IBM Announces Broad Range of Storage Solutions Supporting Clustered Server Environments; IBM Increases Data Availability in NT Environments with SSA Technology Support of Microsoft's "Wolfpack" Server Clustering.SAN JOSE San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 1997--IBM today announced storage support for groups or "clusters" of Microsoft Windows See Windows. (operating system) Microsoft Windows - Microsoft's proprietary window system and user interface software released in 1985 to run on top of MS-DOS. Widely criticised for being too slow (hence "Windoze", "Microsloth Windows") on the machines available then. NT servers, thus increasing data availability Refers to the degree to which data can be instantly accessed. The term is mostly associated with service levels that are set up either by the internal IT organization or that may be guaranteed by a third party datacenter or storage provider. . This builds on current SSA (Serial Storage Architecture) A fault tolerant peripheral interface from IBM that transfers data at 80 and 160 Mbytes/sec. SSA uses SCSI commands, allowing existing software to drive SSA peripherals, which are typically disk drives. Clustering support for HP, Sun, Digital and IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) 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). serves, as well as Digital servers running Windows NT. IBM serial storage optimized for clustered servers enables companies to couple servers so that if one fails, a second can access that server's stored data. This failover technology ensures that companies have access to critical data even in the event that one server fails. SSA for Clustered NT Servers In the Windows NT environment, IBM announced storage for multiple, or clustered Microsoft Windows NT servers. With the IBM 7133 Serial Storage Architecture Serial Storage Architecture - (SSA) IBM's proposed ANSI standard for a standard high-speed interface to disk clusters and arrays. SSA allows full-duplex packet multiplexed serial data transfers at rates of 20Mb/sec in each direction. (SSA) Subsystem, companies using clusters of NT servers with one subsystem will have the greater availability of data made possible by IBM storage technology. This clustering support improves productivity for businesses using multi-server applications such as electronic commerce and data warehousing, and reduces the number of storage devices required for multiple servers. "More and more companies are beginning to consider spreading mission-critical applications across multiple servers, and with this announcement, they can feel more comfortable doing so," said Bill Pinkerton, director of worldwide marketing for Open Systems Storage, IBM Storage Systems Division. "These companies are realizing that grouping servers into clusters provides high availability of their data. IBM serial storage (SSA) ensures the highest levels of data access and reliability in these clustered environments." IBM support for Windows NT clusters also provides the SSA Fibre Optic Extender See Media Center Extender, bus extender and DOS extender. , an inexpensive, one-of-a-kind solution, that gives companies more disaster recovery options for unforeseen catastrophes. This IBM technology increases the distance a subsystem can reside from its servers to up to 2.4km (1.5 miles) and reduces the risk of losing data due to onsite disasters. SSA for Clustered HP, Sun, Digital and IBM Servers Currently, IBM 7133 SSA disks, using serial loop technology, can store multiple terabytes of data from up to four servers clustered on leading UNIX platforms, including HP, Sun or Digital, as well as Digital Alpha servers running Windows NT. Since June 1996, companies operating critical applications across multiple IBM RS/6000 servers have also used IBM SSA clustering solutions to increase data availability and ease of management by attaching to up to eight servers. Additional Support for PC Server Clusters In addition to Microsoft, other companies, including Qualix Corp. and Vinca Vin·ca n. A genus of evergreens usually found in the Eastern hemisphere. Vinca plant genus of Apocynaceae family; contains cardiac glycoside; causes diarrhea; includes V. major (blue periwinkle), V. Corp., are leveraging SSA technology as a means to attach clustered servers to storage because of its high availability and scalable performance. Technology from these companies enables SSA customers to couple PC servers so that if one is inaccessible, the second can continue to run critical applications using the subsystem data. CONTACT: IBM Storage Systems Division Janet Stashak, 408/256-5059 jstashak@vnet.ibm.com |
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