New Book on Enterprise
Storage
Editor:- May 7, 2009 - EMC has published a new
book (480 pages $60) - "Information
Storage and Management".
The book's 40 contributing writers
cover the evolution of storage technology, including traditional deployment,
consolidated storage networking and storage virtualization, while also
addressing the most prevalent storage technologies, including direct attached
storage (DAS), networked attached storage (NAS), storage area networks (SAN),
content addressed storage (CAS), and IP SAN.
Here's a quote from the
intro...
"Not long ago, information storage was seen as only a bunch of disks or
tapes attached to the back of the computer to store data..."
Yes -
I remember those bad
old days
(pre 1998) before people thought of storage as a single market. It sounds like
an interesting book.
You can never learn too much about storage. The 9
year old classic Storage
Architecture Guide is still a popular article today. See also:- Storage Training
Dolphin's New StorExpress SSD Ships in May
Editor:-
April 21, 2009 - MAGMA
and Dolphin
jointly
announced
they have collaborated to develop an improved version of the latter's
previously announced
StorExpress
(2U rackmount PCIe
connected SSD product line) which will ship next month.
Capacity
options include 0.5TB (under $20K), 1TB and 2TB. It achieves 270K read and write
IOPs (512 bytes to 4KB blocks) and up to 2.8GB/s of sustained bandwidth. Latency
is less than 50µS. The StorExpress enclosure can be positioned 1,000 feet
away from the host server using fiber.
"PCI Express, with its
tight linkages to microprocessors is the natural technology for creating high
performance systems" said Tim Miller, CEO Dolphin. "By partnering
with Magma we have created an exceptional solution - simple, elegant, cost
effective yet capable of delivering world class performance and flexibility."
flash SSD Jargon Explained
Editor:-
February 25, 2009 - understanding the list of ingredients inside flash SSDs -
is as important as knowing what you can do with them - and a new article
published today on StorageSearch.com tries to hit this fast moving
target.
"Just as some foods are healthier than others - so
too some SSDs are better suited for particular applications" says editor
Zsolt Kerekes. "Better user education about SSDs is a critical factor for
the industry to sustain its growth. Design tradeoffs in products go far
deeper than the choice of memory and interface. Being aware that there are other
parameters which SSD vendors have implemented well, badly (or not at all) can be
the difference between a satisfactory or disillusionary experience." ...read the article
Viking Launches SSD Backup Module for RAID Cache
Foothill Ranch.
Calif. - February 18, 2009 - Viking Modular Solutions announced
ArxCis-NV - a flash SSD based backup for cache memory in RAID controllers.
"Current
technology of backing DRAM modules with batteries provides protection for
approximately 72 hours and also brings a host of battery related issues to IT
managers. ArxCis-NV products help eliminate these issues..." said Adrian
Proctor, VP of Marketing for Viking Modular Solutions.
The ArxCis-NV is a JEDEC edge compatible registered DRAM module
with ECC which can write to its associated embedded SSD at 80MB/s triggered
by a drop in rail power. The module hold-up power (typically 10 to 15 seconds,
depending upon DRAM density) is supplied by Supercapacitors, which only require
10 seconds to fully charge. ...Viking profile
Brother Can You Spare $55? - USB Adapter Brings NAS to the
Masses
San
Jose, CA - December 11, 2008 - Addonics Technologies today launched a
low-cost ($55 list) USB-NAS storage adapter.
Once on the network,
USB storage can be shared
by any network user just like any
NAS device.
The
NAS adapter supports both SMB (Server Message Block) and the open source Samba
network protocols. This allows for cross-platform access of all shared data for
most versions of Windows, Mac OS X, and various Linux distributions. The adapter
comes with a USB 2.0/1.1 connection and a fast Ethernet 10/100Mbps connection.
For remote users who are not connected over the LAN, the NAS Adapter
provides FTP access for up to 8 simultaneous users anywhere in the world with an
internet connection. In addition, the NAS adapter can also be used as a print
server or as a bit-torrent file downloading appliance. Other features include
support for fast Ethernet 10/100 Mbps; the ability to power most 2.5" USB
hard drives or any low powered USB storage device; simple installation; small
and light weight (about the size of a C battery); support for Samba and FTP
servers; and user management that allows read only or read/write access to
folders. The Addonics NAS adapter is compatible with all Windows OS, Mac OS,
Linux 2.6.x and above, Solaris 9 and above. ...Addonics Technologies
profile
Emulex Promises FCoE for Sun's COMSTAR
COSTA MESA, Calif. -
November 18, 2008 - Emulex Corp today announced that it will offer
FCoE adapters for use with Sun Microsystems' COMSTAR.
COMSTAR - Common
Multiprotocol SCSI Target - is a software framework that enables you to turn
any OpenSolaris host into a SCSI
target that can be accessed over the network by initiator hosts. Emulex's FCoE
adapters can simplify networking infrastructure by consolidating
Fibre Channel and
networking traffic over a 10Gb/s Ethernet network, to reduce overall
infrastructure costs.
...Emulex profile,
SPARC Product Directory,
FCoE
- editor mentions on STORAGE search .com
ATTO Ships Fastest SAS/SATA HBAs
Amherst, NY -
November 13, 2008 - ATTO Technology, Inc. announces shipment of its
first 6Gbps SAS/SATA host adapters, to select OEMs and partners.
Leveraging
PCIe 2.0 and 6-Gb SAS speeds, ATTO says the
H608 (8 internal
ports) and H680 (8
external ports) deliver the fastest available connection to
SAS/SATA storage (up to
8GB/sec. full-duplex).
...ATTO Technology profile,
Record Breaking
Storage
Curtiss-Wright Ships Faster XMC / PMC SSDs
Leesburg, VA -
November 5, 2008 - Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing has
announced 2 new rugged flash SSDs in XMC and PMC form factors with upto 32GB
capacity.
Each card contains 2 independent SATA SSDs with upto 30MB/s
throughput. For maximum throughput (50MB/s) the 2 drives can be run in RAID 0
mode. Pricing starts at $2,495, and it's available in various air /
conduction cooled variants and consumes between less than 6W.
Curtiss-Wright,
Military & Rugged
Storage
Hifn Launches Hardware Dedupe Accelerators
LOS GATOS, Calif. -
October 14, 2008 - Hifn today introduced new hardware-accelerated, data
de-duplication products.
The Hifn De-Dupe Accelerator
250
(PCI-X) and 255 (PCIe) can deliver upto 250MB/sec combined hash filtering,
compression and encryption per card. Upto 4 cards can be combined into a single
node. OS support includes Suse and RedHat Linux. List price starts at $1,995 per
unit with OEM volume discounts available. ...Hifn profile,
deduplication faqs
STMicroelectronics Demos 6Gb/s SATA Interface
Geneva
- August 19,2008 - STMicroelectronics today demonstrated the world's
first MIPHY (Multi Interface PHY) Physical Layer interface for the new 6Gb/s
SATA Technology.
Physical Layer macro-cells perform the
high-speed serialization and de-serialization of data to and from the disk and
provide a 20-bit-wide parallel interface to the link layer. The ST demonstration
coincided with the official announcement by the
SATA International Org
of the new specification, which doubles the maximum data transfer speed from
3Gb/s to 6Gb/s, during the
Intel Developer Forum this week in San
Francisco.
The ST demonstration features the SATA Physical Layer
Serial Interface, fabricated in 65nm CMOS technology, that will power new HDDs
from a leading manufacturer later this year.
...STMicroelectronics
profile, storage chips |
|
| PLX's PCIe
Switches Used on SPARC Motherboards |
SUNNYVALE, Calif -
May 5, 2008 - PLX Technology, Inc. today announced that multiple PLX
PEX 8548 PCIe switches for high-performance PCIe fanout and slot expansion have
been designed to support the Sun SPARC Enterprise T5140 and T5240
servers.
The PEX 8548 is a highly flexible 48-lane PCIe switch. 2
PLX ExpressLane PEX 8548 PCIe switches each interface to a Sun UltraSPARC T2
Plus processor through a x8 PCIe link integrated directly into processor
silicon, which provides fanout to onboard devices and up to 6 x8 PCIe slots for
I/O expansion.
Unique key attributes include a remarkable low latency of 110ns, an
energy-saving low power requirement of only 4.9W (typical), flexible port
configurations (x1, x2, x4, x8, x16), true peer-to-peer communication, and
native Hot-Plug ports ensuring RAS (Reliability, Availability, Serviceability).
"As the market leader in advanced PCIe interconnect solutions,
PLX has delivered the high-performance PCI Express technology requirements of
key customers like Sun," said David Raun, VP of marketing and business
development at PLX Technology. "Sun demands very high-speed connectivity
and quality of service, and we are pleased that they find PLX products are
exceeding all expectations."
Editor's comments:- PCIe provides a low cost way to many high
performance upgrade options such as
PCIe SSDs.
Multiple Vendors Announce Support for FCoE
Editor:-
April 11, 2008 - this week Emulex and Intel
launched 10Gb/s Fibre
Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) adapters.
Emulex explained the
thinking behind this. With FCoE, customers may now leverage the ubiquity of
Ethernet to converge both storage and networking traffic, improve overall
efficiency and simplify the infrastructure. Designed to natively transport Fibre
Channel traffic over the Ethernet network, FCoE will take advantage of lossless
Ethernet in the data center. A lossless Ethernet fabric provides the level of
performance and reliable delivery of data required for enterprise storage
environments.
Intel's PCIe dual port FCoE adapter will be in volume production in
May and will be priced at $799. The entire Intel 10GbE family will have FCoE
support on Red Hat Enterprise Linux by July and on Windows later this year.
FCoE will be a new standard with support from leading storage and
switch oems. The first mention on these news pages was in
October 2007 -
when QLogic unveiled its products.
In theory FCoE may help customers
with an installed base of legacy FC applications reduce costs by moving them
onto Ethernet environments. In practise, as we saw with the long drawn out
birth pangs of the iSCSI
market - tidying up all the loose ends could take many years.
6Gb/s SAS Storage Comes Closer
SANTA
CLARA, Calif - April 7, 2008 - PMC-Sierra, Inc. and Seagate
Technology today announced interoperability between PMC-Sierra's
end-to-end 6Gb/s SAS chipset and Seagate's early development 6Gb/s SAS HDDs.
Travis Karr, VP of marketing at PMC-Sierra said "This
achievement provides server and storage system OEMs with the confidence that
PMC-Sierra and Seagate products will work together seamlessly in a SAS-2
eco-system."
...PMC-Sierra profile,
...Seagate profile,
chips | |
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Sun/SPARC Resellers in
the UK
