Artecon Launches LynxNSS Product Line; The Industry's Only Fibre Channel Specialized Network-Attached Storage Solution Announced.SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 1997--Artecon, the leading manufacturer and supplier of the broadest spectrum of enterprise storage solutions, today announced its LynxNSS(TM) product line of high-speed network-attached storage See NAS. servers. This new product line, which will debut at Artecon's booth S8152 and also be demonstrated at the Fibre Channel Loop Community exhibit area (room N250) at COMDEX The former, premier computer trade show in the U.S. Although it grew into an end user event, it was originally created for dealers and distributors (it was the COMputer Dealers EXposition). Fall '97 in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. , Nov. 17-21, includes the only specialized network-attached storage servers to leverage the dramatic performance and functional benefits associated with Fibre Channel (FC) interfaces to the network. With support for FC-AL (Fibre Channel-Arbitrated Loop) See Fibre Channel. FC-AL - Fibre Channel-Arbitrated Loop. (Arbitrated Loop A ring topology used in Fibre Channel. Up to 127 devices may be attached in the loop, but only two can communicate at the same time, reflecting the channel nature of Fibre Channel technology. ) and FC switched-fabric topologies, LynxNSS provides added resiliency and flexibility to networks requiring high-speed data transfers, especially with video streaming See streaming video and video stream. or image processing applications. In addition to delivering significant speed increases in file transfers, Fibre Channel is also expected to play a major role in an industry trend toward Storage Area Networks (SANs) -- specialized networks that link multiple servers with multiple storage systems. "With its 10km cabling range between nodes and gigabit bandwidth capability, Fibre Channel is fast becoming the most effective choice for the high-end enterprise backbone," said Dana Kammersgard, vice president of sales and marketing at Artecon. "With its network connectivity, multi-platform support, and superior performance, the LynxNSS is a compelling solution for enterprises with plans to implement SANs." LynxNSS Offers Maximum Versatility in Enterprise Storage To ensure that the LynxNSS provides IT investment protection and the highest degree of flexibility to network administrators, the LynxNSS was developed with these advantages: -- A wide variety of network interfaces including 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) Often pronounced "fiddy," it was a LAN and MAN access method that had its heyday in the mid-1990s. FDDI was an ANSI standard token passing network that transmitted 100 Mbps over optical fiber up to 10 kilometers. , CDDI (Copper Distributed Data Interface) A version of FDDI that uses UTP (unshielded twisted pair) wires rather than optical fiber. The technology was developed by Crescendo Communications, Sunnyvale, CA, which was acquired by Cisco in 1993. , and quarter and full-speed Fibre Channel to accommodate changes in network requirements. -- The capability to simultaneously support multiple file transfer protocols A list of notable file transfer protocols: List of file transfer protocols Primarily used with TCP/IP
NFS - Network File System , SMB/CIFS, and 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. -- to facilitate file sharing in heterogeneous computer environments so that all 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). , Windows 95 and Windows NT clients can access files at the same time. -- The ability to have mixed RAID levels so systems administrators can choose a different RAID level -- 0, 1, 3, 5 or 1+0 -- for each application in order to tune system performance for the needs of individual groups. LynxNSS Delivers Industry-Leading Performance The LynxNSS features Artecon's AerREAL(TM) real-time file server software. AerREAL is based on open standards and was conceived and designed to perform one specialized task well -- serving files fast. With just 250,000 lines of code The statements and instructions that a programmer writes when creating a program. One line of this "source code" may generate one machine instruction or several depending on the programming language. A line of code in assembly language is typically turned into one machine instruction. , compared to several million normally used by a UNIX derivative OS, AerREAL eliminates unnecessary overhead and focuses exclusively on providing rapid file access. The fewer lines of code also translates into a system that is much more reliable as well as easy to administer and maintain. The multi-processor architecture of the LynxNSS incorporates a Pentium processor fully dedicated to file transfer and additional RAID RISC processors to isolate RAID functions. This multi-processor architecture is advantageous during normal operations and particularly when disk failure occurs. Competing systems slow down significantly during disk failure because they must rely upon a single processor to perform both the rebuild operation and the normal file transfer functions. LynxNSS' multi-processor architecture frees up the Pentium processor to continue its file service function without interruption and enable rebuilds that take only minutes, compared to rebuilds that take days on single-processor systems. LynxNSS Provides Enhanced Data Integrity and Fault Tolerance The LynxNSS utilizes the most proven and effective filing method, the Journaling Automation System (JAS JAS James JAS Journal of Animal Science JAS Jamaica AIDS Support JAS Journal Abbreviation Sources JAS Japan Air System JAS Just A Second JAS Japanese Agricultural Standard JAS Jordanian Astronomical Society (Amman, Jordan) ), which maintains real-time journaled records of all file operations on disk. JAS accomplishes safe writes directly to the disk I/O (Input/Output) The transfer of data between the CPU and a peripheral device. Every transfer is an output from one device and an input to another. See PC input/output. I/O - Input/Output subsystem without the added step of temporarily holding it in memory. In the event of power failure, the file volumes on a LynxNSS RAID drive are always available in a consistent and current state in less than 60 seconds, as opposed to competing systems that may take hours. The RAID controllers and CPUs of the LynxNSS can be optionally configured for failover so that upon failure of the primary unit, the secondary controller or processor takes over for nonstop operation. Hot-swap RAID controllers and disk drives allow replacement of failed components without taking the server offline. The LynxNSS also employs all the advanced event-reporting and fault-tolerant features of the LynxArray RAID system (see Artecon press release Oct. 30, 1997) including SAF-TE SAF-TE SCSI Access Fault-Tolerant Enclosure management interface, N+1 hot-swap fans, dual redundant hot-swap power supplies and dual AC inlets. Pricing and Availability LynxNSS will be shipping in December 1997. Pricing starts at $15,995 for a 27GB LynxNSS system or $0.60 per megabyte. About Network-Attached Storage Servers and SANs There is growing demand for centralized storage systems with the protection of RAID (redundant array of independent disks) and simplified backup afforded by network-attached storage servers. A network-attached storage server with diverse network interface abilities and cross-platform interoperability simplifies systems management and reduces costs. With crucial corporate information dispersed over many different servers and networks in client-server systems, the network-attached storage server can establish a central point of access and management to the distributed data, creating the Storage Area Network (SAN). The SAN provides a high-performance infrastructure to protect from data loss and to make the information easily available and accessible. About Artecon Founded in 1984, Artecon provides turnkey systems integration to Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies and universities. Artecon's products fall into three broad categories: workstation and server rack solutions; power; and mass storage. The company has subsidiaries in Japan, France, England and the Netherlands and also operates through reseller channels worldwide. Additional information on Artecon products and services can be found on the Internet at http://www.artecon.com . -0- Note to Editors: All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CONTACT: Artecon Sudi Liu, 760/431-4463 or The Townsend Agency Stephanie McGuire, 619/457-4888 |
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