Storage vendors debut new appliances, software

Storage vendors, including IBM and Sepaton, are readying new wares this week. IBM is rolling out a midrange tape library with encryption capabilities, while Sepaton is introducing virtual tape library appliances and refreshing its product line with appliances that support higher capacity and performance.

IBM's System Storage TS3400 Tape Library is intended for use by midsize businesses and enterprise workgroups. It uses a Java Encryption Key Manager to enable implementation across a variety of operating system platforms, including AIX, i5/OS, Linux, HP-UX, Solaris and Windows.

The TS3400 can hold as many as 18 tape cartridges and has the ability to be partitioned into two logical libraries. It attaches to the storage area network (SAN) via 4G-bit/sec dual-ported Fibre Channel technology. Further, the TS3400 can hold as much as 37.8TBs of compressed storage and can be used for write once read many functionality.

IBM also introduced the Cisco MDS 9124 for IBM System Storage, a midsized fabric switch with 1G-, 2G- and 4G-bit/sec capability. The MDS 9124 has eight to 24 ports and supports virtual SAN capabilities.

The IBM System Storage TS3400 Tape Library is expected to be available next month starting at US$30,000. The Cisco MDS is expected to be available Feb. 23 starting at US$4,830.

Sepaton, meanwhile, is shipping a new DeltaStor data deduplication appliance for small and midsize data centres and unveiling new versions of its virtual tape library (VTL) appliances. The S2100-ES2 DeltaStor deduplication appliance for large enterprise-size businesses is now shipping; the S2100-ES2 Series 500 and S2100-DS2 also are now shipping.

"Any VTL, disk to disk backup or archive target needs to enhance its performance, storage capacity, resiliency as well as capabilities for deduplication, data integrity and replication in order to remain competitive," says Greg Schulz, a senior analyst with StorageIO.

The S2100-ES2 DeltaStor Appliance uses Sepaton's ContentAware technology to deduplicate data outside of the primary data path. According to Sepaton's claims, customers will see a 50 to 1 de-duplication rate using the S2100-ES2.

Jeff Machols, vice president of Global Infrastructure and systems integration manager for CitiStreet in Jacksonville, Fla., is beta testing DeltaStor's ContentAware deduplication technology.

"So far we've seen a 56-to-1 compression ratio using one week's worth of data," Machols says. Machols' data consists of Unix and Linux file-system information.

The S2100-DS2 DeltaStor appliance is available with 7TBs of physical usable capacity and can protect as much as 200TBs of data after deduplication.

The S2100-DS2 DeltaStor appliance is priced at $75,000; the S2100-ES2 Series 500 VTL starts at $59,000; and the S2100-DS2 VTL starts at under US$18,000.

In other storage news, Bakbone Software is shipping a new version of its storage resource-management software, which now supports Microsoft Exchange databases. BakBone's NetVault: Report Manager Version 3.5 is aimed at helping Microsoft Exchange users maximize their storage-use rates. Version 3.5 provides real-time information on Exchange server space use and tools for forecasting Exchange database storage growth.

For its part, Yosemite Technologies announced the acquisition of FileKeeper, a vendor of continuous data-protection software. The company will add FileKeeper's software to its Yosemite Backup software and also market a stand-alone version. Both products are currently shipping. Yosemite Backup with FileKeeper starts at US$30 per user; Yosemite FileKeeper starts at US$45 per user.