InfoStor articles from May 2008

InfoStor archives from May 2008

Brocade debuts file virtualization box.
May 1, 2008... Brocade recently announced a new twist on its file virtualization technology in the form of the Brocade File Management Engine (FME), a 2U in-band network appliance that automates the movement and management of file data in Windows...

CAS systems make the grade.(CASE STUDIES)
May 1, 2008... It has been several years since content-addressed storage (CAS) systems emerged to assuage end users' fears that the pressures of regulatory compliance would ultimately result in a long-term stay in a sanitarium. CAS platforms are...

Energy concerns impact secondary storage.(ANALYST VIEW)
May 1, 2008... While much of the recent attention paid to data-center power and cooling concerns has focused on servers and primary storage systems, a recent Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) Research survey of 398 North American IT decision-makers found that...

Virtual reality sets in.(EDITORIAL)
May 1, 2008... ACCORDING TO IDC, the number of virtual servers deployed will rise at a 41% CAGR through 2010, resulting in almost 8 million virtual servers implemented on 1.7 million new physical servers. But for storage professionals, here's a more...

IBM has signed an agreement to acquire FilesX.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... IBM has signed an agreement to acquire FilesX. The company will be integrated into IBM's Software Group as a part of its Tivoli Software unit, where it will become part of IBM's flagship Tivoli Storage Manager family.

Adaptec announced that all seven products in the Adaptec Series 5 Unified Serial (SATA/SAS) Controllers have been certified with VMware ESX Server 3.02 and 3.5 through AppLabs.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... Adaptec announced that all seven products in the Adaptec Series 5 Unified Serial (SATA/SAS) Controllers have been certified with VMware ESX Server 3.02 and 3.5 through AppLabs, an independent testing, quality management, and certification...

InMage Systems announced support for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... InMage Systems announced support for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services.

EMC has a definitive agreement to acquire San Diego-based Iomega in a cash tender offer of $3.85 per outstanding share.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... EMC has a definitive agreement to acquire San Diego-based Iomega in a cash tender offer of $3.85 per outstanding share, or approximately $213 million.

Intel and LSI recently extended their partnership into a multi-generation agreement to collaborate on RAID technology based on Intel's processors.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... Intel and LSI recently extended their partnership into a multi-generation agreement to collaborate on RAID technology based on Intel's processors and next-generation RAID technology--code-named 'Treemont"--and LSI's MegaRAID software.

Asempra has inked a partnership deal with BakBone Software.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... Asempra has inked a partnership deal with BakBone Software. As part of the deal, BakBone will resell Asempra's data-protection products in the Windows space. The two companies are also collaborating on joint product development, with...

Violin Memory has successfully tested its Violin 1010 memory appliance with FalconStor's Network Storage Server (NSS).(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... Violin Memory has successfully tested its Violin 1010 memory appliance with FalconStor's Network Storage Server (NSS). The 1010 memory appliance supports up to 500GB of DRAM in a 2U form factor for "Tier-0" storage.

Reldata has expanded its VAR lineup with the addition of four resellers.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... Reldata has expanded its VAR lineup with the addition of four resellers: KA DataSystems, R.A.R.E. Systems, Sunstar, and Xdata. The VARs will resell Reldata's SAN/NAS/replication products and 9240 gateways.

Nimbus Data Systems, in partnership with Arastra, Force10 Networks, Fujitsu, Fulcrum Microsystems, Mellanox Technologies, Neterion, and NetXen announced the 10 Gigabit Ethernet Storage Alliance.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... Nimbus Data Systems, in partnership with Arastra, Force10 Networks, Fujitsu, Fulcrum Microsystems, Mellanox Technologies, Neterion, and NetXen announced the 10 Gigabit Ethernet Storage Alliance, an ecosystem of adapter, switch, and storage...

Correction.(Correction notice)
May 1, 2008... In the March 2008 issue of InfoStor (see "Storage solutions for fast-paced studios," p. 20) the caption for KYW-TV's HD master control facility was incorrect. The storage system was Nexsan's SATABoy.

FalconStor releases IPStor 6.0.(NEWS: ANALYSIS + TRENDS)
May 1, 2008... FalconStor Software recently announced that it is taking a new tack toward selling its data-protection software with a round of upgrades as well as a change in its selling strategy that will see its IPStor technology sold as separate products...

HDS beefs up search for NAS, archiving.(NEWS: ANALYSIS + TRENDS)
May 1, 2008... Addressing the tricky task of searching and retrieving unmanaged data in the data center, Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) has introduced a new file and content services product that delivers common search, retention, movement, and protection of data...

Symantec updates Storage Foundation.(NEWS: ANALYSIS + TRENDS)
May 1, 2008... Symantec has announced the newest versions of its high-availability storage and server management software--Veritas Storage Foundation 5.1 High Availability for Windows, and Veritas Cluster Server 5.1 for Windows. The products now support...

Pillar addresses virtual servers.(NEWS: ANALYSIS + TRENDS)
May 1, 2008... In an effort to overcome performance and capacity utilization problems associated with deploying traditional storage systems in support of virtual server environments, Pillar Data Systems has introduced a set of pre-configured application...

Virtual servers meet VTLs.(CASE STUDY)
May 1, 2008... The explosive growth of server virtualization is fueling a change in the way end users evaluate and ultimately choose their backup systems. The shift has put virtual tape library (VTL) vendors (as well as all other storage providers) on notice...

Sense and sensibility about tape and disk.(ANALYST VIEW)
May 1, 2008... THE RISE OF disk-based backup-and-restore technologies, most notably virtual tape libraries (VTLs), has been well-documented. That is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, which raises a key question: What is the impact of this trend...

How server virtualization affects storage: an ESG research survey of virtual server users reveals some interesting storage technology and implementation trends.(SPECIAL REPORT)
May 1, 2008... It's no secret that virtualization is one of the hottest trends in IT, but what's less clear is how virtual servers impact end users' storage strategies. Virtual servers have unique requirements in the areas of performance and data protection,...

Video storage has unique requirements.
May 1, 2008... Generating video content is no longer the exclusive domain of television and movie companies. The Internet is exploding with video and other rich media content. Security and regulatory requirements are causing a rapid expansion in the use of...

It's time for primary storage optimization: capacity optimization is no longer limited to secondary storage. The advantages are the same when applied to primary storage.
May 1, 2008... The amount of information generated by enterprises has greatly increased over the last five years. Because enterprises often keep multiple copies of data for recovery and other purposes, storage capacity growth is a multiple of information...

The power shift to green storage: the pressure to go "green" in general, and in storage specifically, is an opportunity to assess and modernize IT infrastructures. The power savings from storage, while not overwhelming, are meaningful and can be used to catalyze organizational change.
May 1, 2008... According to IDC, average data-center energy costs are growing at 20% per year and are expected to double by 2012. Discussions with Wikibon.org users confirm this expectation, as shown in the figure, right. Compounding this dynamic is the fact...

Avoiding 'partial information loss' in ECM: enterprise content management (ECM) systems may require data-protection solutions that go beyond traditional backup-and-recovery software.
May 1, 2008... Data loss is a part of every business executive's recurring nightmares. Losing data undermines business continuity, the 24x7 task of keeping a business running smoothly. Although considered by some to be a politically correct way to say...

BlueArc doubles NAS performance.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2008... BlueArc has doubled the size and speed of its high-end NAS systems with the launch of the Titan 3000 series--the newest addition to the company's line of unified storage systems for file services consolidation. The Titan 3000, which...

SAS product update.(NEW PRODUCTS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Xyratex recently introduced the OneStor SP1224s, a new member of the company's OneStor Extensible Storage Platform (ESP) family that connects to hosts via SAS and is based on Seagate's latest 2.5-inch small-form-factor (SFF) SAS drives. ...

Start-up debuts SSDs.(NEW PRODUCTS)(Fusion-io )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Another start-up has joined the emerging fray in the enterprise solid-state storage market. Fusion-io recently began shipments of the company's first product, the ioDrive PCIe card. The ioDrive uses Fusion-io's proprietary ioMemory architecture...

Hifn: de-dupe cards.(NEW PRODUCTS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Hifn has added two new members to its Express DR family--the Express DR 250 and DR 255. In addition to encryption and compression, the cards include hardware-accelerated data de-duplication. The cards include two functions for reducing the...

Reldata adds wizards.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2008... In an effort to reduce the complexity typically associated with implementing combinations of iSCSI SAN and CIFS/NFS NAS, Reldata introduced a set of NAS Adaptive Storage Wizards for its model 9240 iSCSI Unified Storage Systems and Gateways. In...

Calendar.(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... June 9-12 Symantec Vision--Las Vegas, NV Sponsored by Symantec, the event is expected to attract more than 3,500 attendees. Sessions focus on application management, data management, industry solutions, security management, and storage...

DNF delivers NAS gateways.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2008... Dynamic Network Factory's StoneFly subsidiary has released three versions of its StoneFlex line of Windows-based, diskless NAS gateways for use with its IP SAN systems. The NAS gateways provide file serving and can boot directly from the IP...

Nimbus debuts hybrid IP array.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2008... Nimbus Data Systems' Breeze Hybrid series of IP storage subsystems and software can be considered hybrids for a number of reasons because they * Combine block-level SAN (iSCSI) and file-level NAS (CIFS and NFS); * Combine 10Gbps...