InfoStor articles from April 2002

InfoStor archives from April 2002

Convergence tops the list of NAS trends.(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... This year, vendors are expected to make significant strides in merging network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area network (SAN) environments, according to a recent report on network storage by the Yankee Group, a market research firm in...

HP formalizes virtualization strategy.(Federated Storage Area Management strategy)
April 1, 2002... Just six months after acquiring StorageApps, a provider of storage virtualization software, for $350 million, Hewlett-Packard earlier this month formally announced its virtualization strategy and a new midrange virtualization appliance: the...

Low-cost switches enable entry-level SANs: more ports, better management at the high end.
April 1, 2002... Fibre Channel switch vendors now offer a variety of lower-priced, lower-port-count devices for small to mid-sized companies. For example, end users can now buy 8-port, 2Gbps Fibre Channel switches for as little as $5,000, or $625 per port. ...

Good news for end users: low-cost SANs (finally). (Editorial).
April 1, 2002... It should come as no shock that, according to virtually every survey of end users, "high cost" is the number one reason why users have not implemented a storage area network (SAN). Fortunately, however, the Fibre Channel vendor community has...

FalconStor Software and Novell have established a strategic partnership. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... FalconStor Software and Novell have established a strategic partnership to deliver advanced network storage infrastructure to Novell NetWare platforms over IP/iSCSI and Fibre Channel SANs. FalconStor's IPStor suite of SAN-based storage...

OTG Software and TrueArc are partnering to provide new. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... OTG Software and TrueArc are partnering to provide new, comprehensive solutions for Electronic Records Management (ERM). TrueArc will offer OTG's DiskXtender as the data management back-end for its ForeMost Enterprise software line. OTG will...

MTI Technology will resell DataCore Software's SANsymphony storage networking platform on a worldwide basis. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... MTI Technology will resell DataCore Software's SANsymphony storage networking platform on a worldwide basis. The company will deliver SANsymphony software through its direct sales and reseller network as a complement to its Vivant systems and...

InfiniCon Systems has selected Agilent Technologies. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... InfiniCon Systems has selected Agilent. Technologies 2Gbps Tachyon DX2 Fibre Channel controller to integrate into its InfiniCon Shared I/O System (ISIS). The ISIS architecture provides a common pool of shared I/O resources that allows...

GlassHouse Technologies, a vendor-independent storage strategy and services firm. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... GlassHouse Technologies, a vendor-independent storage strategy and services firm, has joined the Brocade Professional Services Provider (PSP) Program, which is designed for qualified consulting firms and systems integrators committed to...

Inrange Technologies' IN-VSN FC/9000 Fibre Channel Director. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Inrange Technologies' IN-VSN FC/9000 Fibre Channel Director has completed Hitachi Data Systems' qualification testing and is fully supported through HDS for FICON connectivity with Hitachi Freedom Storage Lightning 9900 Series systems.

Knox Software Corp. (Business Briefs).(changed its name to Arkeia Corp)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Knox Software Corp., a Southern California-based supplier of network backup software since 1996, has formally changed its name to Arkeia Corp.

Seagate Technology. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Seagate Technology has opened its Design Service Centers (DSC), a group of facilities created to offer a full range of research and development, design, and testing services to all Seagate customers. With locations in Colorado, Minnesota, and...

Agile Storage. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Agile Storage recently closed a $26 million round of Series B funding, bringing total equity investment to $40 million. The company is developing a networked storage platform that uses file server technology to automate and simplify management...

McData and QLogic. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... McData and QLogic announced a joint program for interoperability between the companies' switch products. Building on the FC-SW-2 switch compatibility already achieved by the two companies, the program sets a baseline for further enhanced...

Initio. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Initio has completed a new round of private funding that will be used to accelerate Initio SCSI and IEEE 1394 ("FireWire") product development, including the Ultra320 SCSI 320MBps interface.

Genuity. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Genuity has announced the availability of Black Rocket Storage, a suite of storage solutions that enables companies to continuously access critical data during planned and unplanned outages. The offerings combine storage devices and management,...

Tandberg Data ASA is merging its wholly owned subsidiary Tandberg Data with LAND-5. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Tandberg Data ASA is merging its wholly owned subsidiary Tandberg Data with LAND-5 to position the company within the network storage market. As a result of the merger, LAND-5 will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Tandberg Data, Inc., and...

Vicom Systems has become a member of the JNI SANpartners Program. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Vicom Systems has become a member of the JNI SANpartners Program. As such, Vicom and JNI will provide jointly qualified and mutually supported solutions based on interoperability testing conducted by JNI.

ANB, Rave Computer, Stonebridge Networks, and TapeLabs. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... ANB, Rave Computer, Stonebridge Networks, and TapeLabs will now be supplying their customers with Nexsan's InfiniSAN network storage and disk-to-disk (D2D) backup solutions.

Seagate. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Seagate recently demonstrated a full-speed native Serial ATA hard-drive technology, which does not need to translate incoming Serial ATA signals into Parallel ATA protocols.

Solution-Soft and FalconStor Software. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Solution-Soft and FalconStor Software announce the licensing and integration of Solution-Soft's SafeCapacity technology with FalconStor's IPStor. SafeCapacity provides storage availability, reliability, and capacity protection functionality....

TrueSAN Networks is working with Hitachi Data Systems. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... TrueSAN Networks is working with Hitachi Data Systems to integrate its Cloudbreak Storage Operating System with Hitachi Freedom Storage systems.

The Susquehanna International Group of Companies (SIG). (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The Susquehanna International Group of Companies (SIG), a trading and technology organization involved in financial markets worldwide, has chosen CommVault Systems' Galaxy software to manage its data backup and restoration needs in North...

Eagle Rock Alliance. (Business Briefs).(Optimal Storage Management services)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Eagle Rock Alliance, which is involved in business reliability and contingency planning, has expanded its information technology consulting services. The enhanced service offerings, called Optimal Storage Management services, are the...

MTI Technology. (Business Briefs).(will offer Brocade's SilkWorm 12000 2Gbps Core Fabric Switch)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... MTI Technology will offer its customers Brocade's SilkWorm 12000 2Gbps Core Fabric Switch as a building block for enterprise SANs. MTI plans to make the product available with its entire Vivant family of SAN and NAS storage solutions beginning...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2002... In the article "Early adopters make the case for SAN virtualization" (see InfoStor, Feb. 2002, p. 1), statements made by PROS Revenue Management should have been attributed to Rick Morris, IT manager. In the January 2002 article "ATA puts...

Quantum gives backup a boost. (News Analysis & Trends).(DX30 disk-based backup system)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Quantum last month added its name to the growing list of vendors that offer disk-based systems specifically for backup. Quantum, which dominates the midrange tape drive market, says it will ship its first disk-based system--the DX30-- in the...

EMC's Clariion borrows from Symmetrix. (News Analysis & Trends).(software enhancements to Clariion FC4700)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... This month, EMC added software enhancements to its Clariion FC4700, pushing the midrange storage array's functionality closer to that of EMC's flagship Symmetrix array. The software upgrades consolidate management and enable better...

Legato shores up portfolio with OTG acquisition. (News Analysis & Trends).(Legato Systems' planned acquisition of OTG Software)
April 1, 2002... Legato Systems says its planned acquisition of OTG Software, a developer of data storage, data access, and e-mail management software, will result in tangible benefits for end users as early as this quarter. The combined company will reportedly...

iQstor integrates arrays, software. (News Analysis & Trends).(iQstor Networks' R1900, J1800 and IQSAN)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... At Storage Networking World earlier this month, Integrix spin-off iQstor Networks debuted a family of integrated storage systems that scale from 8TB to 35TB. Initial hardware offerings include two disk systems (R1900 and J1800) and a...

Windows grabs NAS market share. (News Analysis & Trends).(International Data Corp report)
April 1, 2002... In the first year that OEMs shipped network-attached storage (NAS) devices based on the Microsoft Windows platform, they grabbed a 25% market share based on units shipped (through the third quarter of 2001), according to International Data...

Managing the backup of several SAN islands. (Reader-Expert I/O).
April 1, 2002... We have a number of small, independent, departmental storage area networks (SANs), which we back up to a centralized LAN backup system. We want to leverage the SAN for backup but cannot afford to--nor do we really want to--consolidate our...

Fibre Channel market builds momentum: facing impending competition, Fibre Channel supporters cite improved interoperability, faster performance, and lower prices. (Special Report).
April 1, 2002... Fibre Channel stands as the entrenched incumbent among storage area network (SAN) protocols. However, the Fibre Channel community faces eventual competition from alternatives such as iSCSI-based IP SANs, whose supporters are quick to point out...

FC SAN performance and analysis: using an analyzer for SAN troubleshooting can uncover hidden problems and unlock full performance potential.
April 1, 2002... The surge in networked storage traffic is making it increasingly difficult to maintain a well-tuned, high-performance storage area network (SAN). Fortunately, new tools are becoming available to monitor and manage storage networks. These tools...

Transport protocol considerations for IP SANs: this article, the first in a two-part series, looks at the requirements for transporting Fibre Channel SAN traffic over managed IP networks. (Part I).
April 1, 2002... The growth of Fibre Channel storage area networks (SANs) is creating a demand for technologies and products to interconnect SAN islands within metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs), and global networks. Interconnected...

Distributed 'edge storage' overcomes bandwidth limitations; distributed storage located at the "edges" of the Internet can help service providers overcome two of the key drawbacks to the Internet: Bandwidth and latency.
April 1, 2002... Service providers today share a service common dilemma: Their core service offerings have reached commodity status while operations and customer acquisition costs continue to rise. This situation has made profitability an elusive goal and has...

From storage virtualization to NAS-SAN convergence: emerging technologies, coupled with virtualization, will blur the distinction between NAS and SAN, leading to a convergence in storage networking.
April 1, 2002... With end users increasingly demanding the simplification of storage architectures, universal access to data, and a reduction in management complexity, many vendors have jumped on the storage virtualization bandwagon However, each vendor has its...

Storage 2002: increased opportunities for resellers; some of the hot technologies include iSCSI and IP SANs, storage virtualization, new backup options, and disaster recovery.
April 1, 2002... The storage industry has changed dramatically over the last few years. Users are faced with tremendous increases in capacity requirements, as well as a growing array of options such as storage area networks (SANs), IP networked storage...

Storage virtualization: Overview and definitions; "Storage virtualization" is too broad a term for practical use. You have to look closer at specific implementations and features. (SNIA on Storage).
April 1, 2002... Storage virtualization is one of the biggest trends and new product categories in storage management. The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) Technical Council (TC) has led an effort within SNIA to clarify terms, determine how...

Testing Linux file systems on RAID: three of the latest Linux journaling file systems show their merits on a fast RAID appliance from Adaptec. (Labs Review).(Evaluation)
April 1, 2002... As Linux servers continue to expand beyond specialized Web and e-mail serving and into the heart of database-driven IT applications, the need for serious data storage options grows in tandem. Spurring this trend is the nearly universal adoption...

Apotex leverages SAN-based disk-to-disk backup: a storage area network coupled with disk-based backup slashes backup-and-restore times while minimizing manual tasks. (Case Study).
April 1, 2002... The ability to restore files instantly and eliminate all points of failure in the backup process propelled the CIO of a large Canadian pharmaceutical firm to abandon tape media for network backup. Michael Davidson, CIO of Apotex, a generic drug...

Virtualization should manage multiple media types: in the future, virtualization will encompass disk drives as well as tape and optical devices. (Opinion).
April 1, 2002... According to the Aberdeen Group consulting firm, in Boston, virtualization separates the representation of storage to the server operating system from actual physical storage. This division of physical storage devices from the logical storage...

Adaptec, Raidtec ship 2Gbps FC arrays. (Disk/Connectivity).(Adaptec's 7220SS and Raidtec's FibreArray 2104)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... As the move toward second-generation, 2Gbps Fibre Channel gains momentum, disk array vendors are following with subsystems that have 2Gbps host connections. Last month, Adaptec began reseller shipments of its first Fibre Channel-based external...

Iomega enters NAS market. (Disk/Connectivity).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... With cutthroat pricing, Iomega this month entered the network-attached storage (NAS) market with a number of entry-level servers. * A300u: 120GB, $1,099, 1U, one 10/100 Ethernet connection, three 40GB drives (7,200rpm), RAID 0,1, or 5; ...

nStor delivers Ultra320 SCSI array. (Disk/Connectivity).(NexStor 40005)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... This month, nStor became one of the first vendors to market with an Ultra320 SCSI-based disk array--the NexStor 40005-- which comes in a 2U enclosure that can be configured with 12 low-profile (one-inch), 73GB disk drives for a maximum capacity...

Tivoli enhances disaster recovery. (Disaster Recovery).(IBM Storage Group's Tivoli Storage Manager 5.1)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... IBM Storage Group's Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) 5.1, introduced this month, includes * Faster data backup-and-restore speeds for clients running Windows 2000 and Linux via non-disruptive "online image backups;" * Faster data backup...

LiveVault launches backup/recovery service. (Disaster Recovery).(Virtual Backup and Recovery Network)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Online backup-and-recovery service provider LiveVault last month launched the Virtual Backup & Recovery Network (VBN), which provides an automated, secure alternative to backing up mission-critical data to on-site tape. The VBN is a dedicated...

Tricord does cluster-to-cluster replication. (Disaster Recovery).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Tricord Systems has integrated a replication feature into the 2.2 version of its Illumina clustering software. Replication enables users to distribute data between two Tricord clusters in a LAN or WAN configuration for business continuance and...

DataDirect 'appliances' target workgroups. (New Products).(DataDirect Networks S2A 3000)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... DataDirect Networks is shipping a midrange version of its "Silicon Storage Appliance," which the company refers to as a storage networking appliance. The appliances are designed to accelerate application performance, decrease management...

I-TECH eases SANmark testing. (New Products).(Advantage series of Fibre Channel analysis equipment)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... I-TECH's Advantage series of Fibre Channel analysis equipment allows vendors and integrators to more easily test their products for compliance with the Fibre Channel Industry Association's (FCIA) SANmark program. The device runs the test,...

MTI packs 8.5TB in 20U array. (New Products).(Vivant S240)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Continuing the trend toward higher-density RAID arrays, MTI's Vivant S240 can hold up to 8.5TB in a 20U enclosure with fully redundant components. The base configuration includes two pairs of RAID controllers, drive bays for as many as 48 disk...

Arena RAID address low end. (New Products).(Arena Maxtronic's IB-1400)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Arena Maxtronic recently released the IB-1400 RAID subsystem, which uses an Intel i80303 RISC CPU. The IB-1400 is a four-bay Ultra2 SCSI-IDE devices that stores more than 640GB, and provides support for RAID levels 0, 1, 0+1, 3 and 5. Features...

Seagate expands Hornet family. (Tape).(Hornet 40 and the TapeStor Travan 40)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Last month, Seagate began shipping two new Hornet tape drives--the internal Hornet 40 and the TapeStor Travan 40, Both products are designed for backup of PCs, workstations, and entry-level servers. Features include a 20GB native capacity,...

Quantum qualifies SDLT 320 tape drives. (Tape).(Quantum)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... At CeBIT last month, Quantum announced that it has qualified units of its second Super DLTtape drive--the SDLT 320--to systems and tape-automation OEMs. General availability is slated for this quarter. The new SDLT drive boasts a 160GB native...

STORserver introduces backup appliance. (Tape).(S10000)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Last month, STORserver began shipping the S10000, the first of a series of hardware/software backup appliances for entry-level markets. The new appliance reportedly has all the functionality of the company's STORserver, but in a smaller form...

Plextor combines CD-RW, DVD-ROM. (Optical).(PlexCombo 20/10/40-12A)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... The PlexCombo 20/10/40-12A is a multifunction optical drive that supports 20X CD-Recording and 10X CD-Rewriting, as well as playback speeds of 40X CD-ROM and 12X DVD-ROM. The half-height drive comes with an Enhanced IDE (ATAPI) interface. ...

Bocada upgrades backup/analysis software. (Software).(BackupReport 1.5)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Last month, Bocada announced the 1.5 release of its BackupReport backup and analysis software. BackupReport is a cross-vendor backup report, analysis, and billing software package designed to troubleshoot data-protection issues, improve system...

Pegasus adds Windows NT/2000 support. (Software).(Pegasus Disk Technologies' InveStore 4.0 data archival and management software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Pegasus Disk Technologies last month began shipping InveStore 4.0, data archival and management software that includes support for Windows NT/2000. me software plugs directly into the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Other functions include...

Legato adds NDMP-NAS for Windows. (Software).(Network Data Management Protocol for NAS in NetWorker 6.2)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... In NetWorker 6.2, Legato extended support for Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) for NAS to include Windows-based backup servers. The software allows Windows NT/2000/XP, Unix, or Linux backup servers to protect NDMP-compliant NAS....

Tek-Tools SRM supports NAS. (Software).(Storage Profiler 1.2 storage resource management software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Tek-Tools' Storage Profiler 1.2 storage resource management (SRM) software now supports Network Appliance's NAS filers. Based on Java, the software provides usage trend reporting, capacity planning, and real-time monitoring. From the same...

Calendar.
April 1, 2002... May 5--10 NetWorld + Interop 2002--Las Vegas, NV This networking conference focuses on interactive business-to-business solutions for the networking, telecommunications, and Internet communities. The show features special zones and...

Computer Associates International and Network Appliance. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Computer Associates International and Network Appliance announced, the integration of CA's BrightStor Enterprise Backup and NetApp's NearStore R100, which will deliver a recovery-and-backup consolidation platform that scales up to 100TB of data...

EVault has established new partnerships with Allegra Systems, Cerdant, Data2Vault Solutions, Infinity Heritage Technologies, and PC On Call. (Business Briefs).
April 1, 2002... EVault has established new partnerships with Allegra Systems, Cerdant, Data2Vault Solutions, Infinity Heritage Technologies, and PC On Call, all of which have agreed to become official resellers for EVault's electronic vaulting solutions. Under...