Artecon Extends Open Systems Storage with Linux Interoperability; LynxArray and LynxNSS Product Lines Support Preferred Operating System for ISP Servers and Web Sites.SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 1999--Artecon (Nasdaq:ARTE) today reaffirmed its leadership position in high-availability open systems SAN-, server- and network-attached storage See NAS. (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 ) solutions by announcing support for the Linux operating system (OS) across its LynxArray(TM) and LynxNSS(TM) product lines. Linux, a long-time favorite of the scientific and educational communities, has recently received increasing attention because of its popularity with Web developers and ISPs (Internet service providers Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. ). Linux is a versatile, economical and scalable Unix variant that offers excellent performance for corporate network services such as Web, email, FTP FTP in full file transfer protocol Internet protocol that allows a computer to send files to or receive files from another computer. Like many Internet resources, FTP works by means of a client-server architecture; the user runs client software to connect to (file transfer protocol A communications protocol used to transmit files without loss of data. A file transfer protocol can handle all types of files including binary files and ASCII text files. See Kermit, Zmodem and FTP. ), firewalls and proxies. Its prevalence in the Web populace stems from Linux's fundamental multitasking multitasking Mode of computer operation in which the computer works on multiple tasks at the same time. A task is a computer program (or part of a program) that can be run as a separate entity. , multi-user architecture required for most ISP (1) See in-system programmable. (2) (Internet Service Provider) An organization that provides access to the Internet. Connection to the user is provided via dial-up, ISDN, cable, DSL and T1/T3 lines. applications. "Linux support is one of the more important reasons we selected Artecon products for MultiAccess (the Internet services organization of ING Bank, headquartered in the Netherlands), since other storage systems we evaluated had trouble with Linux," said Gerard Beekmans, technical director for Comrac, the systems integrator that implemented Internet services systems for MultiAccess. "We're running Solaris, NT and Linux and have a LynxArray on the Web server and another LynxArray on the news server while the LynxNSS NAS system is used for Web hosting. MultiAccess has been extremely happy with both products in their heavy use Linux production environment." Rob Ferber, chief technology officer at Consumers Network, an e-commerce solutions provider, commented, "I watched Artecon's LynxNSS rebuild a file system while under load -- it was beautiful! We kept it under load the whole time and didn't experience a single glitch A temporary or random hardware malfunction. It is possible that a bug in a program may cause the hardware to appear as if it had a glitch in it and vice versa. At times it can be extremely difficult to determine whether a problem lies within the hardware or the software. See glitch attack. or moment of degraded performance. We run a pure Linux e-commerce system and I'd trust our Web site to this system and be able to sleep soundly each night." LynxArray's Controller Design Enables Linux Support LynxArray is Artecon's highly scalable, high-performance RAID product line targeted for corporate data centers, scientific and technical applications, and ruggedized environments such as telecommunications infrastructures or on-the-move operations. Linux support is made possible via LynxArray's driverless architecture that embeds intelligence in its RAID controllers to perform RAID functions. This design allows LynxArray to provide operating system and platform independent RAID storage that is immune to server changes and upgrades. Driver-dependent RAID systems, by contrast, require software drivers to be written for each host OS specific to the exact revision and patch. Because Linux is emerging into commercial applications, few software drivers are available for Linux to ensure widespread support of various storage devices. Linux Support Inherent to LynxNSS Network Storage Servers LynxNSS is Artecon's network-attached storage (NAS) product line that supports network file systems protocols from Unix and Windows operating systems for file sharing and storage over the network. Linux, being a variant of Unix, utilizes the same Unix file system The Unix file system (UFS) is a file system used by many Unix and Unix-like operating systems. It is also called the Berkeley Fast File System, the BSD Fast File System or FFS. It is a distant descendant of the original filesystem used by Version 7 Unix. storage (ufs) and file transfer (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 ) protocols supported by LynxNSS. Additionally, LynxNSS and Linux both follow TCP/IP TCP/IP in full Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol Standard Internet communications protocols that allow digital computers to communicate over long distances. , the universally accepted Internet protocol, for network communication. For users wanting to migrate from their existing OS to take advantage of Linux, LynxNSS is especially appropriate because of the system's ability to read and serve files from multiple protocols, thus avoiding the cumbersome task of copying files into different file system formats and taking those files offline. About Artecon Founded in 1984, Artecon designs, manufactures, markets and supports a broad range of enterprise storage solutions to satisfy the high availability, performance and capacity requirements of the open systems market. On March 31, 1998, Artecon completed a merger with independent RAID storage vendor Storage Dimensions, creating one of the world's largest open systems, independent storage companies serving the PC-LAN PC-LAN Personal Computer Local Area Network and Unix markets. The combined company's products consist of server-attached as well as network-attached storage systems. In addition, the company's EXTREME product line includes disaster-tolerant RAID systems for telco Central Office and Internet applications. Artecon has a Japan-based subsidiary and a Europe-based subsidiary with offices in France, England and the Netherlands. The company also operates through reseller and distributor channels worldwide. Additional information on Artecon can be found on the Internet at http://www.artecon.com. |
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