Integrate and Modernize Global Factory Distributed Cloud with Arcfra
Overview
Foxconn, the world's largest electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider, operates an expansive global network of factories, each with critical IT systems supporting complex manufacturing lines and various workloads. Faced with the need to modernize its IT infrastructure and ensure robust security for its diverse production environments, Foxconn sought an innovative solution to replace its traditional virtualization setup and consolidate its private cloud architecture.
Challenges
Before partnering with Arcfra, Foxconn faced several challenges with its existing IT infrastructure:
Complex Legacy Infrastructure
Foxconn's global branch companies relied on traditional VMware virtualization for their IT systems. This legacy setup was becoming increasingly difficult to manage and scale across a distributed global footprint.
High Costs and O&M Complexity
Traditional VMware virtualization led to high construction costs and a significant increase in operations and maintenance (O&M) overhead.
Strict Security and Isolation Requirements
To ensure the uninterrupted and secure operation of its manufacturing lines, each branch's production systems (including MES, SAP, and production line management platforms) required strict quarantine from the general intranet. This necessitated dedicated, independent infrastructure deployments at each edge site, further complicating management.
Limited Agility for Innovation
The existing infrastructure was not ideally suited for supporting modern workloads, such as container applications for development and testing, limiting Foxconn's ability to drive agile innovation.
Lack of Centralized Management
Managing disparate IT infrastructures across numerous global branch factories, each with its own specific configurations, presented a challenge in achieving unified oversight and control.
Absence of Cross-Data Center High Availability
Critical production systems lacked robust, cross-data center high availability protection, leaving them vulnerable to significant downtime in the event of a localized outage.
Solution
Foxconn conducted a rigorous Proof of Concept (POC) test of Arcfra Enterprise Cloud Platform (AECP). The test demonstrated AECP's superior performance and efficiency with a 3-node cluster.
Based on these compelling results, Foxconn chose AECP to consolidate the IT infrastructure across its branch factories in Mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and North America. The deployment involved:
Factory Distributed Cloud
AECP clusters were deployed to host both DMZ environments and critical intranet production systems, including MES, ERP, and production line management systems. AECP also supports Foxconn's DevTest environments and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) workloads.
One Stack for VMs and Containers
Within the DevTest environment and the SFC (Shop Floor Control) system, Arcfra Kubernetes Engine (AKE) was implemented to support container workloads, enabling unified management of VMs and containers and improving service quality and efficiency.
Microsegmentation
Arcfra Network Service (ANS) was deployed at multiple branch factories to provide microsegmentation-based network security, particularly for the DMZ environment, enhancing multi-layered protection.
Active-Active Stretched Clusters
Foxconn also plans to build Active-Active stretched clusters across multiple branch factories. This provides robust high availability protection for critical systems, including the MES system, its associated Oracle RAC databases, the SFC (Shop Floor Control) system, and the Production Line Management System, ensuring "zero RPO and RTO in minutes."
Centralized Management
All AECP clusters across multiple regions are centrally managed via Arcfra Operation Center (AOC), significantly streamlining O&M.
Key Benefits
By implementing AECP for multiple edge sites, Foxconn achieved significant improvements across its global operations:
Reduced Infrastructure Costs
The ability to achieve superior performance with fewer nodes drastically reduced hardware procurement and deployment costs.
Streamlined Operations and Maintenance (O&M)
Unified management of production lines across branch factories via AOC significantly improved O&M efficiency and simplified complex IT operations.
Enhanced Security and Data Protection
Active-Active clusters combined with ANS microsegmentation provided robust, multi-layered protection for critical business applications and sensitive data, ensuring strict quarantine for production environments.
Superior High Availability and Business Continuity
The implementation of Active-Active stretched clusters across multiple branch factories ensured "zero RPO and RTO in minutes" for critical systems like MES and Oracle RAC databases, drastically improving resilience and business continuity.
Modernized IT Infrastructure
The legacy VMware virtualization + SAN storage architecture was successfully replaced, providing a modern, scalable foundation ready to accommodate future business growth and technology adoption.
Accelerated Innovation with Agile Development
AKE's support for container applications and unified VM/container management simplified Kubernetes operations, fostering a more agile development and testing environment.
Future Plans
Foxconn continues to leverage Arcfra's AECP platform to optimize its global manufacturing IT infrastructure. The successful deployment lays the groundwork for further digital transformation initiatives, including potential expansion of AI/ML workloads, deeper integration of edge computing capabilities for real-time production insights, and continued refinement of its unified cloud management strategy across its vast global enterprise. The scalable and flexible nature of AECP positions Foxconn to rapidly adapt to evolving business demands and technological advancements in the electronics manufacturing industry.