InfoStor articles from May 2004

InfoStor archives from May 2004

Vendors inch toward fabric-based intelligence.
May 1, 2004... Fabric-based intelligence (i.e., running storage applications oil switches) wasn't center stage at last month's Storage Networking World (SNW) conference, but it wasn't off-stage either--reflective perhaps of the generally high interest in the...

Users rate D2D backup top priority: EMC headlines recent product introductions.
May 1, 2004... Disk-based, or disk-to-disk (D2D), backup is arguably the hottest trend in the storage market. In fact, in a recent InfoStor reader survey, 69% of respondents said their interest in the technology was either "high" or "very high." The...

Disk-to-disk backup: buyer beware.
May 1, 2004... Faced with shrinking backup windows, time-intensive, or outdated tape architectures, and increasingly stringent service level agreements (SLAs) that require rapid restores, many IT storage professionals are evaluating disk-based architectures...

Can SANs penetrate SMBs?(editorial)(Editorial)
May 1, 2004... Last month (see "It's a good time to be an SMB," April, p. 6), I commented on storage vendors' renewed interest in the small to medium-sized business (SMB) market and how they're lowering prices and putting easy-to-use features in storage area...

Sonia Lelii joins editorial staff.(editorial)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... We're pleased to announce that Sonia Lelii recently joined the InfoStor editorial team as senior editor. Most recently, Sonia was with VARBusiness, a leading publication for the channel (VARs, systems integrators, distributors, etc.), where she...

To the editor.(editorial)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2004... This letter is in response to "D2D backup success depends on software" (see InfoStor, March 2004, p. 48). The key advantages of disk-to-disk (D2D) backup are performance and reliability. Enhancing restore performance is particularly...

Veritas Software and San Jose, CA-based BEA Systems, an application infrastructure software company, announced a global strategic alliance aimed at helping customers deploy enterprise applications on an open, heterogeneous utility computing platform.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Veritas Software and San Jose, CA-based BEA Systems, an application infrastructure software company, announced a global strategic alliance aimed at helping customers deploy enterprise applications on an open, heterogeneous utility computing...

Procom Technology has signed a multi-year agreement with Sun Microsystems, under which Sun may license certain Procom technologies.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Procom Technology has signed a multi-year agreement with Sun Microsystems, under which Sun may license certain Procom technologies. Procom will also provide engineering and support services to Sun.

StoreAge Networking Technologies recently announced the StoreAge Enabled Partner Program.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... StoreAge Networking Technologies recently announced the StoreAge Enabled Partner Program. Participants in the program include Aarohi Communications, Aristos Logic, Astute Networks, Brocade, Computer Associates, iStor Networks, iVivity, McDATA,...

Tech Data has an agreement with EMC, enabling Tech Data's IT reseller customers to offer EMC's entry-level SANs, NAS systems, and storage management and protection software.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Tech Data has an agreement with EMC, enabling Tech Data's IT reseller customers to offer EMC's entry-level SANs, NAS systems, and storage management and protection software. Tech Data's Enterprise Specialized Business Unit (SBU) will distribute...

Computer Expertise Group (CEG) announced the execution of a VAR agreement that gives CEG the ability to sell and deploy the NeoScale.(Business Briefs)(Computer Expertise Group )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Computer Expertise Group (CEG) announced the execution of a VAR agreement that gives CEG the ability to sell and deploy the NeoScale CryptoStor family of storage security appliances to enterprise customers.

QStar Technologies and ZipLip Inc. have completed integration of their product lines.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... QStar Technologies and ZipLip Inc. have completed integration of their product lines, which encompass e-mail archiving, data capture, online order taking, content management, and document management for archival and retrieval.

Diligent Technologies and Datalink have entered into a VAR agreement.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Diligent Technologies and Datalink have entered into a VAR agreement, whereby Datalink will add virtual tape software from Diligent Technologies to its portfolio of data-recovery solutions.

FC SAN vendors target SMBs.(news analysis & trends)
May 1, 2004... A number of research reports have indicated that the growth of storage area networks (SANs) in large enterprises is leveling off, while the small to medium-sized business (SMB) market represents a potentially huge, untapped market. Not...

3PAR streamlines provisioning.(news analysis & trends)
May 1, 2004... When it comes to provisioning, 3PAR appears to have all the bases covered--and then some. The five-year-old vendor of InServ Storage Servers not only automates the manual process of provisioning storage capacity but also minimizes the amount of...

Microsoft adds NAS, SAN features.(news analysis & trends)(to Windows Storage Server 2003)
May 1, 2004... Microsoft recently released to its OEMs a feature pack for Windows Storage Server 2003 that will enable companies to use Windows-based network-attached storage (NAS) fliers in Exchange Server environments. OEMs are expected to ship NAS devices...

Softek flies solo.(news analysis & trends)(Fujitsu Software Technology Corp)
May 1, 2004... Ending speculation about the company's future ownership, Fujitsu Software Technology Corp. (Fujitsu Softek) last month announced a management-led buyout from parent company Fujitsu Ltd. The newly formed company, which was incorporated in...

What are the options for cluster-based file sharing?(Reader-Expert I/O)
May 1, 2004... Q: What is the best way to provide file sharing for a Linux-based cluster that will start with 1,000 nodes and grow from there? You have hit upon one of the most daunting storage networking challenges: file sharing for high-performance...

ASNP membership tops 1,500.(news analysis & trends)(Association of Storage Networking Professionals)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Membership in the Association of Storage Networking Professionals (www.asnp.org) last month topped 1,450 end users and is expected to exceed 1,550 members next month, according to Daniel Delshad, ASNP chairman. The organization now has 26...

IBM swims downstream with 'baby Shark'.(news analysis & trends)
May 1, 2004... At last month's Storage Networking World conference and exhibition, IBM fleshed out its enterprise-class disk system family with the announcement of a lower-cost version of its TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server (ESS) 800 "Shark" array. ...

Who's using IP Storage, and why? SNIA's IP Storage forum explains the potential benefits of IP Storage and presents case studies of early adopters.(Special Report)(Industry Overview)
May 1, 2004... This past year has been an exciting time for IP Storage a the industry moved from new protocols to standards-based interoperable products to end-user deployments in production environments. A big impetus to deployment came in mid-2003 when...

Everything you need to know about SMI-S: SNIA's storage management standard promises to facilitate the integration of both hardware and software.
May 1, 2004... Judging from last month's Storage Networking World conference, storage administrators are generally behind the efforts of the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) to develop a common, open storage management interface based on the...

Building a SAN for SMBs part I: should small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) move to a SAN fabric to satisfy their storage needs? The advantages are significant, but have the costs in money and labor diminished sufficiently?(lab review)
May 1, 2004... Technology innovations along with a new demand-driven consumer market radically altered the way large enterprises architect IT operations. These drivers are now emerging as equally powerful forces for change in the small to medium-sized...

Take a top-down approach to storage management: storage management should take its cues from asset management.(analyst view)
May 1, 2004... Today's storage management solutions offer an array of advanced features intended to give users unprecedented control over their storage environments. But that control comes with a price: Without an accurate business-eye view of information,...

Is it time for SMB storage area networks? A Microsoft storage executive makes the case for smaller businesses moving to SANs--Fibre Channel or iSCSI.(opinion)
May 1, 2004... The ratification of the iSCSI protocol last year brought on a flurry of discussions, opinions, and initiatives centered on delivering the promises of storage area networks (SANs) to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). And storage vendors...

Exanet tackles grid storage.(new products)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The 2.0 version of Exanet's ExaStore Grid Storage software which is based on the company's ExaMesh grid architecture, clusters storage resources (including RAID arrays, servers/ controllers, and cache memory) into a unified storage resource...

Xtore ships FC-SATA array.(new products )(XD 2000 series of disk arrays)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... At last month's National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show, Xtore debuted its XD 2000 series of disk arrays, which combine Fibre Channel host connections (up to 200MBps) with low-cost Serial ATA (SATA) disk drives. Target applications...

Dot Hill array addresses rich media.(new products)
May 1, 2004... Also at last month's NAB show, Dot Hill introduced the RIO Xtreme disk array, which is optimized for rich media environments, including high-definition and standard-definition video and film editing and effects, streaming technologies,...

NAS roundup.(new products)(software products)(Network Access Server )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Dell recently began shipments of the PowerVault 745N NAS server, which is based on Microsoft's Windows Storage Server 2003. The appliance can be configured with 160GB to 4TB of capacity. The 1U 745N comes with either Intel Celeron or Pentium 4...

STORserver adds life-cycle management.(new products)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... STORserver has added a Lifecycle Management (LM) Appliance to its line of business continuity appliances. The LM Appliance includes repository and data-retention capabilities that enable users to implement information life-cycle management...

Calendar.(Calendar)
May 1, 2004... Send brochure/conference information to Marcy Koff, marcyk@pennwell.com or fax: (603) 891-9297. June 14-17 Gartner PlanetStorage 2004--Las Vegas, NV This conference helps you leverage expanded storage network and device options to...

Connected handles e-mail archiving.(new products)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Connected Corp. recently added an e-mail archiving solution that archives, manages, and recovers e-mail records, allowing users to meet compliance and legal discovery requirements. ArchiveStore/EM includes data-reduction technology, encryption,...

Spectra Logic library includes TOE.(new products)(TCP/IP offload engine)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Spectra Logic's T120 is the first tape library to include a TCP/IP offload engine (TOE), which the company claims enables Ethernet-based protocols such as iSCSI and NDMP to run at full wire speed. Other features include remote management,...