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storage news - 2005, February week 4

ActionFront Recovers Data from Chlorine Drenched Servers after South Carolina Train Disaster

Atlanta, GA - February 24, 2005 - today ActionFront Data Recovery Labs disclosed that it recently assisted Avondale Mills to recover from a major disaster.

The headline in the Augusta Chronicle on January 12, 2005 could not be any more definite and final: "Avondale Mills' Electronic Records Destroyed in Wreck."

This was a follow-up story about the January 6, Graniteville, SC train disaster that precipitated an evacuation and caused loss of life for nine people.

The wreck also destroyed computers in seven Avondale sites including the company's data processing center, located just yards from the wreck site. Included in the lost data were production programs and the company's financial records.

Due to the diligence of the IT team at Avondale, it turns out the bad news in the headline was premature. While the 90 tons of chlorine gas from the massive train wreck destroyed all the circuit boards, cabling and other parts in the computer-servers, virtually all of the data was in fact recovered.

Acting on the recommendation of Restoration Technologies Incorporated, Avondale's CIO Barry Graham located ActionFront Data Recovery Labs and engaged their 24/7 Critical Response Team for the assessment and possible recovery of one of the damaged servers. Soon after the authorities allowed access to the wreck-site, ActionFront's Atlanta lab received the set of damaged drives and went to work. The non-functional server-drives all suffered extensive corrosion and looked like 'complete write-offs' at first glance.

Happily it turns out that the corrosion had not seriously compromised the platters (internal disks in the hard drives) or the data on those platters.

Wearing protective equipment to shield themselves from toxic materials, the data recovery specialists first removed all damaged parts and cleaned up the drives. Circuit boards and other parts that matched the damaged drives were located in ActionFront's massive parts inventory (20,000 drives and counting) and the drives were revived long enough to access the still-readable raw content and make close-to mirror-image quality copies.

ActionFront then used the images to rebuild the data into usable files.

Encouraged by the first successful recovery, Avondale hand delivered additional sets of server-drives for recovery. Ultimately, the data from 21 servers (over 100 drives) was recovered in the space of two weeks as the Avondale employees travelled back and forth between Graniteville and Atlanta and multiple ActionFront teams worked 24/7 on the damaged media. ActionFront procured additional parts and equipment as needed and the teams solved many new problems including working with certain enterprise storage architectures that added to the complexity of the process.

Mr. Graham says "Of course we could have rebuilt our servers from our backups but we would have lost our most recent transactions and changes. Working with ActionFront meant that we were able to restore up-to-date and complete data-sets, greatly enhancing our business continuity".

Avondale has overcome many challenges in the wake of such a tragedy. Thanks to ActionFront, the potential data loss issues were quickly resolved. ...ActionFront Data Recovery profile, Data Recovery

Serial Attached SCSI - Sound Byte

SAS technology enables SCSI interface solutions beyond Ultra320 to the next-generation Direct Attach Storage enterprise server, storage systems, and high-performance workstation markets while retaining device-level backward compatibility.

The SAS standard defines a device-level enterprise storage interface incorporating SCSI command sets, serial point-to-point interconnections, dual porting, increased addressability and the ability to scale to small form factors. Because the SAS physical layer is compatible with Serial ATA (SATA), users will have the choice of populating their systems with SAS or SATA hard disk drives, or a combination of both.

...from a joint press release by LSI Logic and Tabernus

Serial Attached SCSI - Delivering Flexibility to the Data Center - article by LSI Logic and Maxtor

If you think you already know SAS because you know SATA and traditional SCSI then think again. Sometimes disruptive technologies wear an unassuming disguise. In fiction, Clark Kent, Frodo Baggins and Buffy Summers at first seem harmless, but we see them change into Superman, the Ring Bearer and the Slayer.

SAS too comes cloaked in plain garb - with a physical layer which looks a lot like SATA. But like the Incredible Hulk there are muscles rippling under that shirt - and you would be wrong to dismiss SAS so lightly. There's a lot more inside this interface than it says on the box as this informative article reveals.

...read the article, ...LSI Logic profile, ...Maxtor profile, Serial Attached SCSI

All Aboard the 4 Gigabit Train? - by Steve Gardner, Director of Product Marketing, Engenio
The future of 4 Gigabit Fibre Channel technology is here and by 2006 it will be widely adopted by organisations around the world.

Just 6 -months ago that statement would have been met with heavy skepticism; but today, industry analysts, customers and manufacturers all agree that 4 Gbps technology will be available from the world's leading IT vendors by mid-2005.

Companies with high performance computing needs, such as scientists, engineers, artists and others who need access to large amounts of data to solve complex problems, will be the first to adopt the technology. Four Gigabit Fibre Channel technology will enable auto manufacturers to reduce time to market and improve the safety of vehicles by making testing and simulations less time consuming. Energy companies will be able to conduct more iterations of analysis thereby improving the bidding process and increasing their probability of finding petroleum. Companies that aren't considered "traditional" high performance computing customers will also benefit. Food manufacturers, for example, will be able to redesign and improve packaging in less time by using 4 Gbps technology.

The entertainment industry will produce higher quality animated movies, in less time, when they adopt 4 Gbps technology. The producers of Polar Express, an animated film that was a holiday hit, used a new technique called "Performance Capture" that allows an actor to be covered in hundreds of tiny computer chips. The data from these chips contains precise information about all of the actor's movements, including facial expressions. Production of the graphics involved in the endeavor required millions of time consuming calculations. Had 4 Gbps been available, the time required to produce the movie could have been reduced significantly.

The most frequently asked question regarding 4 Gbps technology is "Why do I need this?" After all, most users still aren't taking full advantage of all that 2 Gbps SANs have to offer. The answer is twofold: technology and economics. As technology advances components become smaller, faster and less expensive. Vendors push improvements to differentiate and create competitive advantage. As a by product, the new technology can drive lower costs, creating an economic incentive for buyers to use the latest technology, even if their need is not immediate. When you add the fact that the new 4 Gbps technology will be compatible with 2 Gbps and 1 Gbps installations. There will be no need to uninstall 2 Gbps investments, and customers will be able to seamlessly plug into the improved infrastructure. This understanding changed the question from "Why do I need this?" to "When can I have this?"

It's important to remember that 4 Gbps Fibre Channel Technology is only part of the computing equation. If your performance bottleneck is the server horsepower for example, adding 4 Gbps infrastructure won't produce improved results. 4Gbps technology is just around the corner. The speed is impressive, and the costs are attractive. This train will be leaving the station soon. Don't be left behind. ...Engenio profile, Fibre-channel adapter cards, SAN, article:- Fibre-Channel SAN History

See also:- another article by Steve Gardner - Disk to Disk Backup versus Tape - War or Truce?

Broadcom Announces 1st SAS/SATA RAID-on-Chip

SAN FRANCISCO - February 28 2005 - Broadcom Corporation today announced the industry's first SAS/SATA RAID-on-Chip device targeted at volume server and workstation markets.

This highly integrated, multi-functional RoC device provides the cost, space and power savings required to accelerate the transition of enterprise-class RAID technology to a RAID-on-Motherboard solution. As a result of its cost-effective, single-chip design, the new Broadcom RoC will increase RAID adoption on cost-sensitive server and workstation platforms.

Representing an important transition in disk drive interconnect technology, Serial Attached SCSI is initially expected to start replacing SCSI in enterprise computing platforms in 2005, with wide adoption expected in 2006, according to a number of leading market research firms.

A driving factor behind this transition is the parallel interconnect limitations associated with SCSI technology and its effect on design, performance and scalability. SAS is a serial interconnect technology that incorporates high-performance, point-to-point links that are easy to design, deploy and scale. SAS is also compatible with the lower cost SATA interconnect technology that enables system design flexibility and allows for tiered storage offerings that mix SAS and SATA drives. Broadcom is driving I/O convergence and replacing both SCSI and discrete SATA I/O technologies with its single-chip RoC solution. Other trends driving the need for RAID-on-Chip devices are the increase in storage requirements and the move to lower capacity, small form factor 2.5-inch drives, which increase drive densities in servers and workstations. ...Broadcom profile

RamSan-325 Gets Cluster of Certifications

Houston, TX - February 28 2005 - Texas Memory Systems announced four significant interoperability certifications for its flagship RamSan-325 Fibre Channel solid state disk.

The certifications include Microsoft Designed for Windows Server 2003, Sun Solaris Ready, IBM TotalStorage Proven and McData OpenReady. Each of these certifications is awarded as a result of testing with the related platform.

The RamSan-325 can accelerate I/O intensive applications such as databases up to 2,500%. The performance boost from the RamSan can enable higher transaction loads and support more users without resorting to additional servers, associated licenses and management overhead. ...Texas Memory Systems profile, Solid State Disks

Verbatim in Volume Production of UDO Media

CHARLOTTE, N.C. February 28, 2005 - Verbatim Corp announced today that the Mizushima plant operated by its parent company, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media in Japan has begun volume production of Ultra Density Optical standard-compliant media.

Verbatim offers both 30GB Write Once and Rewriteable UDO disks that provide highly reliable, long-term storage and 25-millisecond random access for less than $2 per GB. In addition to offering a higher capacity and a low total cost of ownership, one of the catalysts for UDO's acceptance is the UDO drives can be integrated in libraries with MO drives so that UDO and MO media can co-exist. ...Verbatim profile

Luminex Launches Virtual Blue 3490 Tape Library

ANAHEIM, CA - February 28, 2005 -Luminex Software, Inc. today announced the introduction of its Virtual|BLUE 3490 mainframe tape library storage solution.

Virtual|BLUE 3490 allows mainframe customers the ability to directly use tape drives and libraries from major industry vendors and to include industry-standard products in their mainframe tape operations.

"We are pleased to introduce our first mainframe control unit developed entirely on the LEAP technology architecture," said Brian Hawley, co-founder and CTO of Luminex. "LEAP allows Luminex to leverage technology advancements throughout the industry and bring our products to market faster with state-of-the-art technology. ...Virtual|BLUE 3490 opens up mainframe tape storage to all of the benefits of the open systems world - with no proprietary boundaries and immense total cost of ownership benefits." ...Luminex Software profile

Tabernus Supports LSI Logic with SAS Diagnostics

MILPITAS, CA - February 25, 2005 - LSI Logic Corporation today announced that its Serial Attached SCSI Host Bus Adapters with Fusion Message Passing Technology architecture are now fully supported within Tabernus, LLC's suite of diagnostic and testing software.

Tabernus' NorthstarADT and GeminiQT test products will help storage device manufacturers, field service technicians, and integrators who use LSI Logic's SAS adapters to achieve faster cost-effective compliance with the new SAS technology paradigm.

"As one of the SAS pioneers, LSI Logic is pleased to work with Tabernus to bring products to market that further the advancement of the technology," said David Steele, director of product planning and management for LSI Logic's Storage Standard Products division. "The combination of our first to market SAS ICs and HBAs, and Tabernus' advanced diagnostic software will allow OEMs and system builders to confidently deliver SAS solutions to end customers." ...LSI Logic profile, ...Tabernus profile, Serial Attached SCSI, Storage Testers

Infineon Samples Thinnest 4GB DDR2 Memory

Munich, Germany - February 25, 2005 - Infineon Technologies AG today announced that it is sampling the industry's first dual-die based 4 Gigabyte DDR2 registered DIMMs for server applications.

Infineon's 4GB DDR2 registered DIMMs with 4.1mm module thickness and standard-size 30mm height are significantly thinner than comparable solutions. Thinner modules improve airflow and thermal conditions in current high-end DDR2 server systems, which can use up to four 4GB modules achieving a total memory capacity of 16GB per server system. Infineon's Dual Die technology enables smaller package footprints with superior electrical and thermal characteristics. ...Infineon profile, RAM manufacturers

Landscape of Opportunities in Digital Cameras

Phoenix, AZ - February 24, 2005 - Semico Research has published a new report on opportunities for semiconductor use in the digital camera market. Digital cameras are an attractive, rapidly growing semiconductor end-use market.

What are the opportunities for semiconductor manufacturers in this market? How can a semiconductor company get a piece of that market?

Semico Research Corp. study MP117-05, "Digital Cameras: Semiconductors Get the Picture," addresses those questions. This study provides digital camera forecasts by market segment, a typical digital camera BOM, semiconductor ASP forecasts, semiconductor TAM by device type and a wafer demand forecast. In addition, it provides discussions of market and technology trends that help identify opportunities.

Semiconductors are once again revolutionizing an established market. Film cameras simple enough for consumers to use were introduced in the late eighteen eighties. 110 years later more than 60 million film still cameras were being shipped annually. Then, digital cameras were introduced. Until 1999 digital cameras didn't have much of an impact, except with early adopters. Unit shipments were under 10 million units annually. Then, the market took off. Over the next five years, from 1999 through 2004, digital cameras unit shipments increased at a CAGR of 69.6%.

In 2004, digital camera sales surpassed film camera sales. Now, the market is poised for even more growth. Within ten years film camera sales will all but disappear. Semiconductors in digital cameras are reaching a very high level of integration, but there are still opportunities for many different types of semiconductors.

Interface circuits will be needed for infrared remote actuators, USB ports and other emerging interfaces. Thyristors will be needed for the flash illumination. Audio circuits will be needed. "Digital Cameras, Semiconductors Get the Picture" identifies and quantifies these opportunities. This study is available for immediate delivery for $3,500. To purchase, please contact Julie Patch at 602-997-0337. ...Semico Research profile, Market research, Flash Memory

The First PCI Express 10 Gb Ethernet Adapter

Cupertino, California - February 24, 2005 - Today Neterion Inc. announced Xframe E, the industry's first PCI Express-based 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapter.

The new 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapter requires no expensive rewrites to the end users' operating system software and they are able to keep their host-based TCP/IP stacks intact for reliability and security purposes. PCI Express is serial, rather than parallel, interconnect technology featuring advantages such as scalable bus bandwidth, lower overhead and lower latency and improved QoS. All major server and storage vendors are designing products equipped with PCI Express to meet the needs of customers who are requiring higher I/O performance. ...Neterion profile

Storage Startup Executives Speak Out at Roundtable

San Jose, CA - February 24, 2005 - An executive roundtable of prominent storage industry executives from leading storage companies will address the status and trends of the storage industry at the Network Storage Conference in Milpitas, California on March 8 & 9.

Participating on the roundtable to be held on the first day are:- Larry Boucher, Founder and CEO of Alacritech; David Coombs, CEO/President of IVivity; Kumar Malavalli, Founder/Chairman/CEO of InMage; Mark Spowart, President of StorageAge; Dr. Giora Yaron, Founder/Chairman of Exanet; and Ameesh Divatia, Founder/CEO Aarohi Communications. ...Network Storage Conference, Storage People

Editor's comments:- for founders of other storage startups who can't find any worthwhile market research data about their own emerging markets, and for power users, NSC 2005 will be the best place to find out what your peers are thinking. There's still time to book places.

Seagate Ships 6GB 1" Hard Drive

SINGAPORE - February 23, 2005 - Seagate announced today it is shipping the industry's highest capacity 1 inch hard drive, a new 6GB model of its popular ST1 Series for handheld applications.

The 6GB Seagate ST1 Series can hold up to 150 hours - or 3,000 songs - of high-quality music files (128 kbps). Since it was first introduced in June 2004, the Seagate ST1 Series hard drive family has been used in the leading handheld music players and adopted by more entertainment device makers than any other 1-inch hard drive - including Creative, Olympus, Rio, Sanyo, Virgin and others. ...Seagate profile

East Bay Business Times Discusses Solid State Disks

Editor:- February 23, 2005 - STORAGEsearch is quoted in a recent article in the East Bay Business Times which discusses takeover rumors and business developments related to several solid state disk companies.

It's written by Eric Lai, a Technology Reporter for the East Bay Business Times, and makes very interesting reading whether or not you're based in the San Francisco Bay Area. ...read the article, Solid state disks

Atempo's Backup Software Certified by Overland

PALO ALTO, Calif. - February 23, 2005 - Atempo, Inc today announced that its Time Navigator data protection software has been certified for use with the full line of REO disk-to-disk backup and recovery appliances from Overland Storage.

The joint solution offers a comprehensive set of features that address today's complex challenges including disaster recovery, compliance, security and rapid data growth. The REO Series in conjunction with a tape library delivers long-term archival benefits of tape, for a complete disk-to-disk-to-tape solution. ...Atempo profile, ...Overland Storage profile, Tape Libraries

Adaptec's SAS RAID Empowers New IBM Servers

MILPITAS, Calif. - February 23, 2005 - Adaptec, Inc. today announced that IBM's recently launched X3 architecture and eServer xSeries 366 solution incorporates Adaptec's Zero Channel Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) RAID controller.

IBM, with its new x366 announced yesterday, will be the first major vendor to ship a high-performance server built on SAS technology and RAID 6 data protection from Adaptec. IBM's new server, the x366, has set a performance record for 4-way Intel Xeon processor-based servers using the TPC-C online transaction processing benchmark and offers RAID 6 for maximum fault tolerance against drive failures.

"We have worked closely with IBM in their transition from Ultra320 SCSI to faster, more cost-effective SAS technologies, helping them to achieve the critical time-to-market and feature advantages," said Ahmet Houssein, VP and general manager of Adaptec. ...Adaptec profile, Serial Attached SCSI

See also:- Adaptec's article:- the Benefits of SAS for External Subsystems

Editor's comments:- we're going to see a lot of new servers this year which leverage faster storage interfaces like SAS and 4Gbps Fibre-channel to crank up their application performance. Without faster storage - typically upto 50% of the potential performance in modern server processors is wasted.

Aristos Ships Single Chip 4G RAID Storage Processor

Foothill Ranch, California – February 23, 2005 - Aristos Logic announced availability of the AL3400 UltraSlice, the industry's first single chip RAID solution supporting 4G Fibre Channel speed.

The AL3400 is Aristos Logic's second-generation product based on the company's breakthrough RAID Storage Processor technology. The AL3400 UltraSlice device integrates the RAID Storage Processor, 4G Fibre Channel host and disk interfaces and a PCI-X interface for communication to third party protocol devices such as SAS/SATA bridges.

The AL3400 UltraSlice is targeted at cost effective, yet cutting edge entry-level and mid-range external storage systems. Its highly automated pipelined architecture delivers performance that cannot be matched by today's solutions that are built with general-purpose microprocessors. Industry leading integration results in lower system costs, improved system reliability, reduced real estate requirements and lower power consumption. The AL3400 UltraSlice fully supports advanced, enterprise class features such as RAID 6 and spindle speed rebuild, which dramatically reduces the time required to re-create data from a failed disk drive.

"The industry transition to 4G Fibre Channel technology has begun in earnest and we expect product announcements and product shipments to pick up significantly as suppliers deliver various pieces of the 4G infrastructure - from servers to disk drives," said Richard Villars, VP of storage research at IDC. "Ensuring the availability of RAID, a key component of this infrastructure, in these solutions will be critical. Products like the Aristos Logic's AL3400 UltraSlice that help speed this transition will play major role in enterprises adoption of 4G Fibre Channel." ...Aristos Logic profile, RAID controller cards

BakBone Software Appoints CIO

SAN DIEGO - February 23, 2005 - BakBone Software today announced that Lonnie Wills has joined the Company in the newly created position of VP and CIO.

Reporting directly to the president and CEO, Jim Johnson, Wills will oversee BakBone's global IT infrastructure. Additionally, Wills will be responsible for developing and deploying systems, applications and network security throughout the Company, as well as streamlining business processes to more effectively deliver BakBone's line of data protection solutions to customers. Wills joins BakBone from Woodward Michaelson Ventures. ...BakBone profile, Storage People

LeftHand Networks Reaches Out to UNIX

BOULDER, Colo - February 22, 2005 - LeftHand Networks today announced a significant new release of SAN/iQ intelligent storage operating system.

Release 6.1 incorporates policy management capability for provisioning and snapshots, support for several UNIX operating systems, and RAID 5 support within a storage module. With this release, the SAN administrator can establish policies that allow a primary storage volume or a volume used to store snapshots to grow as needed - without administrator intervention - until a specified threshold is reached. Establishing an artificially large volume size in the operating system and using the auto-grow capability eliminates the manual steps frequently involved in data growth, simplifying the job of the administrator.

In addition, this release adds support for the Sun Solaris, HP-UX, and IBM AIX operating systems. This additional operating system support broadens the applicability of the LeftHand SAN into UNIX environments and customer sites with multiple operating systems.

"iSCSI SANs continue to grow in popularity and the types of applications and environments that can leverage the simplicity of iSCSI are expanding as vendors add functionality and OS support," said Robert Gray, senior analyst at IDC. "IDC expects to see a 189% growth in iSCSI storage systems deployments in 2005."

SAN/iQ's primary data availability technology is a patented synchronous replication scheme that writes data a specified number of times across multiple storage modules on the network. Release 6.1 adds support for RAID 5 data protection for customers starting with a single storage module. ...LeftHand Networks profile

SANRAD Automates IP SAN Pricing Comparisons

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - February 22, 2005 - SANRAD Inc. today announced a new web-based tool to help storage managers build a topology of their IP SAN and budget the cost of attaching different classes of servers.

It also provides cost comparisons to Fibre Channel SANs and direct attached storage. The IP SAN Builder, available at SANRAD's website, helps midrange to large enterprise users design a reliable, cost-effective and highly scalable centralized storage solution based on their own IP SAN preferences.

After entering the number of servers, requirement for high availability and selecting the types of storage systems intended for use, SANRAD's IP SAN Builder returns a configuration diagram that approximates the number of servers, switches, SANRAD V-Switches and storage systems required for implementing the requested solution. A final step displays a comparative matrix of costs associated with an IP SAN, FC-SAN and DAS. Typically, an IP SAN costs from 1/2 to 1/5 the price of a comparable FC-SAN.

"IP SAN Builder is a great step in furthering the understanding of IP SANs, how they are configured, and how they suit a range of customer environments," said Zophar Santé, SANRAD Vice President of Market Development. "By entering their own real-world criteria, such as the number of servers and their essential applications, and giving them a diagram that approximates their own open IP SAN topology, users can estimate for themselves how much a system will cost and how it will look within their environment."

An IP SAN from SANRAD can support up to 200 servers, over 50,000 unique volumes and more than 4,000TBs of capacity across multiple SCSI, FC and iSCSI storage systems. SANRAD's IP SAN-connected storage systems can use any type of disk drives, including FC, SCSI, SATA and ATA, and can utilize storage delivered from an FC SAN and tape libraries.

After configuring the storage solution they are interested in, users of the IP SAN Builder can contact SANRAD with the click of a button or take the information to a SANRAD iPartner to finalize configuration and pricing. ...SANRAD profile

SBS Tech Shows 4 Channel cPCI InfiniBand Adapter

Embedded World, Nuremberg, Germany - February 22, 2005 - SBS Technologies introduced the industry's first InfiniBand technology 4X dual-port optical-enabled CompactPCI Host Channel Adapter.

The IB4X-CPCI-2A InfiniBand HCA is engineered to drive the performance of high-speed InfiniBand fabrics with low CPU utilization. The HCA's two 4X InfiniBand ports can deliver overall throughput close to 400 MB/s. Application support includes Sockets Direct Protocol (SDP) for running over existing TCP applications, Internet Protocol over InfiniBand (IPoIB) to run IP over InfiniBand links, SCSI Remote Protocol (SRP) initiator for storage area networking, and embedded application support such as video streaming. The IB4X-CPCI-2A includes drivers for Linux. VxWorks drivers with Mirror API for real time embedded applications are also available. Available now, the IB4X-CPCI-2A HCA lists for $1,995. ...SBS Technologies profile, InfiniBand

Alan Baratz Named President of NeoPath Networks

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - February 22, 2005 -NeoPath Networks announced that Dr. Alan Baratz has been named president and CEO of the company effective immediately.

In his role, Baratz will have overall responsibility for NeoPath Networks' strategy, operations and drive to profitability. Rajeev Chawla, founding CEO of NeoPath Networks, will now serve as the company's executive VP of products, responsible for product delivery and setting product strategy and direction.

Baratz is highly regarded in Silicon Valley, bringing an impressive array of expertise in management, marketing and technology. His experience includes management of information technology startups and established market leaders. Baratz is widely known as the first president of the Software Products and Platforms (JavaSoft) division at Sun Microsystems. In that role he led the growth and adoption of the Java platform from its infancy to a robust platform supporting mission-critical applications in almost 80% of Fortune 1000 companies. Prior to Sun, Baratz was CEO of Delphi Internet and held a number of executive positions at IBM . ...NeoPath Networks profile

ARIO Announces 4Gbps FC RAID Controller

SAN JOSE, CALIF. - February 22, 2005 - ARIO Data Networks today announced the SANARIO FC, a 4Gbps external RAID controller that provides OEMs an essential tool for the creation of modular, cost effective fibre channel external storage subsystems for entry and mid-range deployments.

The SANARIO FC joins ARIO Data's broad family of RAID controllers that incorporates the latest in host and disk connectivity - 4 Gb fibre channel, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), and Serial ATA (SATA).

"Delivering the latest in fibre channel technology, the SANARIO FC provides the data availability, high performance, and data reliability OEMs expect in a fibre channel RAID controller," said Eric Herzog, vice president of marketing. "The SANARIO FC brings maximum data protection, dual active controller performance, and superior fault tolerance to SAN, NAS, and DAS environments."

"By 2008, fibre channel disk drives will comprise over 40% of the drives used in the external storage market," said Dave Reinsel, director of storage research at IDC. "As storage OEMs and their customers continue to demand high performance, availability, and data protection, solutions like ARIO Data's new 4 Gb fibre channel RAID solution provide the critical features needed for high-performance storage systems."...ARIO Data Networks profile

uDiskOnChip Embedded USB 2.0 Flash Storage

NUREMBERG, Germany - February 22, 2005 - M-Systems today announced the availability of uDiskOnChip USB 2.0 flash storage for the embedded market.

uDiskOnChip merges M-Systems' proven expertise in the USB 2.0 high-speed interface with its flash know-how in embedded systems to deliver the ideal storage solution for a vast array of markets such as, thin clients, POS work stations, gaming, single board computers and telecom infrastructure equipment. uDiskOnChi was developed specifically with embedded systems designers in mind, and addresses the increasing need for high-performance, uncompromising reliability, and security and encryption features - all in a cost-effective, plug-and-play device. A version with extended temperature ranges is also available for industrial-type applications that must reliably operate within environmental extremes.

"With this new product, M-Systems has fused its unique position in embedded mass storage with its strong competence in USB flash drives," said Semico flash analyst Jim Handy. "Given the astronomical growth in use of the USB interface, Semico would not be surprised to see this device propel widespread future use of flash storage in embedded applications, especially those that require high performance, reliability and extreme operating temperature ranges."

uDiskOnChip is available in capacities of up to 2GB and delivers read rates as high as 20 megabytes per second, resulting in fast OS boot and application loading rates. Write rates reach 10 megabytes per second, enabling faster file caching. ...M-Systems profile

User Groups Sponsor Network Storage Conference

San Jose, CA - February 22, 2005 - Two major storage user organizations have announced their support for the Network Storage Conference which takes place in Milpitas, on March 8-9.

The Association for Network Storage Professionals announced it is a conference sponsor and has invited its members to the Network Storage Conference. StorageNetworking.org has also announced that it is sponsoring the 2005 Network Storage Conference and invited its members to attend.

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