Storage Dimensions Introduces SuperFlex 3000 With DGR; High-Availability RAID Storage With Ease-Of-Use, Expandability, and Manageability For Business-Critical NT and NetWare Servers; First to deliver the ability to add capacity to an array and change the RAID level of an array while the RAID storage system is on-line.MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 1996--Storage Dimensions today announced SuperFlex(TM) 3000 with DGR DGR Deductible Gift Recipient (Australian tax exemption) DGR Dangerous Goods Regulations DGR Delibera Giunta Regionale (Italy) DGR Directorate General Resettlement (India) (TM), a new high-availability RAID storage system for Windows NT (Windows New Technology) A 32-bit operating system from Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT is the core technology in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (see Windows). Available in separate client and server versions, it includes built-in networking and preemptive multitasking. and NetWare featuring dramatically improved ease-of-use, expandability, and manageability. SuperFlex 3000 with DGR has two primary characteristics that make it unique among RAID storage offerings. First, a system administrator can quickly and easily add capacity to SuperFlex 3000 with DGR while the system is in use. Second, RAID levels can be changed at any time without taking the system off-line. These capabilities, identified by Storage Dimensions as Dynamic Growth and Reconfiguration (DGR), are critical to the NT and NetWare markets as a result of the expanding role of Intel-based servers in client/server environments A networking environment that is made up of clients and servers running applications designed for client/server architecture. See client/server. . "Up until now, when NT or NetWare system administrators needed to increase capacity of an array, they would have to take the system off-line to backup the data, reinitialize the array, and then restore the data," said Jeffrey Schnabel, senior product marketing manager for Storage Dimensions. "This could take as much as 10 hours in a traditional system with just 16 GB of data. "With SuperFlex 3000 with DGR, the process takes less than five minutes to set up, and then the array expansion occurs in the background similar to a rebuild. During the entire process, the array is on-line and accessible to users." Technology advances have increased the power of Intel-based servers making them ideal for LAN server (1) A network operating system from IBM that runs as a server application under OS/2 and supports DOS, Windows and OS/2 clients. Originally based on LAN Manager when OS/2 was jointly developed by IBM and Microsoft, starting with LAN Server 3. consolidation. The role of these servers is also expanding to include application, database, and Inter/Intranet Web server environments. Because of this, Intel-based server storage has a new requirement for scalable growth, high-availability, and flexible manageability. SuperFlex 3000 with DGR addresses these requirements while being extremely easy-to-use. "Four product characteristics stand out in all surveys conducted among users of different market segments," said Farid Neema, President of Peripheral Concepts, a leading storage industry analyst firm based in Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. , Calif. "They are availability, scalability, flexibility, and manageability. SuperFlex 3000 with DGR covers them all." Add Capacity Or Change RAID Levels On-Line In Under Five Minutes Prior to SuperFlex 3000 with DGR, a system administrator had to manage a time-consuming, difficult process in order to increase the capacity of a RAID storage system. With traditional RAID storage, the system administrator would have to take the system off-line to backup data, reinitialize the array, and then restore data. Because this process could take up to ten or more hours, it was usually done during the evening or weekend to reduce the financial exposure of downtime The time during which a computer is not functioning due to hardware, operating system or application program failure. during normal business activity. However, should a problem occur during this lengthy process, it could easily lead to unplanned downtime at the beginning of the next business day. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. CRN/The Gallop gallop /gal·lop/ (gal´op) a disordered rhythm of the heart; see also under rhythm. atrial gallop S diastolic gallop S presystolic gallop S Organization, the median cost of such unplanned network downtime in Fortune 1000 companies is $4,000 per hour. This problem is magnified when the need to increase storage is unexpected or when a company's business activities occur around-the-clock. In those cases, downtime will impact normal business activity. If adding capacity takes 10 hours at a cost of $4,000 per hour, the financial impact of taking the system off-line to add capacity would be $40,000 per occurrence. SuperFlex 3000 with DGR solves this industry problem by dramatically reducing the time and effort involved in adding capacity to the RAID storage system. Using SuperFlex 3000 with DGR, the system administrator can add capacity to the RAID system while it is on-line, enabling this process to occur during normal business hours BUSINESS HOURS. The time of the day during which business is transacted. In respect to the time of presentment and demand of bills and notes, business hours generally range through the whole day down to the hours of rest in the evening, except when the paper is payable it a bank or by a and eliminating the risk of unplanned downtime. An easy-to-use interface minimizes the training required to initiate this process, which takes less than five minutes to set up. SuperFlex 3000 with DGR balances the existing data across all drives in the new array, providing a seamless extension of the existing volume. Similar issues occur with RAID storage systems when a RAID level needs to be changed. The system administrator would need to take the system off-line to backup data, reconfigure To change the status of something. the RAID level, and then restore data. SuperFlex 3000 with DGR enables a system administrator to quickly and easily change RAID levels at any time, without impacting user access to the storage system. Using SuperFlex 3000 with DGR, the system administrator can assign each application to a logical unit and each logical unit to its own RAID level. RAID levels 0, 1, 3, and 5 are available to provide maximum flexibility in tuning applications for optimum performance. For example, in a typical database server, frequently accessed index logs might be assigned to RAID 1. A data set that is accessed less frequently might be assigned to RAID 5. Imaging or video data sets might be assigned to RAID 3. Resiliency Features Provide Maximum System Availability In order to support the demands of business-critical applications, SuperFlex 3000 with DGR incorporates enhanced resiliency features to minimize the chance of downtime while adding capacity or changing RAID levels. In the unlikely event that a drive fails while adding capacity to a RAID level 1, 3, or 5 array, a hot-spare drive can automatically be activated without interruption to users and without loss of data. Multiple hot-spare drives can be assigned enabling recovery from multiple drive failures across different logical arrays, reducing the window of vulnerability A window of vulnerability or wov is a time frame within which defensive measures are reduced, compromised or lacking. The term is used with reference to military defences of strategic assets, and also by analogy in computer software to a software vulnerability which is open during drive failures. The system's award-winning enclosure is designed with dual redundant power supplies, triple redundant cooling fan modules, and dual lockable A/C inputs. All redundant components and disk drives are modular and hot-swappable under load. Easy serviceability (system) serviceability - The ease with which corrective maintenance or preventative maintenance can be performed on a system (e.g. by a hardware service technician). Higher serviceability improves availability and reduces service cost. Serviceability is one component of RAS. is provided via convenient front and rear panel access. Optional battery-backed cache can also be added. DGR RAIDCard Provides Maximum Throughput and Transaction Rates SuperFlex 3000 with DGR combines advanced controller technology with industry leading 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 caching to provide superior performance for a wide range of applications. The system incorporates a new 33 MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. i960 DGR RAIDCard(TM) processor. DGR RAIDCard has the ability to scale up to 128 MB of cache and has a high-speed PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). interface to the host. A unique performance feature of DGR RAIDCard is adaptive read-ahead caching which adjusts on-the-fly for either random or sequential data patterns. Modular Scalability Enables Minimal Entry Cost For DGR Capabilities SuperFlex 3000 with DGR incorporates a seven-bay enclosure housing 3.5" 2.1 GB or 4.3 GB disk drive modules. The DGR RAIDCard controller has two-channels, with each channel supporting a total of seven drives resulting in up to 60 GB of total capacity per controller. Since a typical server can support up to four controllers using multiple enclosures, maximum total capacity for most servers is 240 GB. This modular approach allows for a minimal entry cost with scalability as capacity demands increase. Availability, Pricing, and Support SuperFlex 3000 with DGR will ship in April with support for both Windows NT and NetWare. An entry-level system with three 2.1 GB Fast/Wide 7200 rpm drives and DGR RAIDCard with 4 MB of cache is expected to be corporate volume priced at $8,900. A fully-loaded system with seven 4.3 GB Fast/Wide 7200 rpm drives and DGR RAIDCard with 4 MB of cache is expected to be volume priced at $18,600. SuperFlex 3000 with DGR is supported by the Storage Dimensions SpeedExchange(SM) advanced exchange warranty. The warranty coverage is for five years on disk drives and three years on other components. SuperFlex 3000 with DGR also comes with free on-site 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) service for one year. Founded in 1985, Storage Dimensions is the leading independent vendor of high-availability disk and tape storage systems for client/server and open systems environments. In addition to award-winning, leading-edge products, the Company provides a number of innovative and sophisticated support programs to help customers minimize the total cost-of-ownership over the life-cycle of their storage investment. The Company is ISO (1) See ISO speed. (2) (International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, www.iso.ch) An organization that sets international standards, founded in 1946. The U.S. member body is ANSI. 9002 certified See certification. and primarily serves Fortune 1000 corporations and large institutions that have business- and mission-critical applications requiring high capacity, performance, reliability, and availability. Storage Dimensions products are available through a worldwide network of authorized au·thor·ize tr.v. au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing, au·thor·iz·es 1. To grant authority or power to. 2. To give permission for; sanction: resellers and distributors. The Company is located at 1656 McCarthy Boulevard, Milpitas, CA 95035 and can be reached at 408-954-0710. The Company's World Wide Web address is http://www.storagedimensions.com. CONTACT: Storage Dimensions Criss Gould, 408/894-1420 crissgou@xstor.com or Dovetail dovetail (dov´tāl), n a widened or fanned-out portion of a prepared cavity, usually established deliberately to increase the retention and resistance form. Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most Mark Coker, 408/395-3600 dovetailpr@aol.com |
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