Arriva Bus
A modernised and fully managed SQL Server estate.
The Client
Arriva UK Bus is one of the country’s largest public transport operators. Based in Sunderland, it runs around 6,000 buses across England and Wales and employs 16,000 people.
As a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn since 2010, Arriva has been delivering essential transport services since the 1980s and continues to play a vital role in connecting communities.
The Challenge
By 2015, Arriva Bus had built up a large and complex SQL Server estate. New applications were often deployed on standalone servers, which led to performance issues and made database management increasingly difficult. Licensing and maintenance costs were rising, and vendor compliance was becoming harder to manage.
Arriva needed help with two key areas. First, a critical EPOS application was suffering from serious performance degradation. Second, the wider SQL Server estate needed a full review to identify opportunities for modernisation and consolidation.
The Solution
We carried out a detailed assessment of the EPOS database, analysing application queries, indexing strategy and infrastructure performance. This gave us a clear picture of the issues and allowed us to recommend and implement targeted remediation actions.
We also reviewed the entire SQL Server estate through onsite sessions with Arriva. From this, we proposed four architecture options, each with documented pros and cons. These took into account complexity, supportability and cost, helping Arriva make an informed decision about the future design of their environment.
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The Results
We optimised Arriva’s SQL Server databases and built a multi-site, three-node cluster using SQL Server Always On Availability Groups. This significantly reduced infrastructure sprawl and cut software licensing costs.
Today, we continue to provide a 24/7 Managed Service, including proactive monitoring and performance management. We’re also supporting ongoing modernisation through migration and management of instances across Azure and internal data centre platforms.
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The Node4 Difference
Arriva considered a number of DBA services partners for assisting with their challenges and Node4 were able to quickly demonstrate an effective business and cultural fit.