Warren County, Virginia, is a dedicated local government entity situated in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, just outside Washington, D.C. The county's IT operations are led by Director Todd C Jones, who established the department from scratch four years ago.
For Todd, the reliability of these virtual compute and storage systems goes far beyond technical requirements; it’s rooted in his connection to the county he serves. His family has deep ties to the community; his wife has spent more than four decades working at the local hospital, caring for generations of families who call the region home. His responsibility isn’t just about maintaining infrastructure; it’s about protecting the people he knows, the places he cares about, and the community that has trusted his family for years. The same commitment drives every technology decision he makes: ensuring the county has the support, resilience, and resources it needs to thrive.
Images feature Todd C. Jones and Warren County Sheriff Crystal Cline.
Crystal is a lifelong friend and professional collaborator, with over 15 years of working together.
The Headache They Faced Before 45Drives
Before finding 45Drives, Warren County was stuck in a very frustrating situation with its virtualization environment.
The county was utilizing a proprietary virtualization product, but recent industry changes and a critical licensing issue created immense frustration. For nearly a year, Warren County was stuck in a drawn-out dispute between two major IT vendors over a paid license for their critical criminal justice systems.
"Our Broadcom representative would say all day long, 'It's the legacy vendor's fault,' and the legacy vendor team would say, 'It's Broadcom's fault.' Here we are, a small agency..."
The problem took months to resolve, creating unacceptable risk for a critical public safety system and wasting significant time for Todd’s small staff. The final straw was the projected tenfold increase in future licensing costs. Todd decided that, regardless of cost, he needed to transition away from vendors who prioritized finger-pointing over service.
Beyond the cost and support issues, the county had an absolute requirement for 24/7 reliability for its core public safety systems, CAD (Computer-Aided Dispatch) and RMS (Records Management Systems). Any failure here jeopardizes first responders and citizens in his own community. As Todd noted, "We need those systems up 24/7, period."
The stakes were too high to remain dependent on vendors who treated their operational issues as a trivial back-and-forth. Todd realized that to truly safeguard the community and gain control over their budget, Warren County needed to discard the proprietary risk and find a partner that provided a foundation of guaranteed uptime, flexibility, and absolute confidence. This is what led him directly to the 45Drives solution.
The Trifecta: Control, Savings, and Confidence
For Warren County IT Director Todd, the decision to move to 45Drives was validated by three non-negotiable benefits, which he termed the "trifecta." This combination addressed every major concern a government agency faces when shifting to open-source: cost, integration, and security assurance.
Todd realized that simply adopting open-source software like Proxmox VE (Virtual Environment) and Ceph would introduce massive savings but also significant project risk and uncertainty to implement on their own. To move forward with a clear conscience, he needed a solution that would eliminate the "project" aspect of open-source deployment while maintaining total control. The 45Drives partnership delivered the precise mix of tightly integrated hardware and the single point of accountability he required.
Integrated Design (Purpose-Built Hardware)
45Drives removed the project uncertainty of open-source deployment by providing a complete solution. This included tightly integrated hardware designed and tested for use with open-source software like Proxmox VE and Ceph. This eliminated the common problem of forcing software onto generic servers, which often leads to performance issues and "configuration guesswork." The integrated approach ensured the systems were seamless and reliable right out of the box.
Financial Freedom (Cost & Control)
By cutting ties with proprietary software, Warren County secured total control over its budget and data, eliminating the risk of sudden, expensive license hikes and vendor lock-in. The move to the open-source Proxmox VE and Ceph cluster, in addition to these freedoms, immediately provided massive savings. This was not just a bonus; it was a core requirement for their financial mandate.
The Expert Layer (Guaranteed Support)
This was the most critical deal-sealer. Todd was unwilling to risk public safety systems on unsupported technology. 45Drives serves as the single point of accountability, acting as the open-source experts who provide essential 24/7 support and "hardening" (security and optimization) for the Proxmox virtual environment. This meant Warren County got all the benefits of open-source savings and control, but with the enterprise-grade confidence of dedicated support.
As Todd put it: "I wasn't willing to jump into an open-source product if I didn't have someone backing it up... It's kind of like the trifecta." It gave them enterprise-grade confidence using open source technology.
Results & Benefits: Uncapped Capacity and Simplified Management
The implementation of the 45Drives hyperconverged Proxmox VE Ceph cluster delivered immediate operational stability and a future-proof plan for growth.
Reliable, Scalable Capacity
The new system provides the high availability and performance essential for law enforcement. Crucially, it solved the county’s capacity issues, eliminating the "Server Zoo" of mismatched hardware. Todd can now confidently handle requests for new, high-intensity systems like GIS servers.
"Every time somebody comes in here and says, 'we’ve got this equipment or this server or this system we need to put in place,' it’s one of the few times I, as an IT director, can go, ‘Oh, no problem. We’ve got capacity for that.’"
The ability to easily expand the cluster by adding drives or another server means the county has operational flexibility and won't need to purchase a physical server box for a very long time, stretching taxpayer dollars further.
Exceptional Human Support
The support and deployment services from 45Drives have been a highlight. Even with internal staffing challenges, 45Drives remained a steadfast partner, ready to assist whenever needed.
"Everybody at 45Drives has been exceptional ... 45Drives has continued to stand alongside us, and they are ready to go whenever we need something. And that's been a real blessing for us."
"We’ve found this to be a reliable, scalable system that a small IT team can truly manage. We don’t have a room full of high-priced specialists. The simplicity of the ProxUI and the ability to maintain both production and development environments have completely changed how we operate. If we can do it, anyone can."
Todd’s final message to other local governments considering a change is direct:
"If you want to optimize costs, get an exceptional product with exceptional support and have overhead to build on for years to come, look at 45Drives."
Ready to Achieve Reliability and Cost Control?
If your government agency or organization is looking to move away from expensive proprietary systems and secure high-availability storage with guaranteed support, the solution is here.
Learn how 45Drives empowers IT teams to achieve the ultimate combination of open-source flexibility and enterprise reliability.
[Learn More About 45Drives Solutions for Government at https://www.45drives.com/.]