IBM in double assault on storage arena

IBM has upped the ante in the storage arena by releasing a portfolio of products, services and technologies in an attempt to lead the industry into a more open storage networking environment.

IBM has upped the ante in the storage arena by releasing a portfolio of products, services and technologies in an attempt to lead the industry into a more open storage networking environment.

The company released two products last week: the IBM TotalStorage NAS (network attached storage) 300G, which allows local area network (Lan)-based servers to interoperate with existing storage area network (San) arrays; and TotalStorage IP Storage 200i, an iSCSI appliance that connects users to a communal storage network using IPs.

The NAS 300G, also known as the NAS Gateway, is a file server aimed at high-end enterprises which transfer large amounts of data. It allows an existing IBM Enterprise Storage Server to support both a San and a NAS.

Andy Norman, managing director of IBM distributor Sagitta, said: "The 300G NAS product shows that there is a place in the market for both San and NAS technologies, and that most organisations need both."

The 300G comes in either single or dual engine and will be available from 9 March and 27 April respectively, priced between $44,000 and $95,000.

According to Jill Kaplan, Big Blue's product manager for storage solutions, the 200i is aimed at the mid-range market and allows IBM to get involved in the IP market.

"With IP technologies getting faster and faster, IBM wanted to be in this from the start, especially as iSCSI is such an evolving market," she said.

IBM collaborated with Cisco to produce the iSCSI technology, whereby SCSI commands are run on top of the internet's ethernet and IPs, and has submitted it to storage standards body the Internet Engineering Task Force for adoption later this year. The 200i will be available from 29 June, priced at $20,000.

Kaplan stressed that IBM is still committed to the channel with the new products. "We have been offering some major training days for our business partners, and we are hoping we can help our reseller partners to expand on the value-added aspect," she said.

First published in Computer Reseller News