Sun Introduces the Industry's First Intelligent Storage Server.PALO ALTO Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--January 28, 1998-- The Sun(TM) StorEdge(TM) A7000 With StorEdge(TM) DataShare Software Offer Customers Seamless Information Sharing See data conferencing. Among Mainframe, 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 NT Systems Continuing to redefine enterprise storage solutions for the network age, Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA[3]) is an American vendor of computers, computer components, computer software, and information-technology services, founded on 24 February 1982. , Inc., today announced the Sun(TM) StorEdge(TM) A7000 Intelligent Storage Server(TM) system, the industry's first data center-class storage device with the built-in intelligence to run applications traditionally supported on the compute server (computer, parallel) compute server - A kind of parallel processor where the parallel processors have no I/O except via a bus or other connection to a front-end processor which handles all I/O to disks, terminals and network. . In keeping with Sun's commitment to open systems, the A7000 is supported on heterogeneous platforms including the Solaris(TM) operating environment In computing, an operating environment is the environment in which users run programs, whether in a command line interface, such as in MS-DOS or the Unix shell, or in a graphical user interface, such as in the Macintosh operating system. , S/390 mainframes, and UNIX and NT servers. Also announced today is Sun StorEdge DataShare software, the only software in the industry that allows for direct sharing of mainframe, UNIX and NT data without file transfers. The A7000 and DataShare are cornerstones in the implementation of Sun's Intelligent Storage Network(TM) architecture. "The mainframe connectivity and the DataShare capabilities in Sun's StorEdge A7000 are two key enablers of Sun's enterprise storage strategy. They are clear examples of what today's customers view as real value in a storage architecture," said David Vellante, senior vice president with International Data Corporation. "We wanted a storage system that would enable us to quickly respond to changes in technology and to our future needs," stated Evica Intellitech. "The StorEdge A7000 was the only system that could provide this flexibility and peace of mind. It is open systems architecture at its finest." Only Intelligent Storage Server System With True Information Sharing Unlike competing products that rely on traditional fixed-function controllers, the Sun StorEdge A7000 Intelligent Storage Server system houses two quad-processor UNIX computers, which enable customers to implement storage applications-such as information sharing, remote data copy, and backup-at the storage level, thus minimizing the load on the host computer. This built-in intelligence also provides users with a high level of mission-critical reliability, availability and serviceability Reliability, Availability and Serviceability is a computer hardware engineering term. It originated from IBM to advertise the robustness of their mainframe computers. The concept is often known by the acronym RAS. (RAS (1) See network access server. (2) (Remote Access Service) A Windows NT/2000 Server feature that allows remote users access to the network from their Windows laptops or desktops via modem. See RRAS and network access server. ) through a mix of RAID levels 1, 0+1, and 5, and phone home and remote diagnostics Vehicle Diagnostics Vehicle diagnostics enables a mechanic to diagnose the exact mechanical condition of the vehicle and its systems and components. Remote Diagnostics enables to perform such diagnosis without requiring the vehicle to physically be present for checkup. . Unlike the EMC Symmetrix The Symmetrix is EMC's flagship enterprise storage array. There have been seven generations of Symmetrix hardware, with the first appearing in 1994 and the latest introduced in 2006. , the Sun StorEdge A7000 offers mirrored NVRAM (Non-Volatile RAM) May refer to dynamic RAM (DRAM) and static RAM (SRAM) chips that are backed up by a battery or to non-volatile chips such as flash memory. See non-volatile memory, dynamic RAM, static RAM and solid state disk. cache, which ensures customers will always have access to cached data, even in the event that one copy is lost or corrupted. "As Sun evolves the A7000 technology across the entire SPARC (Scalable Performance ARChitecture) A family of RISC CPUs from Sun that runs mostly under Sun's Solaris, but also under Linux and BSD operating systems. After development began in the mid-1980s by David Patterson of the University of California at Berkeley and Bill (TM) family, one of the things that Oracle and Sun are looking at together is how we start to potentially move some of the functionality right down into the storage subsystem The part of a computer system that provides the storage. It includes the controller and disk drives. See storage system. ," said Richard French Richard French (June 20, 1792 - May 1, 1854) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. Born near Boonesborough, Kentucky, French attended private schools. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1820 and commenced practice in Winchester, Kentucky. , vice president, Enterprise Platforms Division, Oracle Corporation. The Sun StorEdge A7000 product also provides open mainframe backup and restore capabilities. This feature enables users with any existing mainframe-based backup/restore utilities and tape subsystems to perform volume-level backups on open systems, leveraging robust mainframe-class backup infrastructures throughout their enterprise. The A7000 currently supports up to 32 SCSI SCSI in full Small Computer System Interface Once common standard for connecting peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, etc.) to small and medium-sized computers. SCSI has given way to faster standards, such as Firewire and USB. , Block Mux and/or ESCON (Enterprise Systems CONnection) An IBM S/390 fiber-optic channel that transfers 17 Mbytes/sec over distances up to 60 km depending on connection type. ESCON allows peripheral devices to be located across large campuses and metropolitan areas. host connections, with Fibre Channel connectivity slated for future versions. The system has a 2.9 terabyte capacity with up to four gigabytes mirrored, non-volatile cache, and provides exceptional mainframe-class reliability and availability. Extending the functionality of the A7000, Sun's new Sun StorEdge DataShare software enables true information sharing among mainframes, Solaris, other UNIX servers and NT systems simultaneously-unlike traditional methods which first require data to be copied and transferred-saving data center managers time and money. In addition, direct information sharing reduces processing cycles, easing the load on both mainframes and open systems, simplifying infrastructure management, and reducing operational costs. "The A7000's data sharing The ability to share the same data resource with multiple applications or users. It implies that the data are stored in one or more servers in the network and that there is some software locking mechanism that prevents the same set of data from being changed by two people at the same time. capability was the deciding factor in why Transamerica Intellitech chose Sun," added Benrubi. "The DataShare software enables us to share information across machine boundaries-without the risks and extra time associated with data movement and duplication. No other vendor could deliver that." World-Class Data Availability Services Sun offers mission-critical services tailored specifically for the Sun StorEdge A7000 system. To help customers effectively manage their system, Sun offers remote diagnostics and phone home capabilities with a 15-minute response time for component failures. On-site support is available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, with four hour maximum response time. Sun's A7000 installation and configuration service ensures that customers are able to bring the Sun StorEdge A7000 system online quickly and effectively. Since access to information is critical, Sun delivers architecture and implementation services for Sun StorEdge DataShare to allow direct, simultaneous access of data from mainframes, UNIX, and NT systems. Sun also offers a new course on storage management that includes hands-on experience working with DataShare and case studies to help students recognize potential applications in their own environments. In addition, Sun delivers data and storage management services See SMS. (storage) Storage Management Services - (SMS) Software that enables network administrators to route backup data from various devices on a network to another device such as a server or a magnetic tape backup unit. for backup and recovery, high availability, and disk and volume management, helping customers design and implement effective data and storage solutions. Sun's expert services can help plan, implement, and manage an integrated storage solution that lowers costs, improves manageability, and increases system availability. Sun's Storage Momentum According to IDC, Sun is the number one UNIX multi-user disk subsystem vendor. Currently, Sun has 3000 terabytes (TB) of high-end RAID installed worldwide, with five TB being installed every day. A leader in Fibre Channel development, Sun is the only vendor to have introduced a second generation Fibre Channel storage product. Today, Sun is going beyond traditional storage solutions and unveiling its Intelligent Storage Network architecture, as well as a broad range of enterprise products which are key to transforming the Intelligent Storage Network vision into reality. "In 1995 Sun defined storage as a strategic core competency and began to redefine the market in ways the industry has never before seen. Now, in 1998, we're taking storage to a whole new level, which is leaving many of our competitors struggling to keep up," stated Kathleen Holmgren, vice president and general manager of Sun Microsystems Computer Company's storage business unit. "This new way of optimizing and architecting storage enables customers to access and manage data in a much more controlled and secure way." Pricing and Availability Prices start at $286,000 for the Sun StorEdge A7000 Intelligent Storage Server system, which is available now, with volume shipments beginning this February. About Sun Microsystems, Inc. Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (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 :SUNW SUNW Sun Microsystems, Inc (former stock symbol; now JAVA) SUNW Stanford University Network Workstation (Sun Microsystems, Inc) ), to its position as a leading provider of hardware, software, and services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than $9 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com. -0- Note to Editors: Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Sun StorEdge, Intelligent Storage Server, Intelligent Storage Network, Solaris and the Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, exclusively licensed through X/Open Company, Ltd. Press announcements and other informatio Wide Web using a tool such as Netscape Navigator or Sun's HotJava. Type http://www.sun.com at the URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. prompt. CONTACT: Sun Microsystems Computer Company Maria Villarino, 650/786-3205 maria.villarino@corp.sun.com or Burson-Marsteller Angela Hesse/Layla Gafari, 650/287-4000 angela_hesse@bm.com layla_gafari@bm.com |
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