Network attached storage (NAS) pioneer Network Appliance plans to
launch a new storage product family, called NearStore, in mid
2002.
Billed as a rapid recovery and backup consolidation solution,
NearStore products will "combine data on tape with disk technology
to bring down the cost of backup storage to about two cents per
megabyte", said Mark Santora, Network Appliance's senior
vice-president of marketing.
While the company revealed only minor details of NearStore, the
product line will be scalable to 100Tbytes, he added.
NearStore software will allow administrators overseeing large
deployments of geographically dispersed Network Appliance NAS
storage systems to automate backup routines over existing Internet
Protocol (IP) networks. Snap-shot technology will also be a
component of NearStore, said Santora.
"For remote filers, NearStore will have snap/mirror-type technology
that allows you to move information intelligently back to a
near-line data storage device," he said.
"You can have regional systems that snap back to each other, so you
can have a domino effect that snaps to one system then snaps to
another system. They'll be a number of different ways to apply
this."
But keeping the cost of backup storage down will be a main driver
for NearStore, said Santora.
"The cost of storage using NearStore will be two cents a megabyte
as a rule. There is a definite cost space between spinning media
and tape, and this is the product that exploits that," he
said.
Network Appliance has also introduced three NAS filers and an
availability insurance programme for large enterprise customers
with significant install bases.
Designed as an entry-level system for remote offices or small
workgroups, the F87 offers 576Gbytes of Ethernet-based storage
within a single desk-mounted or rack-mounted chassis. Pricing for
the F87 starts at $15,000 (£10,460).
For larger deployments, the F810 offers 1.5Tbytes of storage and
the F810c is scalable to 3Tbytes in a clustered environment.
Pricing for the F810 systems begins around $40,000.
Large Network Appliance customers can also enjoy a 99.99% data
access service-level agreement from Network Appliance, said
Santora.
Availability Insurance guarantees against product downtime and
provides around-the-clock support from four Network Appliance
support centres, he added. The insurance costs around $100,000 for
a large enterprise company.