Return Path chooses MapR Technologies

Return Path has always used open source software to run key parts of its business. “Hadoop had clearly become a core part of our infrastructure. As our growth accelerated, the limitations of the technology were becoming painfully apparent. We needed to continue to do more with the platform and were looking for help," explained Andy Sautins, CTO of Return Path. “Once we deployed MapR, we saw a 3x performance increase in real-world workloads with MapR.”

Being an early adopter of Hadoop, Return Path expects its Hadoop platform to be as stable as its Oracle platform. "We needed a technical partner that would help us get the most out of our investment in Hadoop and help us take our experience to the next level. MapR has been that partner for us," said Sautins. “We are experiencing the same enterprise stability with MapR as we get with Oracle now.”

MapR also had compelling enterprise features that proved to reduce administration overhead. For example, Return Path found that higher density nodes required much less administration on MapR, allowing them to manage nodes of 20 terabytes versus 6 terabytes with their previous solution. “Having higher density nodes allows us to have less hardware to manage and enables us to more efficiently run our business,” explained Sautins.
Return Path found that MapR’s enterprise features complemented how their business works. Features like Direct Access NFSTM, mirroring for disaster recovery, and volume management easily integrated into their infrastructure without requiring changes. The MapR data platform also offered more flexibility and lower costs.

“With MapR, we can handle more drives per node, which translates to better data density in our cluster,” said Shawn Nussbaum, Return Path engineering director. “Prior to using MapR, we ran into limitations with the NameNode due to a large number of files. The MapR file system doesn't have the same limitations and handles our situation a lot better. NFS gives us the flexibility to use tools other than MapReduce to process data, and simplifies moving data on and off the cluster.”

Return Path recognizes the importance of working with a vendor like MapR who has the technical expertise and responsive support they require. “MapR has a great technical organization. It is clear they had a deep understanding of what they were building,” said Sautins.

“Return Path uses Hadoop to achieve compelling business advantages,” said Jack Norris, chief marketing officer, MapR Technologies. “Their production Hadoop deployment has expanded their business, reduced administrative costs, and significantly increased performance. We are proud to partner with Return Path and assist in their growth.”