Compaq Computer Corp’s storage products division is offering a remote mirroring capability over wide area networks, incorporating Computer Network Technology (CNT) Corp’s UltraNet Open Systems Gateway. CNT’s relationship with Compaq dates back just over a year, since the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based storage area networking (SAN) vendor began supplying its UltraNet FileSpeed product to give Compaq’s Unix and NT boxes mainframe connectivity.
Now the CNT Open Systems Gateway is being integrated into Compaq’s Data Replication Manager (DRM) to enable remote mirroring over a wide-area ATM network. Other storage vendors offer remote mirroring, said Jon Williamson, CNT’s European marketing director, but only Compaq’s runs over Fibre Channel, which he said offers a significant improvement in data rates.
Compaq’s storage business manager for the UK and Ireland, Donal Madden, meanwhile, said that until now the company’s remote mirroring offering had been limited by two factors. Firstly it couldn’t go over more than 10km, and secondly, there’s not a lot of fiber installed. Integration of the CNT gateway into DRM solves both those problems, he said.
