SAN-Ready Tape Library Solution Provides A Spectrum Of Logic.

Spectra Logic Corporation announced the availability of a SAN-ready, Fibre Channel interface for its TreeFrog family of automated tape libraries. The integrated Fibre Channel interface enables the sharing of one or more TreeFrog libraries in Storage Area Network (SAN) environments. Allowing customers to share backup resources across servers simplifies management tasks and reduces the backup cost for each server. The unlimited scalability provided by Storage Area Networks increases backup and restore performance and alleviates management aspects of performing backup in multi-server environments.

"Backup resources are the killer application for Storage Area Networks," said Nathan Thompson, chairman and CEO at Spectra Logic. "Unfortunately, the cost of Fibre Channel connectivity has slowed the adoption of SANs. Only the data centers have been able to afford what should be a technology for multi-server environments wanting to share storage resources. Our goal is to enable businesses and departments to utilize tape resources delivering functionality," said Thompson. "The TreeFrog is one of the products Spectra Logic plans to offer [that is] designed to lower the cost of backup implementations."

Spectra Logic's TreeFrog tape libraries have become prevalent for Windows NT, Unix, Linux, Macintosh, and Novell environments. With the Fibre Channel option, TreeFrog libraries may now be shared in server environments, increasing cost effectiveness and return on investment. TreeFrog tape libraries equipped with Fibre Channel will begin shipping in Mid-2Q 2000. The company offers a Fibre Channel Upgrade Program, enabling TreeFrog customers to take advantage of the capabilities available in a SAN environment while protecting the customer's investment in the architecture. Contact Spectra Logic Technical Support for additional information. The list price for a 15-cartridge, rack-mount AIT TreeFrog tape library with Fibre Channel begins at $12,990. This compares to a SCSI-based library price of $10,495.