Palindrome announces major upgrades; Backup Director and Network Archivist versions 4.0 set new standards for simplicity and control.NAPERVILLE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 1994--Two weeks after the announcement of a centralized storage management console (Milan), Palindrome palindrome: see anagram. Corp. Tuesday announced major upgrades to its two most popular 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. backup products: Backup Director and Network Archivist. Both products will feature a host of enhancements, driven by key customers including Hewlett-Packard, Novell and many of the Fortune 1000 to further improve management control, performance and ease of use in enterprise LANs. The new version 4.0 software will also provide real-time alert, configuration and control information to Palindrome's Milan console, scheduled for shipment in March 1995. "We are executing our plan to deliver best of breed data protection and management software to business of all sizes," said Doug Cogswell, president and chief executive officer of Palindrome. "We have earned a reputation for technically superior backup software. These new releases combine even higher levels of capability and control with a simplicity factor never before seen in Palindrome software." "We focused our development efforts on solving real-world backup management problems," said Randy Littleson, executive director of product management. "Having gathered over two years of feedback from users of all brands of backup software, the 4.0 versions set an unprecedented standard for features, benefits and management control over the backup process." Littleson cites the following key areas of development focus: -- Incorporation of the newest paradigms in GUI (Graphical User Interface) A graphics-based user interface that incorporates movable windows, icons and a mouse. The ability to resize application windows and change style and size of fonts are the significant advantages of a GUI vs. a character-based interface. user-interface that provide greater simplicity while logically presenting higher levels of functionality -- Automated software installation, including built-in environmental check and diagnostics -- More management control, alerts and reports, including a built-in troubleshooting database with recommended corrective action -- Improved performance through parallel device support to ensure protection of the ever-increasing amount of broadly distributed data -- The greatest flexibility for fully automated and custom jobs within the Tower of Hanoi The Tower of Hanoi or Towers of Hanoi is a mathematical game or puzzle. It consists of three pegs, and a number of disks of different sizes which can slide onto any peg. (TOH TOH This Old House (TV show) TOH Town of Hempstead TOH Transport Overhead (SONET) TOH Top Of the Hill TOH Treehouse of Horror (The Simpsons) TOH Time Overhead ) and Grandfather-Father-Son (GFS See Google File System. GFS - Grandfather, Father, Son ) media rotation schemes -- New "Recovery Expert" which guides administrators and users through data restoration -- Communication with network management consoles like Novell NMS See NetWare Management System. and HP OpenView "Palindrome is clearly a company on the move," said Michael Peterson, Peripheral Strategies Inc. "These latest product line enhancements will broaden their market acceptance and add new dimensions to the software's superior automation and control." Version 4.0 of Backup Director and Network Archivist retain the powerful file tracking database, automated intelligence and rules- based approach of the previous versions. All versions strictly comply with the SMS (1) (Storage Management System) Software used to routinely back up and archive files. See HSM. (2) (Systems Management Server) Systems management software from Microsoft that runs on Windows NT Server. and SIDF (System Independent Data Format) An international standard format for storing data along with its file system. When conceived by the SIDF Association in 1993, its primary purpose was to allow backup tapes created by one vendor to be readable by another vendor's industry standards, the HP LABS standard, and are compatible with more than 1,500 different QIC (Quarter Inch Cartridge) A magnetic tape technology introduced in the early 1980s that has been widely used for backup. It was the first popular tape format for PCs. , DAT (1) (Dynamic Address Translator) A hardware circuit that converts a virtual memory address into a real address. See also DAT file. (2) (Digital Audio Tape) A magnetic tape technology used for backing up data. , 8mm, DLT (Digital Linear Tape) A magnetic tape technology originally developed by Digital for its VAX line. The technology was later sold to Quantum, which makes it available to other manufacturers. DLT uses half-inch, single-hub cartridges similar to IBM's 3480/3490/3590 line. and optical devices. Consistent media history database ensures compatibility and upgradeability throughout the Palindrome product line. Industry- standard Target Service Agents (TSA TSA See tax-sheltered annuity (TSA). ) ensure backup of NetWare, DOS, Windows/NTAS, OS/2, Mac, 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 , 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). and Oracle servers and clients, including full support for NetWare 4.X and NDS See eDirectory. NDS - Netware Directory Services . The Newest Graphical Interface Palindrome engineering researched numerous implementations of GUI interfaces before settling on the graphical structure used in Backup Director 4.0 and Network Archivist 4.0. Co-development work with HP on the LABS standard influenced this new approach. "By incorporating next-generation Windows `95 interface elements, such as the new Tab-Control Dialog boxes, we're able to organize and separate management tasks better. It allows us to add more functionality and simplify the user experience at the same time," said Paul Hartge, vice president of engineering. The result for customers is an easy-to-configure backup and protection strategy that is then automatically executed and tracked by the software. Reliability is improved and the cost of human intervention is reduced, but with no loss of control in the process. Corporations can now set policy that the software implements. The 4.0 versions incorporate six GUI applications to deliver a feature- rich but easy-to-use product:
-- Directory-File Manager -- Control Console
-- Media Manager -- Device Manager
-- Network Manager -- Configuration Manager
Ease of Installation Both products now have significantly enhanced install programs which guide the user through all aspects of configuring a LAN-based backup system. The software checks for required NetWare files and versions of files, for example, to ensure the system is properly configured before the backup software is loaded. Environmental checks are performed at installation and at runtime. If errors occur, on-line help suggests corrections to the user's environment. Concurrent Device Support Both products offer concurrent device support, allowing Palindrome software to write to multiple drives during one operation. The software recognizes all backup hardware attached to the server as a "dynamic pool" of devices which can be used to concurrently protect separate volumes of data. The result is automatic workload balancing between all available devices, benchmark speeds in excess of 150 MB per minute and the capability for simultaneous backup and restore. Additionally, upon the failure or loss of availability of a backup device, the software dynamically reconfigures to use another device providing a high level of fault tolerance. New Management Features Customers demand more control over their LAN-based software. As a result, version 4.0 of Backup Director and Network Archivist both support SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) A widely used network monitoring and control protocol. Data are passed from SNMP agents, which are hardware and/or software processes reporting activity in each network device (hub, router, bridge, etc. . The software can notify management consoles such as Novell NMS and HP OpenView of any errors, alarms or report routine functions. SNMP support is key to providing system administrators with the ability to control multiple Palindrome software installations. The new SNMP capabilities also work in cooperation with Palindrome's newest product, Milan, a network storage management console. New Media Rotation Features Additional flexibility has been added for fully automated and custom jobs within the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) and Grandfather-Father- Son (GFS) media rotation schemes. Users can now integrate, schedule and track additional backup processes (such as the creation of an immediate off-site media copy) into their media rotation, making both Backup Director and Network Archivist the most flexible and automated backup and recovery products available for LAN data protection. Backup Director or Network Archivist? Palindrome's latest products address a broad scale of network backup users. If a customer wants easy, automated backup of a workgroup or departmental LAN with very little intervention or administration, Backup Director 4.0 is the recommended product. When more sophisticated data protection schemes are needed -- such as file migration, automated archiving and a clear growth path to HSM (1) (Hierarchical Storage Management) The automatic movement of files from hard disk to slower, less-expensive storage media. The typical hierarchy is from magnetic disk to optical disc to tape. -- users should purchase or upgrade to Network Archivist 4.0. Availability Backup Director 4.0 will ship January 1995. Network Archivist 4.0 will ship February 1995. Both products will be available through all Palindrome authorized resellers and distributors worldwide. First- time previews will be conducted at the Seagate/Palindrome suites in the Golden Nugget during Las Vegas Comdex, Nov. 14-18. Pricing, Free Upgrades Backup Director 4.0 has a suggested list price of $995 (single server) and $1,595 (multi-server). Network Archivist suggested retail pricing is $1,895 (single-server) and $3,295 (multi-server). From Nov. 1 until product introduction, any customer purchasing current versions of either product is eligible for a free upgrade. Version 4.0 pricing reflects a $200-$400 increase -- purchasing Palindrome software now saves customers money. Palindrome Background Palindrome provides a broad range of data protection and management software for enterprise LANs, including disaster recovery planning, backup, archiving and migration, hierarchical storage management See HSM. (HSM), library and robotics control and centralized storage management. Palindrome is a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Seagate Technology (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :SGAT SGAT Statement of Generally Available Terms ) and a world leader in the development of scalable data protection and management software for enterprise LAN environments. Palindrome is a co-developer, marketing partner and is strategically aligned with such companies as Novell, IBM, HP, Comdisco, Oracle and others. Palindrome products are sold by major distributors, integrators and resellers worldwide. CONTACT: Palindrome Corp.
Steve Bosak, 708/505-3300, ext. 4640
Gene Della Torre, 708/505-3300, ext. 4500
or
JPR Communications
Judy Smith, 818/343-9474
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