IBM today announced new network attached storage (NAS) systems that double the processor speed and storage capacity of its previous models including the industry’s first network products with accelerators available to mid-sized customers.
Demand for midrange storage products is seeing dramatic growth rates due to the increase in storage networking by both mid-sized and enterprise customers who are increasingly turning to high performing products that also are lower in cost and easier to manage and install. Higher performing products that improve network speed and deliver more autonomic capabilities will help transition customers as they evolve to on-demand computing.
“IBM’s strategy is to deliver the latest technology advances to our customers as quickly as possible so that they can take advantage of these new technologies,” said Walter Raizner, general manager of storage products division, IBM Storage Systems Group. “These new and powerful Network Attached Storage models are targeted to mid-sized customers who require rock-solid performance and the IT infrastructure to grow their business.”
Highlights of today’s announcements include:
- TotalStorage Network Attached Storage (NAS) 200 – double processing power and 50 percent faster Windows performance than previous models using new, faster 2.4 GHz Intel Xeon processors and first NAS to integrate accelerator adapters to help speed storage network traffic. First NAS with 146.8GB disk drives that now doubles the capacity up to 7 terabytes.
- TotalStorage NAS Gateway 300 – double the processing power and 50 percent faster Windows performance than previous models using new, faster 2.4 GHz Intel Xeon processors and first NAS to integrate accelerator adapters to speed storage network traffic. Double the throughput capabilities to storage area networks using 2Gb fibre channel attachment.
- TotalStorage FAStT – double the capacity using new 146.8 GB disk drives boosting capacity from 7 terabytes up to 32 terabytes.
- IBM Tivoli Software – IBM Total Storage Solution Centers worldwide will be enabled with the recently announced Tivoli Storage Resource Manager by the end of fourth quarter 2002. Tivoli’s SRM includes expanded autonomic capabilities for web-based storage resource management and is easy to install and configure, reducing deployment and administration costs for mid-sized customers.
Industry First NAS to Accelerate Network Performance
IBM’s new NAS 200 and NAS Gateway 300 models increase Windows performance by 50 percent over previous models. In addition, Unix application performance has also increased by 30 percent for both models, compared to previous models. These results were achieved by using new, faster 2.4 GHz Intel Xeon processors and the integration of TCP/IP Offload Engine (TOE) technology using accelerator adapters.
Accelerator adapters are designed to deliver high-speed network performance by moving TCP/IP processing from the NAS processor to a custom processor specifically designed to manage this function in hardware. The TCP/IP processing overhead on NAS processors can consume up to 90 percent of the processing cycles. Offloading this processing with accelerator adaptors frees the NAS to make available more processor cycles and thereby increasing overall performance throughput. Benefits of this technology for customers include improved response time as well as the ability to support more users with simultaneous requests to data.
The NAS 200 also includes new 146.8 GB disk drives to boost capacity by more than double, up to 7 terabytes.
Additional connectivity improvements include support for 2Gb Fibre Channel attachment for the Gateway 300, providing double the throughput capability for SANs and redundant paths to storage area networks.
Finally, IBM also will expand the availability of its recently introduced IBM TotalStorage NAS 100 to allow any IBM Business Partner currently eligible to remarket products from IBM’s Personal Computers Division to remarket the NAS 100 to its customers.
“IBM’s new TotalStorage NAS and FAStT models will help provide customers with higher performance storage networks while still maintaining their ease of use and lower cost,” said Steve Licata, practice manager of Storage Solutions, Saturn Business Systems. “One of the greatest benefits when working with IBM is our enhanced ability to address our customer’s business problems by being able to offer a complete set of storage solutions, from NAS to SAN to storage software with IBM’s Tivoli.”
Both the NAS 200 Model and Gateway 300 Model will be available on November 22, 2002. Base list pricing for the NAS 200 Model begins at $17,295 (220 GB). Base list pricing for the NAS Gateway 300 begins at $63,100.
