Tandem Computers Inc, Cupertino, California has signed to license a new fault-tolerant disk array technology developed by privately-held Array Technology Corp of Boulder, Colorado. The agreement gives Tandem the right to develop and manufacture disk subsystems that consist of redundant arrays of cheap disk drives, and covers disk controller, software and packaging technology. The technology is claimed to offer very high levels of availability at low cost by minimising redundant storage overhead. It has the ability automatically to access a standby spare if a drive fails and to reconstruct the unavailable data on the spare drive. The degree of redundancy and the performance can be varied according to the customer’s requirements and purse. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
