Cisco Introduces Internet Storage Router

Cisco Systems Inc. this week introduced a new storage router, the SN 5420, which is based on a new standard developed with IBM and leverages the Internet Protocol (IP).

According to Cisco, the advantage of its storage router is it should allow a large company to save money by reducing the number of places the company needs to store information, which in turn will also increase security and improve data access.

Mark Cree, general manager of Cisco’s storage business unit, said, “You can now consolidate the storage you may have had in five different locations to one location, so you can reduce the cost of ownership by not having to duplicate (information technology) staff to manage and own the storage.”

Cisco says the new router is not designed to replace existing technologies but to bring them together and make them more accessible. More than 250 storage and networking companies have committed to developing products based on the standard.

Cisco plans on showing off the SN 5420 at Storage Networking Wold, currently being held in Palm Desert California. The SN 5420 is slated to be available in April and sell for $27,000.