Storage companies Nissho Electronics and Hitachi CP and Alacritus(TM) Software have joined together to bring to market what they say is the first virtual tape library appliance, the VTLA Smart Guard.
According to the companies, the virtual tape library technology is used as an intelligent and high-performance front-end cache for physical tape libraries or as a replacement for physical tape libraries.
The VTLA consists of Alacritus’ Securitus(TM) I software installed on an IA based appliance head and Hitachi disk subsystems. Hitachi CP is integrating these three components, with Nissho to resell the VTLA product through its partners and customers. There are two product models customers may choose from: VTLA 1000 for low-end systems, and VTLA 2000 for mid-range systems.