2001, March - week 2, Storage news archive on STORAGEsearch.com

Hard disk drives
Solid state disks
STORAGEsearch.com

Storage news

2001, March week 2, storage news archive

Megabyte loved reading news stories
about the storage market

storage history:-

March 2000, March 2001, March 2002, March 2003, March 2004, March 2005

SANTA ANA, Calif - March 14, 2001 - I/OMagic Corp. today announced that it has again expanded its retail channel through an agreement with U.K.- based Dixon's Store Group (DSG). DSG has more than 1,000 stores in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, more than 150 stores in the Nordic region, and 12 stores in Spain and Portugal.

I/OMagic began shipping Optical Storage Drives and Multimedia/Adapter Cards in early 2001.

``We are excited about the opportunity to expand our international business throughout the U.K., hopefully followed by its other stores in Europe,'' said Paul T. McCauley, vice president of Marketing for I/OMagic. ``Their 60-year history and reputation for excellence, combined with the quality product offerings from I/OMagic should make for a prosperous working relationship.'' ... I/OMagic profile

Wilmington, MA, March 14, 2001 – Kentron Technologies announced the availability of a high-density 512MB FEMMA SODIMM (Small Outline Dual In-line Memory Module); Kentron's latest addition to the FEMMA (Foldable Electronic Memory Module Assembly) product family. The FEMMA SODIMM is a 1.22" high, 0.27" wide, PC100/133, Unbuffered, 144-pin memory module that achieves densities up to 512MB, using 256Mbit TSOPII SDRAMs.

"Manufacturers of notebook computers can now offer platforms capable of achieving 512MB of memory per slot," said Chris Karabatsos, Chief Technology Officer of Kentron Technologies. "This leading edge solution is another example of the memory technology leadership position that Kentron Technologies has." The FEMMA SODIMM is available for sampling, please contact Kentron Technologies at (978) 988-9100 for more information. ...Kentron Technologies profile

COSTA MESA, Calif., March 14 - Seagate Removable Storage Solutions today announced the creation of the Seagate Affiliate Program, a new affiliate marketing program targeting Web site operators whose customers require data backup and protection products. The affiliate program enables affiliates to align their Web-based businesses with the Seagate brand by incenting them to place links on their own sites to Seagate's online store. Affiliates which are accepted into the marketing program can be paid a commission of at least 3% on all net revenue from sales referred from the affiliate's web site to the Seagate site.

The free-to-join program is a result of research conducted with existing customers and incorporates much of their feedback about partnering with a known brand, reducing inventory expenses, the fulfillment process and affiliate website purchase convenience within the program parameters. In addition, affiliates have access to a continuous and changing collection of creative product collateral to support their affiliate marketing efforts. The program is available to affiliates in the United States only. ...Seagate profile

Editor's note:- 3% is more than most VARS make selling a PC, and the benefits of this type of affiliate scheme to a manufacturer can be enormous. That's one of the reasons Amazon and Dell got to be so well known on the web. If thousands of affiliates promote your products, and only get paid on results it's a no brainer. About four years ago, the publisher of this site used to run an affiilate scheme to attract more readers, however we stopped it because the workload of filtering through thousands of sites to get to the good ones just wasn't worth while. Seagate may also find that they have to look at 50 bad candidate sites for every good one they accept. However, it shows that despite the rubbish you read in the print media, and see on TV, the web can provide new business oportunities even in the post dot-bomb era.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. March 13, 2001 Imperial Technology will unveil the new MegaRam-1000 at Internet World Spring 2001 in Los Angeles, March 14-16 at Booth 1276 on the main floor. The MegaRam-1000 is a 1U high rackmount solid state disk system with the following features:-

Deferred capital spending on server and storage upgrades (because many applications run faster)

Near-instantaneous access time of only 0.035 milliseconds

Flexible 100 MB/sec Fibre Channel or 80 MB/sec SCSI (Ultra-2) interfaces

1 to 4 ports for a multi-host and switched SAN environment

A scalable 1 GB to 12 GB capacity

An Ethernet port with SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) capability for system management and administration in a lights-out or remote data center

An automated backup circuit maintains data integrity through power interruptions using built-in batteries and SCSI disk drive

Multiple logical unit number (LUNs) partitioning

Fail-resistance with redundant hot-swappable power supplies and built-in battery packs, redundant fans, and multi-port interfaces.

"This new compact, rackmount storage accelerator is ideal for environments where the conservation of space is just as important as continuous, high-speed performance," said Emanuel Allen, president of Imperial Technology. "Spring Internet World is the perfect show to debut the new MegaRam-1000, since the unit¹s 1U format is the de facto standard for many Internet related companies and co-location facilities." ...Imperial Technology profile

Editor's note:- see also:- article:- Solid State Disks - intro, applications & FAQ's - by Curtis, Inc., article:- Solid State File-Caching for Performance - by Solid Data Systems, Solid state disks directory, rackmount SPARC systems, Events & trade shows

Martinsried/Munich, Germany and Ramsey/New Jersey USA. March 13, 2001. ADVA Optical Networking andINRANGE Technologies today announced that they have entered into a more strategic and comprehensive partnership agreement that will provide unmatched solutions for high-performance storage networking applications. With the new agreement, INRANGE will sell the ADVA Fiber Service Platform (FSP) Product Portfolio under the INRANGE IN-VSN Spectrum label, while ADVA will contract INRANGE for field service and level 1 and 2 support.

ADVA and INRANGE have a strong joint selling history since 1995, with over 5,000 WDM channels sold to over 100 different end-customers, including Fortune 1,000 Enterprises, Storage Service Providers, and Metro Carriers.

As the trend for larger SAN rollouts continues, large corporate users such as Fortune 1,000s, financial institutions and insurance companies demand 99.999% network uptime and mega-bandwidth infrastructures capable of centrally managing storage-server connectivity across heterogeneous environments. Interconnecting SANs by using IN-VSN Spectrum optical networking solutions based on ADVA's technology enables storage applications at distances of up to 80 km over a high performance optical fiber link. This allows SAN customers to access data on a storage subsystem located in a metropolitan area at performance levels that are equal to direct-attached storage. ...ADVA Optical Networking profile, ...INRANGE Technologies profile

Bothell, WA, March 13, 2001 - Vixel Corporation and LSI Logic Storage Systems, Inc. today announced that Vixel switches have successfully completed product testing in LSI Logic's certified compatible interoperability logo program. Vixel's 7000 Series Fibre Channel Switches underwent extensive testing to be certified with the MetaStor E2400, E3300 and E4400 storage systems from LSI Logic. This certification assures interoperability between the two companies' products under a variety of operating systems and configurations, enabling customers to quickly and reliably deploy SAN solutions based upon these devices.

Through LSI Logic's certification program, Vixel's switches have been tested and certified with LSI Logic's MetaStor Storage Systems in multiple configurations for all operating systems including UNIX, Solaris, Windows NT/2000 and HP-UX.

Vixel's 7200 switch has the highest GBIC-based port density on the market today with 16 ports in a 1U-form factor. The Metastor family of enterprise storage solutions from LSI Logic Storage Systems offers unparalleled scalability, providing customers the ability to scale from 36 GB to 16 TB in a single system without having to take their system offline. ...LSI Logic Storage Systems profile, ...Vixel profile

BOULDER, Colo., March 12, 2001 – Exabyte Corporation today announced manufacturing and joint development agreements with Hitachi Ltd. ( related to the production of the M2TM (Mammoth-2) and development of the M3TM (Mammoth-3) tape drives. The M3 is the next product on the MammothTapeTM technology roadmap of tape drives and libraries. Hitachi currently manufactures the complete Eliant 820 drive and the scanner mechanism and deck assembly for the M2 tape drive. Exabyte and Hitachi are now planning the manufacturing transfer of the complete M2 drive to Hitachi before the end of this year. ...Exabyte profile, ...Hitachi profile

Minneapolis, MN, March 12, 2001 - Plasmon has announced two new entries in its LTO Ultrium tape automation product line, the first releases of which were LTO Ultrium Autoloaders. Shipping this week, and targeting the mid-range backup market, the LTO 68.4 and LTO 100.6 libraries incorporate Plasmon's latest generation automation technology, and IBM Ultrium tape drives, to provide high-performance SAN and NAS connectivity combined with proven, patented robotics.

Other news on this page

I/OMagic Expands International Sales Presence With Dixon's Store Group

Kentron Technologies is Sampling a 512MB SODIMM

Seagate Launches Affiliate Marketing Program Aimed at Storage VARS in the US

Imperial Technology MegaRam Storage Accelerator Shows at Internet World Spring 2001

ADVA Optical Networking and INRANGE Technologies Strengthen Storage Partnership for Seamless SAN Extension across MAN and WAN

LSI Logic Storage Systems and Vixel Announce the Certification of Vixel Switches with LSI Logic's MetaStor Storage Systems

Exabyte Will Transfer Manufacture of M2 Drive to Hitachi

Plasmon Introduces Scalable High Performance Tape Automation Technology with new LTO Ultrium Tape Libraries

Western Digital Launches SAN Software Business As Separate Company

Micro Solutions' new backpack triple play cd-rewriter is first with three prominent connection options standard.

HDD Sales to Consumer Electronics off to Solid Start

VERITAS Software chooses SPARC portables from Tadpole-Cycle to train customers in enterprise storage management

ITtoolbox launches storage portal

Gilder Proclaims End of Storage; 18 Industry CEOs to Address Emerging Storewidth Technologies

earlier news (archive)

STORAGEsearch.com
RAID systems

Megabyte found that tying lots of barrels together to make his raft worked just as well as having a huge one. And if one of them became punctured, it didn't sink.

Nibble:-

Conferences in the Web Age: Are They Useful?

by Active Communications International

In today's world of constantly evolving technologies, more and more organizations are finding themselves being invited to attend seminars, conferences, trade shows and expositions. How should companies and individuals keep abreast of the new and ever-changing knowledge?

There are numerous resources available today. One leading source is the Internet, as it is an extremely useful and expedient way to obtain information. However, what usually happens when surfing the Net? Log on. Search the subject. See what comes up. 1,019,876 different Web sites with the key words entered. Narrow the search. Still, enough Web sites to take days to sift through. Is anything missing? Maybe. Have all possible grounds been covered? Maybe not.

How can attending a conference be more beneficial?

Successful conferences developed today are produced with three key purposes in mind. One, a conference must provide the audience with new knowledge and information on the particular topic of interest. The industry's leading experts, companies and trade media are presenting their experiences.

Two, the event must have the necessary resources available for hands-on learning. A variety of vendors, all with the various tools, services and products are available for questions and demonstrations.

Three, there must be a circle of individuals within that particular industry or focus, including case studies or peers, vendors and consultants. Meet, network and build business relationships with the experts.

Be sure not to fall out of the race. Don't let the competition gain the edge because a lack of information.

see also:- Events & trade shows

Squeak! - Animal Brands and Metaphors in the Storage Market

Animal marketing metaphors are popular in service industries, but you'd be surprised how many companies have used animals in their marketing of data storage products and services.

The storage market was worth over $150 billion in 2005, and as it gets bigger - more companies will turn to animal brands to help differentiate their otherwise bland products and lend them artificial (or deserving) characters and virtues.

The idea behind this type of marketing is to suggest positive connotations so it's unlikely that anyone will choose to associate their products with gremlins. But you may be surprised by the population of the storage ark.

This reference articles lists all known companies who have furry marketing brands, and also includes some which are slimy, scaly and scary too. ...read the article, Mice in storage

Articles on STORAGEsearch

A Storage Architecture Guide - white paper by Auspex Systems

LVD, SE, HVD, SCSI compatibility - or lack of it - by Paralan

The Cost of Owning and Storing Data - by Overland Data

SAN Applications - by Peripheral Concepts

The Return of Removable Hard Disk Drive Architecture - white paper by DataZone

Squeak! - Breaking the SAN Babble

Squeak! - Will Sun Succeed in the STORAGE market? - part 1

Squeak! - Will Sun Succeed in the STORAGE market? - part 2

Squeak! - Which RAID Manufacturers will Survive?

Backup Technologies Proliferate - by STORAGEsearch

Priced starting at $38,595, the libraries have two basic configurations. The LTO 68.4 can hold up to four drives and 68 cartridges and the LTO 100.6 library can be configured with up to six drives and 102 cartridges for more than 10 terabytes (TB) of storage capacity.

With fast data transfer rates up to 324 GB/hour (native), and high native capacity (100 GB per cartridge), the LTO 68.4 and LTO 100.6 are ideal for backup and restore in a variety of applications required by medium to large-sized businesses, as well as government agencies.

Initially shipping with native SCSI-2 LVD interfaces, the libraries can connect via bridge to fibre-ready SAN, or natively to NAS. Native fibre attach is under development for near-term release. The units offer remote diagnostics capability and hot swappable components for on-line replacement with continuous access to data.

Kelly Scharf, director of product marketing for Plasmon said, "With high capacity, low cost, best in class performance, and the flexible open format architecture of LTO Ultrium, the Plasmon LTO Ultrium models are suited for NAS and SAN installations as well as traditional backup situations." ...Plasmon profile

LAKE FOREST, Calif. Mar. 12, 2001 Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) has formed a new company from its Connex subsidiary to focus exclusively on the storage area network (SAN) management software market. The new company, SANavigator Inc., develops and markets SAN management software tools.

"The SAN market is evolving rapidly as corporate storage networks grow increasingly complex an environment that the SANavigator software is designed to simplify," Matt Massengill, Western Digital president and chief executive officer, said. "The SANavigator software operations will best execute its development and marketing strategies as an independent company. Ultimately, an agile, cohesive and focused SANavigator company will add greater value to shareholders."

Operating as a separate company, SANavigator Inc. will continue to aggressively develop its storage management software based on its existing SANavigator architecture, pursue strategic partnerships and market the SANavigator software product through specific sales channels. It expects to incrementally grow its personnel base to appropriately penetrate the market. ...Connex profile, ...Western Digital profile

DEKALB, Ill. - March 12, 2001 – Micro Solutions, Inc. has raised the bar on external CD-RWs with its new 8x8x32 backpack triple play cd-rewriter. Introduced today, this drive is the first and only external cd-rewriter currently on the market to incorporate conveniently and cost-effectively in one box the three most prominent computer I/O interfaces – USB port, parallel port and PC Card. In addition, it supports an 8x write speed on Pentium processor-based notebooks through the PC Card slot, making it the fastest external CD-RW available that doesn't require any additional hardware to be installed.

Unlike some other external cd-rewriters that make users pay separately for additional connection options, we bundle our best three interfaces in the new backpack triple play cd-rewriter," said Pat Barron, vice president of sales at Micro Solutions. "Having three industry standard connections in one box makes it easy to use this cd-rewriter on either a notebook computer or a desktop system. It's the fastest external CD-RW users can get today without adding extra adapter cards, with the best connectivity options standard – all at an economical price."

Micro Solutions' new 8x8x32 backpack triple play cd-rewriter attaches externally to desktop and notebook computers for creating data CDs, customized music CDs and backups of important files or entire hard drives. It supports an 8x write speed on Pentium processor-based notebooks via the PC Card interface, while offering the maximum 4x write speeds using the USB or parallel port connections on other desktop Pentium computers.

Micro Solutions' approach of "no cards to install" means the triple play cd-rewriter is plug-and-play, so users do not need to open a desktop or laptop and install additional hardware. The drive also is hot pluggable on all ports, so those with Windows 95*, 98, Me and 2000 can attach and detach the drive without needing to restart their computers. The 8x8x32 backpack triple play cd-rewriter (model number 193250) has a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $269. ...Micro Solutions profile

Los Altos, CA – 8 March 2001 – the sale of hard disk drives (HDDs) to consumer applications exceeded 2 million in 2000, with game consoles, PVRs, MP3 players, digital cameras, and a host of other emerging devices anchoring demand. The market will grow 79% annually through 2005 to over 100 million HDDs, according to research published jointly by TrendFocus, a Los Altos, California-based market intelligence firm, and the Institute of Information Technology (IIT) of Tokyo, Japan.

"In most consumer devices, HDDs are attractive alternatives to flash and optical drives," stated Mark Geenen, President of TrendFOCUS. "New applications are appearing daily, complementing PVRs, MP3 players, digital still and video cameras. Game consoles, like Microsoft's Xbox, will really drive growth starting this year."

"Each emerging application has opportunities and challenges," adds Geenen.

Game consoles from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo will use HDDs to complement DVD capabilities for game storage, on-line playing, and Internet access;

PVRs and VCR alternatives will ultimately replace traditional VCRs, with HDDs as the core storage medium. Cable operators will ship PVRs in 2001, launching the mainstream market;

Digital still and video cameras are converging in performance, capability, and price, so small HDDs will see tremendous demand growth;

Automobile intelligence systems are just starting to ship, with HDDs providing functionality and capability;

PDAs and mobile phone functionality is converging, with wireless communication

driving storage demand at a faster rate – HDDs will support the wireless revolution;

Other devices, like computer printers, Internet appliances, and wearable computers will also demand high-capacity, low-cost storage.

Data storage (including HDDs, flash, optical, high-capacity floppies) revenue in millions
	2000	2005
Personal video recorders (PVRs)	$127	$2,870
VCR alternative	$138	$1,714
Game consoles	---	$5,504
Digital still camera/video cameras	$667	$6,155
Auto intelligence systems	$10	$412
Digital home/personal audio players	$161	$1,882
Handheld PCs/PDAs	$54	$374
Mobile phones	---	$2,426
Other	$94	$1,223
TOTAL	$1,253	$22,927

"Our research shows that consumer applications could supplant PCs as the primary market for HDDs by 2010," added Geenen. "Home networks, gaming, and convergence of entertainment in the home will create unprecedented opportunities to the HDD industry."

Carlsbad (CA) and Cambridge (UK), March 8, 2001 - Tadpole-Cycle, Inc today announced that its portable UltraBookIIi workstations have been selected for VERITAS Software's innovative training program aimed at providing customers with the earliest ROI in network and storage management solutions. In establishing VERITAS Mobile Academy, the question of how best to organize on and off-site customer training sessions became a fundamental issue as VERITAS Software examined whether shipping ahead bulky Sun-based desktops to customer sites remained a viable and economic formula.

Instructors needed an effective and productive solution... one that could be set up on-site in minutes.

Continued dependence on shippers, and their time needed to forward hardware from one location to another, was inconsistent with VERITAS Software's business challenge. Using Tadpole-Cycle's UltraBookIIi portable workstations, economically and conveniently solved these logistics problems.

click for more info
on UltraBookIIi

"Tadpole-Cycle's portable UltraBookIIi workstations met our immediate need for a hardware solution that not only was supported by our software, but also could be shipped easily and economically," said Tony DeCicco, vice president of professional services, VERITAS Software. "The majority of our enterprise storage management solutions are based on Sun's Solaris technology, so the portable UNIX workstations are a perfect fit in VERITAS Mobile Academy."

UltraBookIIi UltraBookIIi is Tadpole-Cycle's flagship portable workstation built around Sun Microsystems' UltraSPARC IIi and Solaris technologies. ...Tadpole-Cycle profile, ...VERITAS Software profile

SCOTTSDALE, AZ-March 8, 2001- Information Technology Toolbox, Inc. (ITtoolbox), an online collaborative network supporting information technology (IT) and business professionals, has recently launched an online knowledge base for a vital component of IT, data storage:- ITtoolbox Storage. Industry experts believe data storage will continue its rapid rate of growth regardless of economic trends because acquiring adequate data storage resources is something that simply cannot be put off until a later time. Enterprise Storage Group, a research and analyst group for the storage industry has said that storage spending can make up more than 50 percent of a typical IT department's budget.

"Data storage is enormously important. The tremendous increase in data processing over the past 20 years and the massive amounts of data generated by the Internet has resulted in demand for sophisticated and powerful storage products. Vendors have responded by introducing solutions that can not only handle today's storage needs but can scale to meet continued strong growth," said Dan Morrison, president of ITtoolbox.

"What we are seeing is an evolution that provides the same scalability to storage that client server provided to computing -- and just in time. Of course, as with anything this important and rapidly changing, businesses and IT professionals utilizing this new technology will need a place to go to stay on top of storage trends and find solutions to daily challenges they encounter. That is exactly what ITtoolbox Storage provides."

ITtoolbox Storage assists both IT and business professionals by acting as an online support structure in this ever-changing field of technology. As with all other portals in the network, ITtoolbox Storage is free to use. ITtoolbox Storage offers:

Focused discussion forums

A comprehensive vendor solutions directory

Daily industry news

A documents section featuring peer publishing, industry articles, vendor white papers, and downloads

A job listing database

See also:- Storage Portals directory

Housatonic, MA - March 8, 2001 - Gilder Publishing, LLC announced today that George Gilder, chairman of Gilder Publishing and author of the Gilder Technology Report, will host the first storewidth industry conference, April 10-12, at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel, CA. The storewidth paradigm is at the heart of the next phase of Internet development. Gilder's conference, Storewidth 2001 - the End of Storage, will feature the long-standing giants of storage and pioneers in the emerging new storewidth industry. For three days, executives from Novell, Exodus, Network Appliance, EMC, Inktomi, Sun and Veritas will share the stage with startups like BlueArc, Scale Eight, Nishan Systems, TrueSAN, and Mangosoft.

current STORAGEsearch - News

more *IT news* sources for Storage Searchers
STORAGE portals	Storage Industry Trade Associations & other info sources	Daily Sun / SPARC news in the SPARC Product Directory	STORAGE trade shows & events
DVD related news from EMEDIA Live	Opportunities & Trends in Data Storage & Retrieval Mass Storage News	news for IT Marketers on Downes Strategic Marketing	Storage News from TechWeb
IT news from c/net	Daily news for computer resellers from VarBusiness	Daily enterprise computing news from Moreover.com	IT news from Newsbytes News Network
Technology News from NewsNow.co.uk	High Tech news from The Nando Times	VME manufacturer news VITA	UK IT Press releases from SourceWire
Technology news from InternetWire	Technology news on Bloomberg.com	News for Nerds from Slashdot	IT news with a UK slant from the Register
General computer news from Computer Currents	Technology news from Wired		UK IT news from VNUnet.com

main index	storage manufacturers	storage products	add url	articles	Resellers
STORAGEsearch is published by ACSL

Storage news

2001, March week 2, storage news archive

more IT news sources for Storage Searchers