HITACHI DATA SYSTEMS ENTERS NAS MARKET.

Hitachi Data Systems has announced Hitachi Freedom NAS, the latest addition to its Freedom Data Networks portfolio of network solutions. The new solution allows customers to include both Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Network (SAN) storage requirements in a single pool of centrally managed storage. By incorporating Hitachi Freedom Storage systems in the Hitachi Freedom NAS solution, Hitachi Data Systems has enabled its customers to select the networking solution that best meets their business needs, while leveraging a common storage pool of highly reliable, easy to use, and highly scalable storage systems.

In configuring the Hitachi Freedom NAS, either the Hitachi Freedom Storage Lightning 9900 Series or the Thunder 9200 systems is attached to a NAS server supplied by Network Storage Solutions. This solution allows customers the option of allocating part of the capacity in a single storage unit -- up to 37 terabytes in the Lightning 9900 and up to 7.2 terabytes in the Thunder 9200 -- for use by NAS for filer applications, while other parts of the same storage array can be used by SAN.

Customers can now take advantage of enterprise-level reliability and flexibility in a SAN environment without impacting performance or sacrificing data sharing capability. In addition, customers can reconfigure earlier generation Hitachi Freedom storage systems as NAS file servers, thus lengthening the useful life of these products and getting a higher return on investment.

"As customers cope with exponentially growing data, they are looking to reduce the complexity and cost of their IT infrastructures at the same time that they attempt to unite islands of information. Freedom NAS offers a powerful solution through the convergence of NAS and SAN in a single system," said Ron Gervenack, executive vice president and general manager, Enterprise Products and Solutions, Hitachi Data Systems. "Customers will value this solution as a key element of a cost-effective, but robust and extremely flexible information infrastructure."

The Hitachi Freedom NAS may include multiple NAS server engines, in a free-standing or clustered configuration for a High-Availability fail-over mode, depending on the customer's storage capacity requirements. Customers operating in Windows NT/2000, A/S 400, and UNIX environments can now share files through a standard Ethernet network, protecting their storage investments and substantially lowering their total cost of ownership -- including storage management costs.

"Both Network Storage Solutions and Hitachi Data Systems and have strong, long-term relationships with their customers," said Bradford L. Clemmons, president and CEO, NSS. "We are excited that Hitachi Data Systems has selected NSS network attached servers to complete their NAS offering. We believe that our industry standard, best of breed NAS appliance -- combined with the highly scalable Hitachi Data Systems storage systems will deliver customers unmatched connectivity and performance."

"By introducing a NAS Solution, Hitachi Data Systems has once again proven that it is among the leaders in the storage networking arena. This new offering is sure to complement the Thunder and Lightning product family," said William P. Hurley, Program Manager, Yankee Group. "Customers are looking for storage solutions that meet their needs for scalability, reliability and data access. Freedom NAS provides those benefits in a familiar Ethernet network environment."

The Freedom NAS product will be available in 1U, 2U, and 6U rack-mount enclosures which fit in the standard 19" racks, for immediate delivery. Pricing in the United States starts at $22,500 for the NAS Engine, $31,000 for the uSTORII and $93,000 for the GT.