AMS UNVEILS VERSION 2.0 FIRMWARE FOR DAKOTARAID NAS APPLIANCE.Advanced Media Services, Inc., Wilmington, Mass., has unveiled a new firmware (version 2.0) for it's DakotaRAID Network Attached Storage Appliance. New features added with firmware version 2.0 include support for Macintosh clients, global hot spares, Gigabit Ethernet, file level security for NFS (Network File System) The file sharing protocol in a Unix network. This de facto Unix standard, which is widely known as a "distributed file system," was developed by Sun. See file sharing protocol and WebNFS. NFS - Network File System environments, VERITAS Backup Exec(tm) agent and support for basic tape drive autoloaders. Along with these new feature introductions, AMS AMS - Andrew Message System has also qualified high performance 73 GB 10K RPM SCSI SCSI in full Small Computer System Interface Once common standard for connecting peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, etc.) to small and medium-sized computers. SCSI has given way to faster standards, such as Firewire and USB. disk drives, boosting configuration capacities to 500 GB (425 GB RAID 5). New Features DakotaRAID is a workgroup class NAS (1) See network access server. (2) (Network Attached Storage) A specialized file server that connects to the network. A NAS device contains a slimmed-down operating system and a file system and processes only I/O requests by supporting the popular appliance optimized for serving files in heterogeneous network environments and meets today's network administrators' needs for a simpler, more cost effective way to store, archive, backup and distribute data. With the addition of AFP (1) (AppleTalk Filing Protocol) The file sharing protocol used in an AppleTalk network. In order for non-Apple networks to access data in an AppleShare server, their protocols must translate into the AFP language. See file sharing protocol. (Apple File Protocol) support, Macintosh clients can now access DakotaRAID over TCP/IP TCP/IP in full Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol Standard Internet communications protocols that allow digital computers to communicate over long distances. or AppleTalk. This makes DakotaRAID a flexible storage solution for educational and graphic art environments, in which Windows and Macintosh clients share network resources. Support for global hot spare drives increases data availability by enabling you to dedicate a spare drive to automatically replace a failed drive and rebuild the RAID set without administrator involvement or client interruption. The option for a Gigabit Ethernet upgrade satisfies the needs of high-speed network customers and provides investment protection for customers currently utilizing 10/100 Mbit Ethernet. NFS file level security support was added in response to UNIX UNIX Operating system for digital computers, developed by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories in 1969. It was initially designed for a single user (the name was a pun on the earlier operating system Multics). customers' needs for more advanced security. Version 2.0 also addresses demands for better data backup options. For starters, customers utilizing VERITAS Backup Exec can now set up a backup agent and export shares or RAID groups for backing up data to a VERITAS Backup Server. Support for other major backup solutions will be included in future releases. To increase the capacity of local backups, support for basic tape autoloaders has been added. About DakotaRAID DakotaRAID is designed to separate storage resources from network and application servers in order to simplify storage management and improve the reliability, performance and efficiency of your network, thus increasing the overall productivity of your organization. It attaches directly to your existing LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. and transfers data to clients over industry standard network protocols (TCP/IP, IPX (Internetwork Packet EXchange) The network layer protocol in the NetWare operating system. Similar to the IP layer in TCP/IP, it contains a network address and allows messages to be routed to a different network or subnet. or AppleTalk) using industry standard file access protocols (SMB/CIFS, NCP, AFP, NFS, FTP or HTTP HTTP in full HyperText Transfer Protocol Standard application-level protocol used for exchanging files on the World Wide Web. HTTP runs on top of the TCP/IP protocol. ). A file system is located and managed on DakotaRAID, enabling cross-platform access to storage resources, reducing storage management costs and increasing user productivity. DakotaRAID features an embedded, streamlined operating system running on a tightly integrated hardware platform and is very efficient at performing its designed function, serving data. Web browser-based management tools embedded in flash memory simplify administration and product enhancements. Support for RAID levels 1 and 5, hot swappable disk drives, global hot spares and redundant, hot swappable power supplies and fans provides high data availability. DakotaRAID ensures a low total cost of ownership by eliminating unnecessary hardware, operating system license and administrative costs of a complex system. Configurations and Pricing DakotaRAID NAS Appliances are available in SCSI configurations up to 500 GB and Ultra ATA configurations up to 300 GB. A 240 GB (180 GB RAID 5) DakotaRAID ATA (1) (AT Attachment) The specification for IDE drives. See IDE. (2) See analog telephone adapter. ATA - Advanced Technology Attachment 400 Rack (2U) configuration has a list price of $4495, while a 252 GB (216 GB RAID 5) DakotaRAID 8000 SCSI with hot swap drives, power supplies and fans lists for $16,995. About Advanced Media Services Advanced Media Services designs, manufactures and supports network storage and data distribution solutions that provide superior price/performance, high reliability and ease of installation, management and use. AMS is dedicated to customer service and committed to providing storage solutions that reduce your total cost of ownership and increase your productivity. AMS is located at 10 Upton Drive, Wilmington, MA 01887. For more information, call (800)466-0813 or visit http://www.amsstorage.com. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion