IBM beefs up TotalStorage NAS range

IBM has added to its TotalStorage NAS storage initiative, and enhanced its existing tape product range.

IBM has added to its TotalStorage NAS storage initiative, and enhanced its existing tape product range.

The NAS 200 is an entry-level TotalStorage NAS tower aimed at branch or remote offices for email storage or video file serving.

At the higher end, IBM has released the TotalStorage NAS 300, with dual engines, aimed at medium-sized enterprises for mission-critical applications.

Also offered is the NAS 300G, a gateway that bridges the gap between Lans and Sans and can connect existing NAS units together for clustering.

IBM has taken the same tack as Hewlett Packard, which last week updated its NAS offerings.

"We are bringing enterprise-level technology into the mid-sized market," said Sergio Resch, marketing manager for disk storage systems at IBM.

He added that the products will be deployed though IBM's channel. "We need our partners to deliver their core competencies: the consultancy, integration, services and applications, relying on IBM technology as the backbone."

The enhancement to IBM's Linear Tape-Open Libraries is a new optical gateway. Using 2Gb ports, it allows native Fibre Channel support for the Ultrium Scalable Tape Library.

The Virtual Tape Server Family now includes more support for twice the number of virtual and physical tape drives, larger block sizes and a new peer-to-peer configuration.

Kevin Drew, managing director of IBM reseller Triangle, said he believed larger corporates are often the first to take on such new products, but that the mass market usually follows.

"Storage is becoming more consolidated, and I expect IBM to react to this market, if not lead the market in terms of the products they offer," he said.