InfoStor articles from July 2003

InfoStor archives from July 2003

User survey reveals storage networking trends.
July 1, 2003... Although the adoption rate of storage area networks (SANs) has slowed over the last year, a recent survey of 192 storage professionals shows that users are leaning heavily toward SANs relative to network-attached storage (NAS). For example, 37%...

Midrange drives NAS market growth.
July 1, 2003... While 2002 was the first year that a significant revenue decline occurred in the network-attached storage (NAS) market since its inception in the early 1990s, the market is bouncing back, due in large part to growth in the lower midrange...

Focus shifts from backup to recovery.
July 1, 2003... For years, backup-and-recovery has been mostly about backup. What data should I back up? How can I make my backup process more reliable? Am I backing up everything that I should be, and in the allotted time? How can I make my backup environment...

LTO comes on strong despite down market. (News Analysis & Trends).
July 1, 2003... Despite continued adoption of storage area networks (SANs) and network-attached storage (NAS) last year, unit shipments of tape libraries increased just 3% to 65,400 units, according to the recently published Freeman Report, 2003 Tape Library...

Veritas expands beyond storage. (News Analysis & Trends).
July 1, 2003... Taking its first steps toward what the company refers to as "utility computing," Veritas last month introduced its OpForce 3.0 server provisioning software. The package is the first to come out of the acquisition of Jareva Technologies and is...

CA addresses common backup gripes. (News Analysis & Trends).
July 1, 2003... With the release of BrightStor Enterprise Backup v10.5, Computer Associates says it addresses some of users' biggest backup complaints--notably, manageability, integration, and performance. "Existing BrightStor Enterprise Backup users...

Database growth leads to archiving trend. (News Analysis & Trends).
July 1, 2003... After growing 125% in 2002, Tektronix's Oracle database is projected to do so again this year due to the financial, order management, and inventory transactions that its 3,000 users worldwide perform. The dramatic database growth needed to...

FCIA approves 4Gbps SAN fabrics: will switch vendors and OEMs follow? (News Analysis & Trends).
July 1, 2003... Last month, the Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA) voted in approval of using 4Gbps Fibre Channel in switched storage area network (SAN) fabrics. Previously, 4Gbps Fibre Channel was to be limited to "inside the box" (e.g. disk drive and...

Microsoft debuts next-generation NAS software: claims NFS performance improvements up to 50%. (News Analysis & Trends).
July 1, 2003... In its latest network-attached storage (NAS) server appliance kit, Microsoft is increasing NFS file sharing performance by 50%, adding storage resource management (SRM) functionality and a new Web user interface, supporting an iSCSI initiator,...

Maranti Networks. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Maranti Networks, a provider of application-aware storage networking solutions, has launched the Maranti Assured Storage Partner Program with 17 storage vendors as partners. The program enables Maranti and its partners to collaborate in...

Fujitsu Systems Europe. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Fujitsu Systems Europe has selected Sistina Software's GFS product as the exclusive cluster file system for running on Fujitsu's line of high-performance computing clustering products. The Fujitsu-Sistina partnership enables both companies to...

Snap Appliance. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Snap Appliance is partnering with NCR for managed services such as help desk and maintenance services. Snap customers will be able to access a 24x7 help desk, global parts depot, and on-sire maintenance support through NCR. The partnership...

Netapp opens up APIs. (News Bytes).
July 1, 2003... Network Appliance is opening up its APIs to any vendor developing storage management software for NetApp's products. More than 40 companies, including Computer Associates and Veritas, are already using the Manage OnTap API and software...

EMC to resell Storigen Gateway. (News Bytes).
July 1, 2003... EMC has licensed Storigen System's Centera Application Gateway (GAG), which enables organizations to integrate legacy fixed-content management applications with EMC's Centera content addressed storage (GAS) system. GAG provides online access to...

CNT first with SAN/MAN/WAN director. (News Bytes).
July 1, 2003... Fresh off the heels of its acquisition of Inrange Technologies, GNT announced that its FC/9000 director now includes integrated MAN and WAN connections. The director supports protocols and technologies such as FCIP, GWDM, IP, Fibre Channel,...

iStor, iReady eye iSCSI. (News Bytes).
July 1, 2003... iReady is developing single-chip SCSI controllers and host bus adapters that the company claims will be the first to integrate SCSI acceleration, full TCP/IP off load, line-rate IPSec security, and GigabitMAC and GigabitPHY (via a partnership...

Vixel picks up speed. (News Bytes).
July 1, 2003... Vixel has added Fujitsu Ltd. to its growing list of OEMs that have integrated the company's InSpeed SOC (switch on a chip) embedded technology. Fujitsu will use the chip in its Eternus 3000 Model 600 storage systems. InSpeed provides a switched...

Akara. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Akara completed interoperability testing between its OUSP 2000 product family and IBM's TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Sever (Shark) extended remote copy product within IBM's TotalStorage Proven program. The OUSP is the first...

Nexsan Technologies. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Nexsan Technologies is implementing a Strategic Solutions (S2) program providing sales and marketing benefits to its strategic partners. Nexsan will offer S2 partners special pricing on Nexsan products that will be integrated into partner...

Rorke Data. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Rorke Data will distribute Procom Technology's line of NetForce storage systems to resellers and OEMs in the medical industry. Rorke Data will install, integrate, and support Procom's systems for digital archiving providers in the medical...

TidalWire. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... TidalWire, the distribution arm of Network Engines, and American Megatrends have a distribution agreement, whereby TidalWire will add the MegaRAC G2 family of network management products to its line of security and storage networking products.

FalconStor Software. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... FalconStor Software's IPStor software has successfully completed interoperability testing with solutions from IBM, Red Hat, and StorageTek. IPStor has attained "Runs with Lotus Domino" certification status from IBM, "Red Hat Ready 2.1"...

Troika Networks. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Troika Networks has secured $13 million in financing. Anthem Ventures Partners led the round, which included previous investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Dynafund Ventures, and Windward Ventures, as well as new investor Hamilton Apex Technology...

Objective Data Storage. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Objective Data Storage, a developer and marketer of object-based automated storage management software and solutions, has acquired the assets of Filelink Corp., a Bloomington, MN-based software development firm.

Lucent Technologies and McData. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Lucent Technologies and McData have a joint development initiative that provides businesses with for storage networking both and between data centers. The portfolio features the OptiStar EdgeSwitch 20 and McData's core-to-edge family of storage...

Is disk-based backup all that it's cracked up to be? (Reader-Expert I/O).
July 1, 2003... A few years ago, we tried to improve our backup performance by staging to disk, but our performance actually got worse. Has disk-to-disk backup technology improved over the last few years? Should we look at it again? Does disk-to-disk...

IP storage solutions for disaster recovery: using IP for remote storage applications may offer cost advantages, and in many cases can be used with existing infrastructure. (Special Report).
July 1, 2003... IP storage transport protocols, combined with conventional remote storage solutions, can be implemented across a wide selection of IP networking options. The various options have their own strengths and weaknesses. This article clarifies...

Building intelligent storage networks with Cisco MDS 9000 SAN switches.
July 1, 2003... Next Generation Storage Networks Although many enterprises have begun to adopt storage-area networks (SANs), the limitations of earlier SAN products that didn't support multilayer intelligence or multiple protocols, restricted SAN...

Storage over SONET for business continuance: here are the arguments in favor of using SONET for applications such as business continuity and extending storage over WANs.
July 1, 2003... In today's 24x7 business environment, enterprises' dependence on advanced eBusiness solutions is intensifying and triggering unprecedented growth of mission-critical data. Recent technology advancements have caused an explosion in the amount of...

Part I: Extending storage over WANs.
July 1, 2003... Disaster recovery and business continuity often demand long-distance storage transfers, but users have to weigh the cost-performance tradeoffs between the various methods of data protection. With the heightened attention on business...

Crossroads Systems'. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Crossroads Systems' ServerAttach SA40 product has successfully completed interoperability testing under IBM's Total-Storage Proven program and earned IBM TotalStorage Proven status. The TotalStorage Proven program builds on IBM's...

EMC. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... EMC's Cenrera Compliance Edition content addressed storage (CAS) has achieved compliance in the financial services, federal government, and life sciences industries. Centera meets SEC's new Interpretive Release for Rule 17a-4 for Electronic...

Western Digital and Promise Technology. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Western Digital and Promise Technology announced that Western Digital's enterprise-class Serial ATA (SATA) WD Raptor hard drive and Promise's families of SATA150 host bus adapters and Fast-Trak SATA RAID controllers have been compatible by both...

ADVA Optical Networking. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... ADVA Optical Networking's Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 3000 system successfully completed interoperability resting as part of EMC's E-Lab Tested Program.

AmeriVault. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... AmeriVault has secured an additional $1 million in equity financing from Alta Communications. The funding will be used to introduce products and services and to invest in sales and marketing.

CIENA. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... CIENA announced that the KPN EuroRings unit of KPN, the Netherlands' largest telecommunications service provider, has deployed CIENA's ONLINE Metro platform in its network. The platform allows KPN EuroRings to offer higher-value data, services,...

Brocade Communications Systems and Hitachi Data Systems. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Brocade Communications Systems and Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd., announced that new features for the Silk Worm 12000 Director--enabled through enhancements to the Brocade Fabric Operating System (Fabric' OS)...

Rethinking 'one-size-fits-all' data protection: not all data is created equal, so you have to match criticality to your data-protection strategies and budget.
July 1, 2003... With data-storage requirements continuing to double annually at some sites, throwing more storage space at the problem is a flawed strategy. Instead, this issue demands evaluating the importance of data, with data-protection safeguards applied...

Fast recovery and availability overcome tape barrier: one option is a network-based services layer that sits between the applications and storage devices.
July 1, 2003... Every IT manager knows the importance of data backup and recovery to the organization's business continuity strategy. The basic approach to data backup, however, has not changed in decades. Today, most organizations rely on overnight tape...

ADM optimizes storage utilization, reduces TCO: automated data migration software drives information life-cycle management.
July 1, 2003... These days IT administrators have to be concerned about a variety of issues such as how to cut the IT budget while end-user data growth rates are 60% or more per year; how to manage all the reference information (or fixed-content data) that is...

What the SML-S standard can and cannot do: SNIA's SMI-S standard promises to simplify management of heterogeneous storage environments, but it won't solve all issues. (SNIA on Storage).
July 1, 2003... To some proponents, the Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) will solve all storage management problems. Detractors, on the other hand, are extremely skeptical about the promises of SMI-S. The truth is somewhere in between. ...

It's time for 'instant restore appliances': the goal is rapid recovery of data and applications, not moving and copying data more quickly. (Opinion).
July 1, 2003... For years, companies have relied on traditional data-protection techniques--tape backup, mirrored disks, periodic mirror break-offs, remote replication, and snapshots. However, each of these techniques falls short of delivering what companies...

Adaptec, WD target Serial ATA. (Disk/Connectivity).
July 1, 2003... Interest in Serial ATA (SATA) disk drives, controllers and RAID subsystems is starting to pick up steam, as evidenced by recent SATA-related announcements. Last month, Adaptec began shipping a 4-port SATA RAID controller--the 2410SA--that is a...

Hitachi broadens mobile disks. (Disk/Connectivity).
July 1, 2003... Hitachi Global Storage Technologies last month began shipping its second 4,200rpm mobile hard drive. The Travelstar 4K80 joins the 80GN, which is already shipping. While the 80GN boasts high performance and low acoustics, the 4K80 touts a 250...

Snap ups NAS capacity to 1TB. (Disk/Connectivity).
July 1, 2003... Snap Appliance has raised the capacity of its Snap Server 4500 network-attached storage (NAS) device to 1TB. The appliance uses an Intel Pentium 4 and Snap's Linux-based GuardianOS software for cross-platform file sharing. The software...

Arco ships disk duplicators. (Disk/Connectivity).
July 1, 2003... Arco Data Protection Systems' Ez-COPY disk duplicator makes exact copies of virtually any hard drive without requiring connection to a host system. The company claims a duplication speed of less than one minute per gigabyte. Source and...

Atto upgrades FC HBAs. (Disk/Connectivity).
July 1, 2003... Atto Technology's ExpressPCI FC 3342 is a quad-channel Fibre Channel host bus adapter (HBA) that provides 2Gbps Fibre Channel performance and data-transfer rates up to 400MBps per channel. The board is compatible with PCI-X. Target applications...

PowerQuest extends backup family. (Software).
July 1, 2003... PowerQuest recently announced two additions to its disk-based backup and disaster-recovery products. The V2i Protector 2.0 Server Edition and the V2i Protector 2.0 Desktop Edition target Windows platforms. Both products reduce the amount of...

TeraCloud adds NAS support. (Software).
July 1, 2003... TeraCloud has added NAS support to its SpaceNet 3.0 storage management suite via development relationships with EMC and Network Appliance. NAS support covers file system space use, quotas, qtrees, volumes, and RAID groups. The software includes...

Tek-Tools intros DNS monitoring tool. (Software).
July 1, 2003... Profiler for DNS Monitoring is Tek-Tools' latest storage resource management (SRM) tool for monitoring and identifying DNS server issues related to service level agreements (SLAs). The software is a module of the Storage Profiler Suite and has...

Acronis courts OEMs, resellers. (Software).
July 1, 2003... Acronis is offering some of its disk imaging and data migration utilities to OEMs, systems integrators, and resellers, including True Image 6.0, which allows users to create duplicates of their hard disks and systems manufacturers to clone disk...

Signiant enhances data movement software. (Software).
July 1, 2003... Signiant's Mobilize 4.0 is the latest version of its automated data movement software for transferring data among heterogeneous systems. In this release, Signiant added AES (256-bit) encryption, high availability with automatic fail-over, and...

Imperial tunes server-storage I/O. (Software).
July 1, 2003... known primarily as a solid-state disk vendor, Imperial Technology recently released software that enables IT administrators to monitor and tune I/O throughput between servers and storage devices. Called Serv2Stor, the software determines...

Arkeia ships plug-in for Lotus 6. (Software).
July 1, 2003... Arkeia's backup software now supports Lotus 6 via a plug-in that is available for download from http://www.arkeia.com/downloadlotus.html. Features include an IBM/Lotus API; hot backup of online files; full, incremental, or differential...

Atempo upgrades backup software. (Software).
July 1, 2003... Atempo last month announced the availability of a Business Edition of its Time Navigator backup-and-recovery software, which can be used to protect up to 10 Windows, Linux, or NetWare hosts. The Business Edition includes a feature that allows...

STORServer integrates AIT libraries. (Backup).
July 1, 2003... STORServer's Y Series of backup appliances are now available with Sony's LIB162 AIT libraries. The Y Series includes the Y1, Y500, and Y1000, which differ in the number of tape drives and amount of disk cache they provide. The Sony LIB-162...

Avail tackles disk, tape backup. (Backup).
July 1, 2003... Avail Solutions last month introduced version 1.4.5 of its Integrity backup-and-recovery software. The release allows users to manage disk and tape backups in a single storage environment. New features include adaptive file transmission, which...

Plextor ships 52/32/52 CD-R/RW drive. (Optical).
July 1, 2003... Plextor's PlexWriter Premium CD-R/RW drive features 52X CD-Write, 32X CD-Rewrite, and 52X (maximum) CD-Read speeds. It includes an 8MB data buffer and burst data-transfer rates of 16.6MBps (PIO Mode 4/DMA Mode 2) or 33.3MBps (UDMA Mode 2). The...

Calendar.(Calendar)
July 1, 2003... August 11-15 HP World--Atlanta, GA The new HP World 2003 Solutions and Technology Conference & Expo is the largest and most comprehensive annual gathering of IT professionals employing HP solutions, services, and technologies. The...

Are you disillusioned with SAN management software? (Editorial).
July 1, 2003... At the Gartner PlanetStorage conference last month, one of the more eye-opening sessions was analyst Bob Passmore's presentation on the storage area network (SAN) management software market. One thing that surprised me was how few users have...

Adaptec has acquired ICP vortex Computersysteme GmbH. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Adaptec has acquired ICP vortex Computersysteme GmbH, a provider of data-protection products for customers across Europe. ICP vortex was an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Intel. Financial terms were not disclosed. Based in Germany, ICP...

GlassHouse Technologies. (Business Briefs).(acquires operations of Auspex)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... GlassHouse Technologies has acquired the worldwide services and support business of network-attached storage (NAS) storage pioneer Auspex in bankruptcy court proceedings. The acquisition includes Auspex's services business employees, spare...

Storage Tek and FalconStor. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Storage Tek and FalconStor are co-developing a Storage Tek-branded replication and mirroring appliance that is expected to be available next month. The two have also signed a global reseller agreement that allows Storage Tek to sell...

Dell and EMC. (Business Briefs).(extend strategic alliance)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Dell and EMC added two more years onto their existing five-year strategic alliance. The original agreement was signed in October 2001 and will now extend through December 2008. The companies have also collaborated on the introduction of new...

McData. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... McData's storage networking solutions have been tested and jointly approved for use in conjunction with 3PAR InServ Storage Servers. The combined solution has been tested and approved within the McData OPENready Interoperability Program, of...

The Information Storage Industry Center (ISIC). (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... The Information Storage Industry Center (ISIC) at the University of California, San Diego, and the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) are teaming up to plan a non-profit initiative called StorageNetworking.org to support data...

Connected. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Connected has launched InterChange, a vendor-agnostic resource destination for information, insight, and guidance on reducing storage requirements, managing storage resources, consolidating servers, and protecting data. The centralized...

Anacomp and Dot Hill Systems. (Business Briefs).
July 1, 2003... Anacomp and Dot Hill Systems have entered into an agreement whereby Anacomp will provide exclusive on-site maintenance, warranty, and non-warranty service for Dot Hill customers entering into new maintenance agreements for SANnet I and certain...

InfiniSwitch. (Business Briefs).(changes name)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... InfiniSwitch has changed its name to Fabric Networks Inc., effective immediately. The name change follows the recent merger of InfiniSwitch with Lane 15 Software.