Bus-Tech has announced a new product – the iSCSI Storage Server – and iSCSI protocol support on its Mainframe Appliance for Storage; expanding the tape-on-disk product family to include an IP-based Storage Controller.
Bus-Tech’s Mainframe Appliance for Storage (MAS) is a System/390 Tape-on-Disk Controller providing ESCON connection to System/390 class mainframes. Open systems disk storage is attached to the MAS to house mainframe tape volumes. MAS supports storage connected via Ultra160 SCSI, Fibre Channel, or Gigabit Ethernet. The iSCSI Storage Server announced today is a standalone controller that connects Ultra160 SCSI or Fibre Channel storage to an IP network using iSCSI protocols. The iSCSI Storage Server is designed for use with MAS; extending the Ultra160 SCSI channel length or using a gigabit Ethernet backbone to bridge the MAS with corporate SAN resources.
The iSCSI Storage Server is a rack mount 1 U (1.75″) server with two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, an external Ultra160 SCSI interface, and an optional fibre channel interface. External SCSI and/or Fibre Channel disk subsystems can be directly attached.
MAS can use exported iSCSI Storage Server disks for primary data storage, backup storage, a local synchronous mirror of primary storage, or a remote asynchronous mirror. Customers using MAS and iSCSI Storage Server to implement backup/disaster recovery strategies can capture backups of mainframe data volumes on local SCSI or fibre channel disks using the MAS and then can mirror those backups anywhere in the world using high-speed Internet access and the iSCSI Storage Server.
“Together the iSCSI Storage Server and Mainframe Appliance for Storage with Gigabit Ethernet support provide customers with new, low-cost alternatives for implementing backup / disaster recovery solutions for their corporate mainframes across the Internet,” said Al Brandt, V.P. and General manager for Bus-Tech, Inc.
The iSCSI Storage Server equipped with 2 Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45 interfaces and a single High-Density 68-pin Ultra160 SCSI interface lists for $8,500.
