for some 200 architects

HP Zmini

Danny Gillmore, proud Diretor of IT with his HP Zminis finally in the rack

HP Zmini

HP Zminis arive in 4 flight cases overseen by Danny, Seamus and Zawaad of Grimshaw

HP Zminis have arrived safely at ARK and will now be installed in the racks
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Grimshaw and the HP Zmini – the story continues… Part 2

So over the last couple of weeks the Grimshaw team have been imaging the Zminis in preparation for shipping to our new data centre at ARK. The bespoke shelves and brackets have arrived from HP and it is now time for the Zminis to go to their new home at ARK as the final preparations are readied for them to go live….

HP Zmini

HP Zmini are on the move from Datanet AHF to ARK

HP Zmini

HP Zmini are on the move from Datanet AHF to ARK

HP Zminis at Datnet loaded in to flight cases for the short journey from the old AHF DC to the new ARK DC
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Grimshaw and the HP Zmini story… Part 1

HP Zmini

HP Zmini workstation hosted by Datanet for Grimshaw

Before the pandemic, yet spurred on by the pandemic, Danny Gillmore, Director of Information Technology, at Grimshaw embarked on a project to provide several hundred Grimshaw architects with powerful workstations hosted in the cloud. These workstations would take the form of the new HP Zmini workstation hosted by Datanet in our new ARK data centre. Come forward some three years and Danny’s vision has become a reality.

Danny says: “we chose Datanet because we have worked with them before and we have always found them very helpful and accommodating. Their ethos aligns with Grimshaw and we love their new data centre, the big racks and abundant choice of bandwidth providers lends itself to the HP Zmini deployment”….

Danny Gillmore, Director of Information Technology, Grimshaw Architects
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What will the new HP Zmini in the cloud solution look like?

Grimshaw Rack Layout

Grimshaw Rack Layout, courtesy Seamus Conway, IT Manager


Grimshaw is taking 5 racks and deploying some 200 HP Zmini across the racks together with switches and firewalls. Seamus Conway, IT Manager, provided Datanet with the network layout diagram you see on the right. Seamus has opted for a structured cabling solution with Aruba switches and a pair of HA Firewalls, all based on dual resilient 10Gb connectivity out to the Internet.

Seamus Conway, IT Manager, Grimshaw Architects
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HP Zmini preparation

Zawaad imaging the minis

Zawaad Hawa preparing the HP Zmini


Zawaad spent a week at Datanet preparing and imaging the HP Zmini in advance of the deployment to the Datanet racks at ARK. Datanet has been very accommodating and helped me get these 200 Zminis prepared and ready for deployment. I am sure Datanet will be very helpful to me in looking after the Minis for the long term.

Zawaad Hawa, IT Administrator, Grimshaw Architects
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