The products were in the pipeline before the StorageTek merger, and comprise Sun’s first ever NAS gateway, two tape libraries OEM’ed from Quantum Corp, remote replication software, updates to management software, and an updated low-end to mid-range SCSI disk array.
When Sun closed its purchase of StorageTek last month, it said that it would phase out its StorEdge branding in favor of the StorageTek brand. But the new products launched today has all been named as StorEdge offerings, because marketing and other documents have already been printed with that name.
The NAS gateway is a disk-less version of Sun’s StorEdge 5310 filer, which is based on software originally developed by Procom Technology Inc and was launched late last year. Sun is aiming relatively up-market with the new device, as NAS heads are intended for attachment to the storage networks operated by relatively large customers.
A single-processor version of the device will carry a list price of $54,000, while an active-active dual-processor version will list at $81,000. Sun has qualified the box for use with its 6920 mid-range array and its 9970 and 9980 devices, which are re-branded Hitachi Lightning arrays. Next quarter will do the same for its 9990 and 9985 versions of Hitachi’s TagmaStore and NSC55.
The decision to OEM a tape autoloader and a low-end library from Quantum, one of StorageTek’s largest rivals, was however nothing to do with timing according to Sun, and was made because StorageTek does not focus on the low end of the market.
The boxes that Sun is OEM’ing from Sun are an 8-slot or 16-slot autoloader that carries list prices from $8,295, and a single drive 32-SDLT-slot or 38-LTO-slot low end-library listing from $9,695. Both boxes meet the European RoHS directive concerning hazardous substances.
The new iSCSI array is the StorEdge 3320, which features the latest SCSI320 interfaces, and are otherwise the same as the existing StorEdge 3310 arrays that sport SCSI160 interfaces and so deliver around half the throughput.
The remote replication software is for the 6130 arrays that Sun OEMs from Engenio Technologies Inc, and allows FC-based synchronous and asynchronous replication. The Engenio-developed software has been available previously from Engenio, and Sun is only now making it available. In general the mid-range haven’t significantly embraced remote replication. It makes sense to offer it now, said Randy Kerns, vice president of strategy for Sun.
The new management software introduces a portal to Sun’s Enterprise Storage Manager, which is itself based on SRM software OEM’ed from AppIQ Inc. ESM 4 includes a web home page from which to run all the functions of ESM, and from which customers can monitor storage system performance.
Sun has also launched free workload analysis and benchmarking software that it says it co-developed with industry benchmark organization the Storage Performance Council. The software can be used to simulate workloads ranging from batch to OLTP applications, and then measure storage performance in order to help customers decide which of their hardware best suits which applications.
