Nexsan, Reldata Combine for Unified NAS/SAN Package

The SATABeast-based system can place its disk drives into an idle state to conserve energy, yet provide near-instantaneous access to data, the companies claim.

Storage system maker Nexsan Technologies and virtualization software provider Reldata announced April 4 that they have produced a unified IP SAN/NAS storage package that includes storage area network-level data replication over wide-area networks.

The new product combines Nexsan's SATABeast array with the Reldata 9240 IP Storage Gateway, resulting in an enterprise-class storage system that aims for high availability, full redundancy, wire-speed throughput and high capacity, a Nexsan spokesperson said.

The SATABeast's design extends individual drive life and provides savings year over year, while its AutoMAID (Massive Array of Idle Disks) function allows SATABeast to place its disk drives into an idle state to conserve energy, yet provide near-instantaneous access to data, said Brendan Kinkade, vice president of marketing at Nexsan.

With a price/performance ratio of about $3,000 per terabyte (some packages may sell for around $2,000 per TB), the joint offering offers cost efficiency in an all-in-one package for enterprises, Kinkade said.

The Reldata IP Storage Gateway 9240 incorporates six 1 GbE ports and two Ultra SCSI ports in addition to the dual 4G-bps FC ports providing flexible connectivity, to work with existing Fibre Channel, SCSI or iSCSI connectivity.

"This is a high-density product that is relatively cost-effective, when you compare it against some others in the same ballpark," Brian Babineau, storage analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group in Milford, Mass., told eWEEK. "Its versatility is also a good selling point, since you can use any kind of SAN or NAS - network-attached storage - connectivity on it."

Babineau said this new package will probably compete for the same business as Lefthand Networks and the midrange offerings from NetApp and overall storage market leader EMC.

"My customers have been looking for a cost-effective storage system that unifies their IP SAN and NAS environments and delivers high performance," said Rich Kuhar Sr., president of Arkay, a reseller of both Nexsan and Reldata.

"Now I can combine a Nexsan SATABeast with a Reldata 9240 Storage Gateway and deliver an unbeatable integrated package that meets their needs," Kuhar said. "By offering a high-quality package at a much better price point than my competition, I'm able to increase the level of service to my customers, while expanding my business."

SATABeast's combination of enterprise-level features delivers high performance, reliability and cost savings for primary and near-line storage, disk-to-disk backup, secondary storage, and fixed content archive applications, Kinkade said.

"This is a joint package that provides a high-performance unified iSCSI SAN and NAS offering that eliminates the need for the time-exhausting and costly creation of piecemeal IP storage packages," said Kinkade, in Woodland Hills, Calif.

The new Nexsan/Reldata product is available now through both companies.

Copyright 2007 by Ziff Davis Media, Distributed by United Press International

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