The Data Center

Panda's Cloud Antivirus Exits Beta

News — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:43:08 GMT

Panda's new cloud-based antivirus software, Panda Cloud Antivirus, has reached version 1.0 and has exited beta, the company announced on Tuesday. That said, there are already new bugs filed against 1.0 on the Panda Cloud Antivirus support forum.

Panda's Cloud Antivirus doesn't use locally installed virus definition files. Rather, the definitions, and the detection, are done in the Cloud. Theoretically, this means an end user, as long as he is connected, will always have the latest scanning engine and the latest virus definitions.

Here's how it works:

When Cloud Antivirus encounters an executable file, it first creates a partial cryptographic hash of the program, which Panda calls a reverse signature. The locally running program sends this signature to the data center in the cloud and gets back a quick determination that the file is malware, known-good software, or unknown.

If the file is unknown, the local program sends additional information. This data includes a kind of behavioral signature to let the cloud-based software remotely perform heuristic analysis. The local agent also graphs the file's internal structure and passes that to the cloud for similarity analysis. Yes, sending these and other data elements to the cloud takes a small amount of time, but the in-cloud analysis is extremely fast.

Once Cloud Antivirus identifies a specific file as "goodware" it caches the information about that file locally (in a local cache), so it doesn't have to go back to the cloud. Thus full scans after the first time will be significantly faster.

Panda claims also, that by leveraging the data collected from end users, it can update its database with new threats and variants though its so-called "Collective Intelligence" in the cloud.

In fact, speaking to C|Net, CEO Juan Santana and Senior Research Advisor Pedro Bustamante noted that since the beta, Collective Intelligence has collected about 25 terabytes of data, with about 60% of it malware. Additionally, Collective Intelligence is receiving about 120,000 new files a day, of which 60-70,000 are malware. Finally, they noted that Collective Intelligence has processed more than 80 million files so far and generates about 150 GB of log files per day.

Some may be concerned about the effectiveness of a cloud-based program if you are disconnected. Well, first, most of the threats end users see nowadays are a result of being connected: to the Web, to email, or some other delivery method using the Internet. On the other hand, Panda Cloud Antivirus does have a local cache, as noted above.

Bustamante said that "The local cache of Panda Cloud Antivirus is a 'moving target' of what the community 'sees' out there circulating in the wild. However, it's not quite the same as the traditional signature updates which are always incremental (always adding signatures, not taking them out)."

The real question is, do you trust your PC to a 1.0 version of software? It's exited beta, but it's still new. However, Panda itself is not new. And the software, just as with Microsoft's Security Essentials software, is priced right: free, at least to home users and and educational centers, as well. In addition to that sort of licensing, MSE is free to SOHO as well.

Thecus Launches N8800PRO Rackmount NAS Server

News — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:01:43 GMT

Thecus Launches N8800PRO Rackmount NAS Server

Enterprise storage featuring outstanding performance and value

11/04/2009 – Businesses rely on data every day and how this data is stored is of critical importance. Data has to be accessible at all times, but it also needs to be fast enough to keep up with the speed of modern business. Today, Thecus is proud to launch its latest 2U rackmount NAS device – the N8800PRO. With outstanding performance, rock-solid stability, and complete flexibility, the N8800PRO sets a new standard in enterprise storage.

To enable businesses to access their data as quickly as possible, the N8800PRO features a multitude of performance enhancements. Powering the N8800PRO is an Intel Core 2 Duo processor coupled with a full 4GB of DDR2 800 memory for lightning-quick system response and increased concurrent connections.

All of this technology allows the N8800PRO to achieve data transfer speeds of over 300MB/s! And to ensure compatibility with future technologies, the N8800PRO even comes with an internal PCI-e slot. which enables users to install a 10Gbit PCI-e NIC for greatly increased throughput. In terms of storage, the N8800PRO comes equipped with eight 3.5” SATA hard disk bays for a maximum of 16TB of storage. System admins that require more storage can actually attach up to five different N8800PROs to it and manage them all using one master device using the stackable feature, or use the N8800PRO with iSCSI initiators. The N8800PRO even supports iSCSI thin provisioning! Expandable and flexible, the N8800PRO can grow along with your business.

Of course, data security and reliability is the other half of the equation, and the N8800PRO has your business covered. First off, users can multiple RAID modes on the same unit, including RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, and JBOD, to match the most suitable usage model. Online RAID expansion and migration have all been included, and for maximum uptime, the N8800PRO also features a Dual DOM™ design that features a secondary DOM, which automatically reprograms the primary DOM should any malfunction occur. The N8800PRO also has a redundant power supply and is compatible with UPS units to ensure that businesses can access their data at all times. The N8800PRO easily integrates into virtually any corporate network with multiple file system support (Ext3, XFS, and ZFS), multiple operating system support (Windows, Mac, and Linux), and even multiple languages. With the popularity of VMware, virtualization technology is now widely used in the IT world. Thecus is now the member of Technology Alliance Partner (TAP).

“The N8800PRO is a new level of power and flexibility in enterprise storage,” said Florence Shih, Thecus Technology General Manager. “With unbeatable performance and iron-clad reliability, businesses across the globe can deploy the N8800PRO to ensure that corporate data assets can be secured and available at all times.”

WD S25 10K RPM 2.5-inch SAS Hard Drives Launched

News — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:07:46 GMT

WD^® ENTERS TRADITIONAL ENTERPRISE HDD MARKET WITH FIRST SAS PRODUCT

WD S25 SAS Hard Drives Provide High-Reliability and Performance for Mission-critical Server and Storage Applications

LAKE FOREST, Calif. — November 3, 2009 — WD® (NYSE: WDC), known for its hard disk drive leadership in the desktop, mobile and consumer marketplaces, today announced its entry into the traditional enterprise market segment with volume production shipments of its first 10,000 RPM, 2.5-inch, small form factor, SAS interface hard drives. The WD S25 provides up to 300 GB of high-performance storage suitable for both mission-critical enterprise server and enterprise storage applications, such as high-I/O-driven applications and configurations, as well as data centers and large data arrays. “Our entry into the traditional-enterprise market continues the strategic expansion and diversification of WD’s broad market and product portfolio, and significantly increases our addressable revenue opportunity,” said John Coyne, president and CEO of WD. “As with our previous market expansion and diversification efforts, WD will approach the traditional enterprise space with the same focus on quality, customer service, technology and value that has earned us strong positions in every market we serve.”

The WD S25 delivers ultra-high performance with its 3 Gb/s and 6 Gb/s SAS interfaces and a sustained sequential data rate of 128 MB/sec. In addition to all the speed required to service any enterprise need, the WD S25 also provides a 1.6 M hour MTBF rating.

Performance Specifications
	Rotational Speed	10,000 RPM (nominal)
	Buffer Size	16 MB
	Average Latency	3.00 ms (nominal)

Seek Times
	Read Seek Time	3.6 ms (average)
	Write Seek Time	4.2 ms (average)
	Track-To-Track Seek Time	0.7 ms (average)

Transfer Rates
	Transfer Rate (Buffer To Disk)	128 MB/s (Sustained)


Physical Specifications
	Capacity	300 GB
	Interface	SAS 6 Gb/s
	Form Factor	2.5-inch Drive
	User Sectors Per Drive	586,072,368

The WD S25 is now available to select OEMs and shipments have begun to the two largest OEMs in the industry. “We are thrilled to launch a mission-critical-class hard drive to these high-end OEM customers,” said Tom McDorman, vice president and general manager of WD’s enterprise storage solutions business unit. “This new family of SAS products adds to our existing large capacity SATA near-line enterprise product portfolio. This first product is the foundation upon which we will expand into the previously untapped traditional enterprise market.”

More information about WD S25 enterprise SAS hard drives may be found on the company's Web site at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=677

Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 NAS Device Review

News — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:58:03 GMT

With the growing popularity of cloud-based storage solutions, such as the Amazon S3 and Nirvanix services, many businesses--both large and small--are eschewing traditional onsite file servers, and instead opting for offsite, third-party storage solutions. But the ongoing cost of maintaining cloud-based storage as well as the often unproven reliability of it makes it a less than ideal solution for some businesses; and this leaves those businesses with the conundrum of how to store and serve files, provide safe backups, and enable remote access, without breaking the bank.

For such businesses, maintaining an onsite Network-Attached Storage (NAS) solution is often the best answer. NAS devices are much less expensive to own and maintain than traditional file servers, and are often much easier to manage--sometimes even requiring very little networking knowhow. Business-level NAS devices typically differ from consumer-level devices (which are meant for home networking environments) in that they often offer greater data reliability in the form of RAID, and they sometimes even offer data encryption options to keep your files safe from prying eyes.

One such NAS device that is geared for small-businesses is the Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440. The 440 is a four-bay NAS device that comes with four, user-serviceable, internal SATA drives, which can be configured as RAID 0, 1, 5, or 10 arrays, or as JBOD (just a bunch of disks). Depending on which RAID mode is being used, drives can be swapped out without needing to shutdown the device--commonly referred to as hot-swapping. The 440 also includes a total of four USB 2.0 ports, which can accommodate additional storage in the form of external hard drives or for attaching a USB-based printer to make the printer accessible to users over a local network. Another feature of the 440 is that it includes two Gigabit Ethernet ports for port-failover or aggregation.

Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 NAS Device Review

pureSilicon Intros Rugged Renegade R2 Solid State Drive

News — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:58:26 GMT

pureSilicon may not be a mainstay like Western Digital or Seagate inthe storage arena, but it's a growing force in the world of solid state drives. The company's latest offering is a high-performance, ruggeddrive that promises blistering transfer rates, densities up to 256GBand a rugged/durable design. For those scared of intrusion, it's alsoavailable with encryption.

The Renegade R2 is the drive in question, and it's now shipping tothose willing to pay a premium to get speeds that are much faster thanthose offered by mere HDDs. The drive meets MIL-STD-810F standardswhile offering 255 MB/s read performance and 180 MB/s writeperformance. It also has improved IOPS (random read: 18,000 IOPS @ 4K;random write: 1,200 IOPS @ 4K), and the proprietary SiPher datasecurity tech ensures that only you (or your most trusted friends) haveaccess to the data.

They're available right now in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GBsizes (in a SATA II setup, low-profile 9.5mm height 2.5" form factor);the 256GB, PATA and 1.8" form factor drives will start shipping in Q12010 alongside the encrypted versions.

pureSilicon Unveils Latest Line of Fast, Ruggedized, High-Capacity SSDs for Military/Defense

New Renegade R2 meets MIL-STD-810F standards while offering 255 MB/sperformance, densities up to 256GB, rugged and durable design, andencryption technology.

Clifton, New Jersey – pureSilicon™ Inc. (www.puresi.com)is now shipping Renegade™ R2, its latest generation of ruggedizedsolid-state drives (SSD), designed to deliver uncompromised performancein the harshest conditions. Renegade R2 Series SSDs offer enhanced readand write speeds (sequential read: 255MB/s; sequential write: 180MB/s),improved IOPS (random read: 18,000 IOPS @ 4K; random write: 1,200 IOPS@ 4K) and proprietary SiPher™ data security technology. The drives areavailable immediately in a wide range of densities (4GB, 8GB, 16 GB,32GB, 64GB, 128GB) with SATA II configuration, in a low profile (9.5mmheight) 2.5-inch form factor. 256GB, PATA, 1.8-inch form factor, andencryption versions will start shipping in Q1 2010.

“pureSilicon is dedicated to providing high-performance, rugged storagesolutions to the defense, military, industrial, and governmentmarkets,” said Jason Breakstone, founder and CEO of pureSilicon. “Whilemany SSD manufacturers are focusing their efforts on the mass consumermarkets, pureSilicon is committed to designing and deliveringtechnologies that will provide significant benefits to our customerssuch as full-disk encryption and data declassification methods.Renegade R2 is designed to operate in the harshest conditions.”

High performance with real-world* specifications:
• Capacity: 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256GB using SLC flash
• Sequential Read: 255MB/s
• Sequential Write: 180MB/s
• Random Read: 18,000 IOPS @ 4K
• Random Write: 1,200 IOPS @ 4K
• Average Power: < 1.0W

Other features include:
• Renegade R2 uses the latest 34nm flash technology.
• Real-time 256-, 192-, or 128-bit AES (CBC or ECB) hardware-driven encryption/decryption.
• Secure-erase data declassification methods that meet strict government policies.
• Supports Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology(SMART), Native Command Queuing (NCQ), Advanced Host ControllerInterface (AHCI), and other advanced SATA commands.
• Conforms to SATA 2.6 and ATA-7 specifications.
• Features advanced wear-leveling and over-provisioningtechniques to improve performance, prolong drive life, and boostreliability.

*pureSilicon publishes steady-state performance results. These areachieved by performing proper preconditioning, which prepares the drivefor real-world usage scenarios and yields realistic performancebenchmarks. Other SSD manufacturers claim ‘clean’ (new) driveperformance specifications on a new drive, and users should expect tosee performance reductions in real world use as a clean drive settlesinto its stabilized (steady) state — once the drive is nearing capacityand is consistently performing garbage collection, wear leveling, andbad-block management.

pureSilicon Renegade R2 SSDs are rugged and reliable
Renegade R2 SSDs perform in environments where heat, vibration, andhumidity preclude the use of traditional hard disk drives or regular,‘consumer-grade’ SSDs. Renegade R2 ensures compliance withMIL-STD-810F, a military standard that requires the SSD to sustainreliable operation during a series of rigorous tests that validate itsability to endure the harsh environments typical of extreme industrialand military applications.

Renegade R2 is a durable component that will continue to deliver highperformance when other hard drives and SSDs would have failed.Ruggedized highlights include conformal coating, precision potting, anda hard-anodized unibody enclosure carved from a single piece ofaluminum. pureSilicon uses components that can tolerate extremetemperatures, shock, and vibration, enabling Renegade R2 to performfrom -40C to +85C. All Renegade R2 drives use industry-standard,single-level cell flash (SLC) to enhance reliability and long-termperformance.

SiPher Technology – Full-disk encryption and data declassification ensure data protection
A dedicated on-board cryptographic processor provides hardware-driven256-bit AES encryption that delivers instantaneous encryption anddecryption of data. Renegade R2 can be authenticated through manydifferent methods such as PIN/password, trusted platform module (TPM),smart card, universal serial bus (USB), or biometrics that use a unique‘key’ to unlock the drive. Without the key, data that has been storedon the Renegade R2 will be incomprehensible to anyone who tries toaccess it.

Data declassification technology is used to ensure all data written tothe Renegade R2, whether encrypted or not, is securely erased.Individual government organizations have different policies thatrequire data be erased using special algorithms. Out of the box,Renegade R2 is capable of deploying many of the standard governmentdata declassification algorithms.

Energy-efficient and planet-friendly
pureSilicon is committed to energy efficiency and designs storageproducts that yield high performance per watt. Whether the goal is toincrease productivity in a mobile environment or reduce energy costs ina datacenter, deploying pureSilicon SSDs will help achieve theseobjectives. Legacy storage products such as hard disk drives arebecoming less energy-efficient as manufacturers strive for higherperformance, whereas SSDs offer superior performance and scalability,with lower energy consumption.

Available for immediate delivery
Renegade R2 is available immediately in a wide range of densities (4GB,8GB, 16 GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB) with SATA II configuration, in a lowprofile (9.5mm height) 2.5-inch form factor. 256GB, PATA, 1.8-inch formfactor, and encryption versions will start shipping in Q1 2010. Forpricing and volume information, please visit http://www.puresi.com or contact: sales@puresi.com.

About pureSilicon Inc.
pureSilicon is redefining storage by developing leading-edgesolid-state storage devices based on flash memory technologies,including the world’s only 1-terabyte 2.5-inch SSD. By deliveringproducts that yield unprecedented performance, storage density, anddata security, pureSilicon is able to address the growing storage needsof the military/defense, industrial, and enterprise server markets.Headquartered in New Jersey, the company specializes in developingleading-edge solid-state drives (SSDs) that meet the demands of themost discriminating applications. pureSilicon offers an extensive lineof flash-based memory solutions specifically designed for defensecontractors, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and originaldesign manufacturers (ODMs). For more information visit http://www.puresi.com.

Seagate FreeAgent DockStar NAS Device Review

News — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:30:28 GMT

Network-attached storage (NAS) devices come in all shapes and sizes; some even come without hard drives--with the intention that the users will add the drives themselves. There is even a relatively new category of NAS devices that don't have any internal drives at all, and instead use USB-attached drives as their storage source. These NAS devices are typically inexpensive and super-easy to setup and use. We've even looked at a couple of them: the Addonics NAS Adapter ($49) and CloudEngines' Pogoplug ($99).

Now a big name in the storage business, Seagate, has jumped onto this bandwagon and released its own USB drive-based NAS device, the Seagate FreeAgent DockStar. Instead of reinventing the wheel, however, Seagate chose to license the Pogoplug technology from CloudEngines and integrate it--with a few differences--into the DockStar. The most obvious difference between the Pogoplug and the DockStar is their appearance. While the Pogoplug is essentially a small white cube, the DockStar is a bit more svelte (3.39x3.351.50), with a cradle on top designed to work exclusively with Seagate's line of FreeAgent Go portable hard drives--in fact, the DockStar looks a lot like the Seagate FreeAgent Go Dock. Another major difference between the DockStar and the Pogoplug is that the DockStar has a total of four USB 2.0 ports versus the Pogoplug's single USB 2.0 port...

Seagate FreeAgent DockStar NAS Device Review

Thecus Announces N7700PRO, Next-Gen Advanced NAS Storage

News — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:05:21 GMT

Thecus N7700PRO, Next-Generation Advanced Storage

World’s First 10GbE SMB NAS

10/15/2009 – Thecus Technology is always pushing the boundaries of what NAS devices are capable of. Today, Thecus is proud to introduce the N7700PRO, the follow up to the award winning N7700. While the original N7700 made its mark by being the world’s first seven-bay NAS device, the N7700PRO raises the stakes with breathtaking performance, unmatched reliability, and maximum flexibility.

With the N7700PRO, blistering performance is the name of the game. At its core is an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and a whopping 4GB of high-speed DDR2 800 memory, making it the most powerful NAS unit available. In fact, with its PCI-e slot, the N7700PRO can reach data transfer speeds of over 300MB/s by adding a PCI-e 10Gb Ethernet adapter! All of this raw power easily manipulates large amounts of data – perfect for the N7700PRO’s seven 3.5” SATA drive bays that can accommodate up to 14TB of storage. Need even more storage at your disposal? With its stackable feature, you can connect up to five N7700PROs together and easily manage them all via a master unit. The N7700PRO is even compatible with iSCSI initiators and supports iSCSI thin provisioning for added performance and flexibility.

The raw speed is only part of the story. The N7700PRO is an ideal place to safely secure your data. Multiple RAID modes including RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, and JBOD allow you to choose the ideal level of data redundancy to suit your needs. Online RAID expansion and migration are there as well for added convenience. For ultimate reliability, the N7700PRO also comes with a unique Dual DOM™ design, which features a secondary DOM that automatically reprograms the primary DOM should a failure occur. To ensure compatibility with as many networks as possible, the N7700PRO supports multiple file systems (Ext3, XFS and ZFS) and multiple operating systems (Windows, Mac, and Linux). With the popularity of VMware, virtualization technology is now widely used in the IT world. Thecus is now the member of Technology Alliance Partner (TAP), and N7700PRO is undergoing full VMware certification.

“Powered by Intel Core 2 Duo technology, the N7700PRO is one of the most powerful NAS devices in our arsenal,” said Florence Shih, Thecus Technology General Manager. “We are thrilled to bring the N7700PRO to users worldwide, and invite hardware enthusiasts and enterprise users everywhere to experience just what is possible with Thecus engineering.”

For All The Hype, Cloud Storage May Be Mostly Vapor

News — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:26:20 GMT

It's impossible, these days, to swing a dead cat more than about six inches without running into "the cloud" in one form or another. Whether we're discussing cloud computing as a storage concept, server provisioning, or consumer appliance, moving data into or out of the cloud has been a major topic over the past year. For all the traction cloud computing has found as an idea, however, it may end up being practically useful to a relatively small subsection of the total storage market.

In theory, Cloud Computing could free data centers from needing to keep quite so much storage around—provided they've got the time and bandwidth to upload it in the first place.

A quick glance at the broadband speeds typically available to both commercial businesses and residential consumers illustrates the problem. ADSL service in my area tops out at 512Kbps upstream and in my own experience, delivers about 60 percent of that at best. Cable is theoretically stronger on this point, but even if InsightBB is capable of delivering 100 percent of its advertised 2Mbit upload speed to business customers, that relatively wide pipe could pale in comparison to even modest needs. At top speed, that's 21GB a day, but still 49 days per TB. With consumer 1TB drives now hovering just above eight cents per gigabyte, the need to back up data in such volumes is no longer an enterprise-only consideration.

Short of a sea change, available storage capacity at any given price point is going to continue to grow markedly faster than available upload bandwidth, which could put practical constraints on just how large the "cloud" can get. As a storage facility for essential files or a few shared photo albums, the cloud works well. Whether or not it will ever evolve into the "one-size-fits-all" business solution its been touted as in certain circles is very much an open question.

OCZ Announces Z-Drive Bootable PCI-Express SSD

News — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:31:49 GMT

OCZ unveiled the Z-Drive, a PCI-Express Solid State Drive (SSD) today. The new Z-Drive is an all-in-one high performance plug-and-play bootable PCI-E SSD that provides a cost-effective means for enterprise customers to take advantage of solid state drive technology. The Z-Drive is designed to significantly reduce both the maintenance and overall TCO for clients.

The Z-Drive builds on OCZ's expertise in flash-based storage. This proprietary SSD employs a high-speed PCI-Express architecture in combination with a compact enterprise-grade RAID array to eliminate the SATA bottleneck. Thanks to eight PCI-E lanes and an internal four-way RAID 0 configuration, the Z-Drive is able to deliver performance for professional-class data storage in an all-in-one form factor.

The Z-Drive is available in multi-level cell (MLC) and single-level cell (SLC) models. The MLC-based Z-Drive p84 supports a maximum read speed of 750 MB/s and a maximum write speed of 650 MB/s. The SLC-based Z-Drive e84 supports a maximum read speed of 800 MB/s and a maximum write speed of 750 MB/s. The Z-Drive is available in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB (p84 only) capacities.

OCZ Announces Immediate Availability of the Z-Drive

An Innovative Bootable PCI-Express SSD Solution for Enterprise Applications

San Jose, Calif.—September 16, 2009—OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory and flash-based storage as an alternative to hard disk drives (HDDs), today unveiled the Z-Drive, a PCI-Express Solid State Drive (SSD) designed to meet the stringent demands of enterprise computing clients. Unlike other solutions, the Z-Drive provides a cost-effective formula of performance, reliability, and upkeep for enterprise customers and their applications which require the benefits of solid state drive technology, but have previously been hesitant to adopt competing products due to the sheer cost of implementation.

“Traditional enterprise storage technology typically requires overly complex infrastructure as well costly maintenance, and is often unable to deliver the level of performance required by OEM applications,” said Ryan Petersen, CEO of the OCZ Technology Group. “The new OCZ Z-Drive is an all-in-one high performance plug-and-play bootable PCI-E solid state drive that addresses these challenges head on, and meets the demands of the complete range of enterprise storage and data access requirements. The Z-Drive is designed not only to be higher performing and more reliable than conventional solutions, but also to significantly reduce both the maintenance and overall TCO for our clients.”

The Z-Drive is the result of the latest breakthroughs at OCZ and builds on the company’s expertise in flash-based storage. This proprietary SSD is bootable and takes the SATA bottleneck out of the equation by employing a high-speed PCI-Express architecture coupled with a compact enterprise-grade RAID array. With 8 PCI-E lanes and an internal four-way RAID 0 configuration, the Z-Drive delivers exceptional performance that translates to professional-class data storage in a complete, all-in-one form factor. Additionally, OCZ offers unique customization options for OEM clients that may require tailored hardware or firmware solutions for their business.

To accommodate a wide range of professional applications, the Z-Drive is available in multi-level cell (MLC) and single-level cell (SLC) models referred to consecutively as p84 and e84. Z-Drive pushes the envelope in storage performance versus competing traditional and flash based solutions:

	Z-Drive p84 (MLC-based)	Z-Drive e84 (SLC-based)
Max Read	750 MB/s	800 MB/s
Max Write	650 MB/s	750 MB/s
Max IOPS (4k file size - random write)	10,000	16,000

In addition, these impressive speeds are achieved all while providing lower power consumption, superior durability, and shock resistance compared to traditional rotational-based drives, translating into exceptional energy savings and reduced maintenance costs.

An ideal solution for enterprise clients that put a premium on both performance and maximum storage capacity including servers, storage arrays, supercomputing, professional media, and industrial electronics, the Z-Drive is available in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB (p84 only) capacities to offer ample room for the complete spectrum of applications. The Z-Drive comes backed by a leading 3-year warranty and dedicated technical support, ensuring unparalleled peace of mind.

Super Talent's 2TB RAIDDrive SSD To Ship In Early October

News — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:32:07 GMT

Super Talent's Two TeraByte PCIe RAIDDrive SSD to Begin Shipping Early October

New SSD Architecture Breaks Storage Performance Bottleneck with Sequential Transfer Speeds up to 1.4GB/sec

San Jose, California - September 16, 2009 - Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, will start shipping the first PCI Express RAIDDriveTM SSDs in early October.

RAIDDrive is designed to break the throughput bottleneck in the storage subsystem by removing the bandwidth limitation of the SATA bus. The PCIe Gen. 2.0 x8 interface used by RAIDDrive SSDs supports 4GB/sec bandwidth, more than ten times that of the SATA-II 3Gbps bus, and five times greater than the not yet available SATA-III bus.

Using patent pending RAID architecture that is optimized for NAND flash memory, RAIDDrive is able to support sequential read speeds of up to 1.4GB/sec. A turbocharged cache system with up to 1GB of DRAM cache enables sequential write speeds as fast as 1.2GB/sec. RAIDDrive, which houses four discrete SATA SSDs, comes in a custom aluminum enclosure measuring 258 x 112 x 25 mm. Higher capacity RAIDDrive models use the RAIDDrive Expander - a separate PCIe card - to hold a total of eight SATA SSDs.

SuperTalent is releasing three families of RAIDDrives with features optimized for different market segments:

RAIDDrive ES - Enterprise Servers performing compute intensive applications such as database transaction processing, business intelligence, and virtualization. RAIDDrive ES can be factory configured as RAID 0 or RAID 5, and fits in a 3U rack mount chassis. A battery backup module for the ES protects data in the event of a power loss. Built using SLC flash for high endurance, RAIDDrive ES is available in capacities up to 1TB.
RAIDDrive WS - Workstation users performing tasks including animation, video editing, oil and gas exploration, CAD/EDA simulation, and scientific computing. RAIDDrive WS can be factory configured as RAID 0 or RAID 5. The WS uses SLC flash and is offered in capacities up to 1TB.
RAIDDrive GS - Gamers and Enthusiasts looking to supercharge their IO Subsystem. RAIDDrive GS can be factory configured as RAID 0 or RAID 5, uses MLC flash and is available in capacities up to 2TB.

"RAIDDrive SSDs are a quantum leap ahead of existing SSDs in sequential transfer speeds due to our RAID architecture combined with the latest in flash technology and the bandwidth of the PCI Express interface. RAIDDrive shatters previous storage system bottlenecks and sets a new standard in performance." Super Talent COO, CH Lee said in a statement. RAIDDrive SSDs are available to OEMs and system integrators directly from Super Talent. OEM pricing for the 1TB RAIDDrive GS is $4999. RAIDDrive will be running in a live demo system at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, September 22-24 in the Super Talent booth, #419.

Pat Gelsinger Departs Intel For EMC, Leaves Digital Enterprise Wide Open

News — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:02:09 GMT

We've always heard that fall was a time for change, and evidently Intel's a firm believer in that very mantra. In a release issued today by the chip giant, a whole heap of organizational changes were announced during the run-up to IDF 2009 in San Francisco later this month, with the most notable change being the departure of longtime Intel veteran Pat Gelsinger. Intel describes the corner office shake-up as an array of "organizational changes" that'll lead to the expansion of some "key executive responsibilities." Here is Intel's blurb on the matter:

"The changes align the business around the core competencies of Intel Architecture and world class manufacturing, placing operating responsibility for them in three senior executives. In making the changes, Paul Otellini, Intel's chief executive, will devote a higher quotient of his time to corporate strategy and driving the company's growth initiatives."

We're also informed of a few high-level alterations to the norm, most of which is rather boring to the outside world that doesn't keep tabs on who is in charge of who down in Santa Clara. First off, the company is consolidating all of its major product divisions into the newly formed Intel Architecture Group (IAG), which will be co-managed by Sean Maloney and Dadi Perlmutter, both executive vice presidents. The former will be tasked with handling business and operations while the latter will lead product development and architecture. Secondly, the outfit's global manufacturing organization, the Technology and Manufacturing Group (TMG), will now report to Andy Bryant, Intel's chief administrative officer and also an executive vice president. The TMG organization under Bob Baker, Bill Holt and Brian Krzanich will report to Bryant but otherwise remain unchanged, while Baker will continue to oversee Intel's NAND flash memory business. There are a few other names finding new hats, but we'll spare you the gory details there. The real kicker is the afterthought addition to the press release that comes clean with this:

"Pat Gelsinger and Bruce Sewell have decided to leave the company to pursue other opportunities."

What opportunities, you ask? Well, Mr. Gelsinger has somehow worked a deal that'll make him the President & COO of Information Infrastructure Products over at EMC. EMC tells us that he will be responsible for EMC’s Information Infrastructure product portfolio, including its Information Storage, RSA Information Security, Content Management and Archiving and Ionix IT management divisions. What's wild is that Pat formerly worked as Senior Vice President and Co-General Manager of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group, which is no small division. In fact, that very segment is Intel's largest business group accounting for more than half of its annual revenue.

It's unclear who will be chosen to replace Pat, if anyone, but we get the impression that Intel will at least have things somewhat in order before IDF. Who knows--maybe a change of pace will be best for both Intel and Pat. A fresh set of eyes never hurt anyone making silicon-based wares, right?

Iomega Intros 4-Bay StorCenter Pro ix4-200r NAS

News — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:36:50 GMT

Iomega recently introduced its 4-Bay StorCenter Pro ix4-200r NAS for those into rack-mounted gear, but what if you're more into the traditional style? If so, there's the new StorCenter ix4-200d NAS, a high performance four-drive desktop NAS designed more for consumers and small business owners than corporations and IT departments.

The black box sports EMC storage technologies as well as VMware certification for virtualization installations, and Iomega asserts that you can have it up and running with just "four mouse clicks and a few minutes." Not bad! The drive's four bays provide room for up to 8TB of storage (four 2TB internal HDDs), all of which can obviously be accessed via your network or the Internet. A few of the highlights are listed below:

Remote Access: Set up remote access and remotely manage and access data on the ix4-200d from anywhere in the world.
Multiple Network Protocols: Works in Windows, Linux and Mac environments with network protocol support including CIFS/SMB/Rally, NFS, and AFP/Bonjour. The ix4-200d also supports advanced protocols such as HTTP, FTP and SNMP.
Time Machine(R) Support: Lets Apple(R) users easily backup any Mac computers running OS X (10.5 or later) using Time Machine.
Windows(R) Active Directory Support: Allows the ix4-200d to function as a client member in an Active Directory domain, giving users and groups access to the ix4-200d.
UPS Support: Enables unattended system shutdown without data loss in the case of power failure.
Video Surveillance: Supports up to five Axis(R) Network video cameras, for real-time monitoring and video capture directly to the ix4-200d, without the need of a dedicated computer (dependent upon system workload and network conditions). The ix4-200d can be used as a storage target for other network surveillance cameras as well.
Print Server: Supports intelligent print sharing capability for up to three USB printers directly connected to the ix4-200d.
UPnP AV Media Server: Compatible with UPnP and DLNA certified media players, the ix4-200d streams photos, audio content and videos to not only laptops and computers but a variety of media devices, including game consoles (Xbox(R) 360, Sony PlayStation(R) 3), audio bridges, iTunes(TM) players, networked digital picture frames and other compatible devices.
Bluetooth(R) capability: Allows users to upload contacts, photos and more from a cell phone, pocket PC or Blackberry(R) phone (Bluetooth USB adapter required, sold separately).
Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP): Supports no touch, automatic transfer of photos from digital cameras via one of the four USB 2.0 ports on the ix4-200d.
Versatility: Supports read and write on various formats, including Fat32, HFS+, NTFS or ext2/ext3 formatted hard disks.
Alerts: Provides email and SNMP notification for quick system status.
System Dashboard: Provides easy-to-understand status information on space utilization, device, peripheral and backup status.

Iomega has made this unit available now in three sizes: 2TB, 4TB and 8TB. It doesn't look like there's an option for buying an empty one, however. Internally, you'll find EMC LifeLine software (which works with OS X, Linux and Windows), a fully-developed Linux operating environment and suite of applications that protects your data and helps manage things. The ix4-200d can also be configured with different levels of RAID support: RAID 5 (pre-configured) and RAID 10 (both with automatic RAID rebuild), as well as JBOD, with the four drives in the ix4 being user-replaceable SATA II hard drives. Around back, you'll find twin Gigabit Ethernet ports as well as three USB 2.0 sockets for adding network printers or additional storage.

The 2TB StorCenter ix4-200d NAS drive is now available worldwide for $699.99, the 4TB model is $899.99, and the 8TB model is $1,899.99.

QNAP Head For The Rails With New 1U Rack-Mounted NAS Devices

News — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:33:59 GMT

Need some new networked storage? How about lots of networked storage? If you answered both of those with "yes," QNAP has you covered. The storage solution provider has today expanded its their Turbo NAS lineup with a pair of new ultra-high performance NAS servers for the corporate and entry-level enterprise market. Hey, the suits need storage too, okay?

The new TS-439U-RP and TS-439U-SP models are both 4-drive 1U rack mounted NAS servers with hot-swappable drives that are capable of up to 8TB total capacity using 2TB drives. The newly-designed HDD tray for 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch HDD dual support is also equipped in these two models, which gives users more choices to deploy the hard drives. As for internal specs, both devices feature Intel's 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory and a promise transfer rate of 87.3MB/sec for an FTP read with RAID 5 enabled. Speaking of that, the duo can be configured for RAID 0/1/5/6/5+ spare, and JBOD with online RAID capacity expansion and RAID level migration. Finally, both models feature iSCSI Target service with Thin Provisioning and dual Gigabit LAN ports with port trunking (support 7 bonding modes) and multi-IP setting.

The primary difference between the TS-439U-RP and TS-439U-SP is the RP model includes a redundant power supply that will automatically kick in if the other fails; the SP model includes a single power supply, but is upgradeable with an optional redundant power supply that can be installed without powering down the unit. Per usual, both devices are fully compatible with Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and UNIX networks and feature business-essential features such as AES 256-bit volume-based encryption, policy-based IP blocking, secure FTP, encrypted remote replication for backing up the NAS server to another NAS server over the network, email or SMS alerts if drives in the NAS server fail or are about to fail.

QNAP is making the new pair available later this month, though prices have yet to be disclosed.

Synology Disk Station DS409+ NAS Review

News — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:07:17 GMT

NAS devices come in many different shapes and sizes, as well as with different capacities and features. But for the most-reliable type of storage solution, the NAS devices of choice should be a multi-drive unit with RAID support. It is important to keep in mind, however, that while RAID adds extra layers of fault tolerance in the form redundant data storage--thus making your data's storage more reliable--it is still not a replacement for backing up your data. The best RAID solutions offer easy-to-use and robust tools for doing both.

One great example of such a device is the Synology Disk Station DS409+. The DS409+ is a four-bay NAS device that holds up to four, internal SATA drives that can be set up in a variety of different RAID configurations. The DS409+ also includes an external eSATA port and two USB 2.0 ports, which can be used to attach external hard drives to for additional storage or for dedicated backups of the server; you can also attach up to two printers to the USB ports and use the DS409+ as a print server as well...

Synology Disk Station DS409+ NAS Review

Thecus N7700 Network Attached Storage Server

News — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:20:39 GMT

Although the worldwide economy may be shrinking, our needs as consumers to store large amounts of data continues to grow at a breakneck pace. Whereas only a few years ago it was uncommon for most PC users to have more than just a few digital images or media files, today virtually every aspect of our lives has some sort of digital component. Our mobile phones now take pictures, shoot video, record audio and handle e-mail. it seems like everyone has a vast MP3 collection. We all create numerous documents, presentations, etc. And high-resolution, multi-megapixel digital cameras are prolific--and all that data has to go somewhere, if you want to save it, that is.

While consumers have a seemingly insatiable need for data storage, the data storage needs of small business and enterprise users are consistently growing as well. In addition to all of the aforementioned data types, SMBs and the enterprise have to contend with large databases and a myriad of backup data necessary to comply with local, state, and federal regulations, among numerous other things. As such, a class of high-end NAS (network attached storage) devices targeted at a broad range of consumers and professional users has emerged, that are both extremely powerful and easy to manage.

One such device is the Thecus N7700 NAS Server. The N7700 can accommodate 7 internal SATA hard drives, it supports multiple RAID configurations, it had dual Gigabit Ethernet jacks that support load balance and fail over functionality, and it has an easy to use browser-based interface that's simple to manage. Click the link below and check it out...

Thecus N7700 Network Attached Storage Server

QNAP Issues Version 3.1 Firmware For NAS Drives

News — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:21:18 GMT

QNAP not only provides a respectable array of NAS devices (as we saw in own testing), but it also looks out for its customers. In fact, we can't think of another company that issues as many firmware updates and provides more new features to existing owners than QNAP.

Today, the company is doling out another monumental update with its Version 3.1 firmware. The new NAS management software adds a few rather significant new features including virtual disk support (up to 8 virtual disks via iSCSI expansion over the network) and an exclusive QNAP RAID Recovery that can recover a degraded or inactive RAID 1, 5, or 6 due to unintentional removal of drives. Furthermore, Network Discovery Services are enhanced with new Bonjour support offering zero-configuration networking for HTTP, SAMBA, FTP, AFP, and SSH based networks, and full UPnP support.

Other new bits include EXT4 support for very large volumes and file sizes, SNMP support, and bitmap support for faster rebuilding of RAID volume after a crash or adding/removing a drive. The new 3.1 NAS management firmware ushers in a completely new AJAX based User Interface that allows easy NAS configuration via a Web interface allowing less technical-savvy users to easily install the NAS server on the network with simple wizards for adding new users, and setting up services. The new UI supports Microsoft Internet Explorer, Safari (version 3 and 4), FireFox 3, and Google's Chrome web browsers. Best of all, the firmware is totally free, so follow the directions below to get your download going.

The new 3.1 firmware is available immediately for free download at http://www.qnap.com/download.asp for owners of these QNAP Turbo NAS models:
TS-119/ TS-219/ TS-219P
TS-239
Pro* / TS-439 Pro* / TS-639 Pro* / SS-439 Pro* / SS-839 Pro* / TS-509
Pro / TS-809 Pro / TS-809U (Intel-based Models)
TS-109 / TS-209/ TS-409 series

LaCie Goes Enterprise With 12big Rack Solutions

News — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:41:36 GMT

LaCie--a mainstay in the storage industry--has just broken all sorts of boundaries with its latest lineup. Hailed as the company's "biggest storage solutions" yet, these 2U 19" rack-mounted DAS, NAS, iSCSI, or FC SAN devices will far exceed the needs of most consumers. Indeed, LaCie's aiming these squarely at the business and enterprise sectors, those where loads and loads of reliable storage are required to keep things humming along smoothly.

The 12big Rack product range is an enterprise class 2U rack-mounted portfolio, targeted at corporate IT users and video professionals. The family is comprised of the 12big Rack Fibre, LaCie 12big Rack Serial, and LaCie 12big Rack Network, which provide (respectively) SAN, DAS and NAS storage solutions that are designed to target the most demanding uses through their performance, customization, minimized downtime and ease-of-use. The range features multipathed 4x 4Gb/s fiber channel connections, dual Mini SAS connection (SFF-8088) or dual 1Gb/s Ethernet connection – making the 12big Rack portfolio a comprehensive storage range.

If you're wondering just how spacious these are, check this. The line starts at 6TB and scales all the way up to 60TB, and that's per system. All of 'em feature Enterprise Class SATA disks along with redundant power supplies, cooling units and a dual-controller option for the LaCie 12big Rack Fibre and the LaCie 12big Rack Serial. Naturally, you'll also find support for RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 and 50, up to RAID 6. If it's cheap you're after, you're barking up the wrong tree, as the 12big Rack products will be available in various models through the LaCie Online Store, LaCie Reseller+ and LaCie Storage Partner starting at the suggested retail price of $5,490.00.

Thecus Launches N7700SAS NAS Server

News — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:31:23 GMT

Introducing the Thecus N7700SAS NAS Server

Brand new 7-bay NAS with powerful business-class performance and expandability

06/30/2009 – Thecus, the leader in digital storage, today announced the availability of its latest 7-bay NAS server, the N7700SAS. Offering massive storage capacity and cutting-edge technology, the N7700SAS is an enterprise class NAS server providing incredible flexibility, reliability, and expandability.

The N7700SAS brings the latest technologies to the table, including seven SATA/SAS hard disk bays that accommodate multiple terabytes of storage. To manipulate all of this data, an Intel® Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of DDR2 memory allow for more concurrent connections and quicker system response. For data protection, the N7700SAS lets you choose from a wide selection of RAID modes, including RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 and JBOD. The N7700SAS also supports multiple RAID volumes, enabling system administrators to choose the right combination of RAID volumes for the network. Should changes need to be made, the N7700SAS also features online RAID expansion, online RAID migration, and auto rebuild for maximum flexibility.

Speaking of flexibility, the N7700SAS supports multiple file systems, including XFS, EXT3 and ZFS. Users can select the system that they require and create the needed capacity for different applications. For those who require even greater performance, the N7700SAS supports iSCSI initiators, which means that businesses can enjoy blazing file transfer performance over Ethernet without the hassle and expense of fiber-channel. N7700SAS also features with dual-DOM design, an extra DOM is installed to ensure continuous and flawless operation on the unit. Users do not need to worry about down-time due to unexpected system failure.

“The N7700SAS features a wealth of technologies designed to support enterprise users with the utmost speed, flexibility, and functionality,” said Florence Shih, Thecus® Technology General Manager. “With massive storage and tremendous expandability, the N7700SAS will be able to grow and expand along with businesses big and small.”

Super Talent Dips Into Industrial SSD Market

News — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:12:47 GMT

While there's no denying that the solid state drive arena is still growing (in leaps and bounds, we'd argue), Super Talent has yet to become a huge brand name that measures up to the likes of WD and Seagate in terms of name recognition. That said, the company is sure doing its best to change that with a torrent of new drives. Just a few months after showcasing new MasterDrive SSDs, Super Talent has announced a new line of IDE flash disk modules (FDMs), primarily developed for embedded computing applications, that deliver unmatched reliability and fast transfer speeds.

Put simply, these new IDE FDMs bring about a new high performance SSD solution to the embedded market. According to the firm, these are made first and foremost for extreme reliability in embedded computing applications. They incorporate a standard IDE hard drive interface and use solid state NAND flash as the storage media; with no moving parts, these FDMs will have a long worry-free usable life in harsh manufacturing environments where hard drives would not survive, such as areas exposed to high levels of dust, shock, vibration or extreme temperatures.

This line of FDMs supports sequential read speeds up to 80 MB/sec and sequential write speeds up to 60 MB/sec (SLC models) or up to 40 MB/sec (MLC products). The company offers different models using 40- and 44-pin female IDE connectors in both horizontal and vertical formats. So yeah, just in case the commercial market dips, now Super Talent has the industrial market in its sights. We always heard diversification was crucial.

A-DATA NH92: World's Slimmest External HDD Case

News — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:16:22 GMT

If you thought A-DATA's day was done when Computex closed down, think again. After bringing a slew of new storage solutions to the Taiwan-based show, the company is now pushing out what it's calling "the world's slimmest portable hard disk drive." The NH92 may not be much to look at (literally, we mean), but it's certainly worth taking a peek at if you're strapped for space.

The unit measures just 12mm thin and weighs only 152g, and A-DATA claims that size is the smallest in the industry. It's ready to handle any 2.5" HDD you care to toss in there, and it'll be made available in a trifecta of bright, shiny colors (light sliver, cherry pink and ocean blue). The shock-resistant casing itself is crafted from aluminum, and it ships with a nifty leather case to keep the scuff marks to a minimum. Naturally, it connects (and gets its power) via USB 2.0, and the company is selling it with 250GB of 500GB of storage built right in. Too bad we're not privy to a price or release date.

WD Ships New SATA/PATA SSDs

News — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:28:44 GMT

Western Digital is now shipping its new SiliconDrive III SSD product family based on technology from its March acquisition of SiliconSystems. The company’s new products feature faster read and write speeds as well as increased capacities. The drives also offer mechanical scalability, making them ideal for embedded system and data streaming applications such as multimedia content delivery systems and data center media appliances.

The new SiliconDrive III SSDs include 2.5-inch SATA and PATA and 1.8-inch Micro SATA products. The drives offer native SATA 3.0Gbps or ATA-7 interfaces with target read speeds up to 100MBps and write speeds up to 80MBps in capacities up to 120GB.

"SiliconDrive III is the first example of how WD plans to productize solid state technology developed by SiliconSystems. The launch of SiliconDrive III will also enable WD to leverage its global sales and distribution channels to accelerate the adoption of SSD technology beyond SiliconSystems' traditional embedded systems OEM customer base into data streaming applications such as multimedia content delivery systems and data center media appliances," said Michael Hajeck, senior vice president and general manager of WD's solid state storage business unit. "SiliconDrive III is an ideal solution for OEMs that require increased performance, capacity, reliability and data throughput in their applications."

To help achieve the desired performance and reliability, every SiliconDrive III product includes PowerArmor, SiSMART, and SolidStor technologies.

Netgear's SMB ReadyNAS adds Time Machine Support

News — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:49:14 GMT

NETGEAR Expands Award-Winning ReadyNAS Storage for SMBs with ReadyNAS NVX

NETGEAR’s 4-Bay Desktop Model Brings Double the NAS Performance, iSCSI Support and Support for Time Machine in Mac OS X

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- April 6, 2009 -- NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQGM: NTGR), a worldwide provider of technologically innovative, branded networking solutions, today announced the addition of several new 4-bay storage appliances to its award-winning family of ReadyNAS products for Small- to Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs). The ReadyNAS NVX, which is designed for home offices, workgroups and small businesses, offers double the performance of previous NV+ units, support for file services (NAS) and application services (iSCSI SAN) for Windows, UNIX/Linux and Mac systems, including support for Time Machine in Mac OS X v 10.5 Leopard. It enables users to securely store, share and protect business-critical data across a LAN or WAN, guard against disk failures, and grow capacity as needed. As with all ReadyNAS systems, the new NVX is extremely fast, easy-to-use and deploy, and affordable -- ideal for resellers eager to solve customer needs for centralized storage and disaster recovery.

"NETGEAR is fully committed to providing the best possible networked storage solutions to the SMB market -- offering a range of appliances that address different capacity requirements and thrifty IT budgets," said Paul Tien, vice president and general manager of NETGEAR's Networked Storage Business Unit. Mr. Tien will give a presentation at Storage Networking World on "Multi-layered Backup for SOHO and SMB."

He added, "We’re extremely pleased to add iSCSI support to this new NVX platform so we can now provide a unified NAS+iSCSI storage option in a very compact desktop form factor at such an affordable price point to our hugely successful ReadyNAS line. Our ReadyNAS products have been praised by channel partners and end users alike for high performance, reliability, scalability, ease-of-use and, perhaps most importantly, overall value."

NETGEAR's ReadyNAS products have received high acclaim since their introduction to the market – winning such esteemed awards as CRN’s 2008 "Best Product of the Year" for storage and Small Business Computing's 2009 "Excellence in Technology" award for network-attached storage, as chosen by readers.

ReadyNAS NVX 4-Bay Desktop Storage

Store: The ReadyNAS NVX -- supporting both NAS and iSCSI -- is an ideal desktop storage system for home offices, workgroups and small businesses. This entry-level SMB product enables end users to centralize data from local systems into a single device and solve problems around capacity growth, remote access, backup and disaster recovery all without IT expertise. The ReadyNAS NVX simultaneously handles file sharing for Windows, UNIX/Linux and Mac systems and also stores data for server applications such as email, databases and virtualization.

Share: As a new feature, the ReadyNAS RAIDiator operating system works with Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard. NETGEAR's ReadyNAS devices continue to support the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), enabling native Mac files to be used without restrictions or limitations; Apple's Bonjour software technology for auto-discovery of the device over a user's LAN; and dashboard widgets for status monitoring. Now Mac users can leverage Time Machine to back up multiple Macs to a single location and can recover from disasters without expert assistance.

"With so many consumers, prosumers and small businesses now loyal fans of both NETGEAR and Apple products, we're pleased to inform Mac enthusiasts that our new ReadyNAS products work with Time Machine," said Drew Meyer, NETGEAR’s director of storage networking products. "Mac shops, popularly known for storing copious amounts of digital files, will now be able to fully realize the benefits of an industry-leading network-attached storage device that is expandable, and seamlessly interoperates with their current Mac backup utility."

Protect: As with all ReadyNAS products, the NVX includes multiple layers of protection for data including drive fault tolerance (RAID), local USB backups, online backups (snapshots), and secure offsite replication to other ReadyNAS systems. And the embedded ReadyNAS Vault option lets users automatically archive to an Internet datacenter and recover from any web browser.

NETGEAR's ReadyNAS NVX 4-Bay Desktop Storage is available now from value-added resellers at an estimated U.S. street price starting at $1,500 with 2 TB of storage. ReadyNAS appliances come with full 24/7 technical support and an industry-leading five-year warranty. In addition, a free 30-day trial of the ReadyNAS Vault internet backup service is available now on all ReadyNAS systems. U.S. pricing for the ReadyNAS Vault service starts at $5.95 per month for consumers and $19.95 per month for businesses. More information for the entire ReadyNAS product line can be viewed at (http://www.readynas.com).

Tesla-Based Server Breaks 1U Performance Record

News — Sun, 31 May 2009 22:29:29 GMT

Computex is just now kicking off in earnest over in Taiwan, and already NVIDIA is pushing out some rather significant server news. From the show floor in Taipei, the GPU maker is announcing the immediate availability of a new class of server that combines massively parallel Tesla GPUs with multi-core CPUs in a single 1U rack-mount server. According to the company, this setup delivers 12x the performance of a standard quad-core CPU-based 1U server.

Supermicro is deemed the first to market with this device, and it's on hand to demonstrate the Tesla-powered SuperServer 6016T-GF-TM2 at the Nangang Upper Exhibition Hall. Don Clegg, Vice President of Marketing at Supermicro, was rather pleased with the introduction: "Our new Tesla GPU-based SuperServer 6016T-GF Series delivers a much higher performance-per-watt and per-rack than any other 1U solution in the market today. This 2-Teraflop SuperServer meets the most demanding enterprise data center requirements for reliability and manageability."

Not surprisingly, details on pricing were not mentioned, but given that these are being primarily marketed towards enterprise-class customers, we don't imagine the MSRP being cheap. NVIDIA's full release is pasted below.

NVIDIA AND SUPERMICRO SHATTER 1U SERVER PERFORMANCE RECORD
New GPU-based SuperServer Delivers 12X More Compute Power

COMPUTEX 2009—TAIPEI, TAIWAN—JUNE 1, 2009—NVIDIA Corporation and Supermicro today announced the immediate availability of a new class of server that combines massively parallel NVIDIA® Tesla™ GPUs with multi-core CPUs in a single 1U rack-mount server. This unique configuration delivers 12 times the performance of a traditional quad-core CPU-based 1U server.

Supermicro is first to market and is demonstrating the NVIDIA Tesla-based SuperServer 6016T-GF-TM2 at Computex 2009 in Taiwan this week (booth # N806, Nangang Upper Exhibition Hall).

“Our new Tesla GPU-based SuperServer 6016T-GF Series delivers a much higher performance-per-watt and per-rack than any other 1U solution in the market today,” stated Don Clegg, Vice President of Marketing, Supermicro. “This 2-Teraflop SuperServer meets the most demanding enterprise data center requirements for reliability and manageability.”

Based on the same award-winning NVIDIA CUDA™ architecture as other Tesla GPU-based solutions, these new servers offer unprecedented levels of integration and reliability for enterprise-class users. In addition, the GPU can be tied directly into the remote monitoring capabilities of the server for significantly improved system level management.

Petrobras, the leading Brazilian International Energy company, recently spoke about its reliance on Tesla GPUs to increase the performance of their seismic codes. Petrobras has recently invested in a GPU-based cluster consisting of 190 NVIDIA Tesla GPU Computing processors for scientific parallel processing, with transformative results:

"With our GPU cluster we are getting performance improvements of 5x to 20x over our traditional multi-core CPU-based cluster,” said Neiva Zago, Geophysical Technology Manager, Petrobras. “We expect that the continued use of GPUs in our business will result in significant reduction in processing time as well as savings in power consumption and datacenter floor space."

Petrobras expects scalable increases in GPU performance will continue as they build out their datacenter to deliver more than 400 TFLOPS.

For more information on Tesla GPU Computing solutions, please visit http://www.nvidia.com/object/preconfigured_clusters.html, and for more information on Supermicro’s product line, please visit: www.supermicro.com/products/nfo/gpu.cfm.

About NVIDIA
NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) is the world leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the GPU, a high-performance processor which generates breathtaking, interactive graphics on workstations, personal computers, game consoles, and mobile devices. NVIDIA serves the entertainment and consumer market with its GeForce graphics products, the professional design and visualization market with its Quadro graphics products, and the high-performance computing market with its Tesla™ computing solutions products. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. and has offices throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. For more information, visit www.nvidia.com.

Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements as to: the benefits, features, impact, and capabilities of NVIDIA Tesla GPUs and NVIDIA CUDA architecture and their effects on the Supermicro SuperServer are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: development of more efficient or faster technology; adoption of the CPU for parallel processing; design, manufacturing or software defects; the impact of technological development and competition; changes in consumer preferences and demands; customer adoption of different standards or our competitor's products; changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of performance of our products or technologies when integrated into systems as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its Form 10-Q for the fiscal period ended April 26, 2009. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on our website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

DDRdrive Redefines Solid-State Storage

News — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:40:18 GMT

When a traditional hard drive doesn’t offer enough bandwidth to meet your needs, many users turn to solid state disks, or SSDs. These storage devices are built using memory chips. The downside is that these disks are typically very expensive. SSDs are available with flash memory that can retain content when power is lost, but the drives often use volatile DRAM memory to achieve the best possible performance. DDRdrive’s latest offering provides users with the benefits of both types of memory.

DDRdrive recently introduced the new DDRdrive X1 that incorporates both DRAM and NAND. Each DDRdrive X1 offers 4GB of storage capacity with 4GB DRAM and 4GB of NAND. Both solid-state technologies work together to combine the speed, reliability, and longevity of DRAM with the non-volatility of NAND.

Instead of using a STAT or an UltraATA/100 interface like some competing solutions use, the DDRdrive X1 is based on PCI Express. DDRdrive's Christopher George says this will enable the DDRdrive X1 to achieve higher bandwidth than its competitors.

The designer of this card had IOPS performance in mind. DDRdrive boasts that the DDRdrive X1 is the “drive for speed.” For excellent end-to-end IOPS optimization, the IOPS Engine is controlled by a highly tuned device driver. In order to achieve excellent IOPS performance, all IO operating are directed to the DRAM. The NAND performs an entire drive backup or restore in as little as 60 seconds.

The DDRdrive X1 doesn’t use an integrated battery. Instead DDRdrive’s solution offers a power adapter at the back of the board that allows the user to connect the card directly to a power supply or a high-capacity external battery. Using Microsoft Windows built-in RAID support, the DDRdrive X1 can be spanned (for capacity), striped (for performance), mirrored (for redundancy), and RAID-5 configured.

The DDRdrive X1 supports Windows 2000 Client/Server, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 Beta, and Windows Server 2003/2008/2008 R2 Beta. Linux support is expected at a future date. The DDRdrive X1 uses a PCI Express X1 full-height half-length form factor. As we suggested earlier, SSDs and this type of performance come at a steep price. The DDRdrive X1 4GB/4GB with an AC adapter and transport case costs $1,495 and comes with a five year limited warranty.

LaCie Enhances NAS Line with Two New Products

News — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:35:28 GMT

LaCie added the LaCie 2big Network and 5big Network to its NAS product line. The product upgrades bring improved performance, enhanced features, comprehensive backup support, and capacity expansion.

The LaCie 5big Network offers a Gigabit Ethernet connection and features five hot-swappable drives that support seven RAID modes. With its expanded capacity of 10TBs, the 5big Network is the first in its class to offer double-digit capacity.

LaCie’s 2big Network is a two-bay RAID device with up to 4TB of professional storage. For expanded backup capabilities, the LaCie 2big Network lets users perform incremental and scheduled backups to external devices.

For more information on both drives, see the full press release below.

LaCie Upgrades Network Storage Solutions, Including a Massive 10TB of Storage Capacity

Today LaCie announced significant advancements in two recognized and award-winning network storage solutions – the LaCie 2big Network and the LaCie 5big Network. The product upgrades include improved performance, enhanced features, comprehensive backup support, and extreme capacity expansion – ultimately providing customers with an easier setup experience and a variety of ways to archive, access, and share large amounts of content.

The award-winning LaCie 5big Network takes advantage of a Gigabit Ethernet connection and features five hot-swappable drives that support seven RAID modes. Now, with the latest capacity advancements, the 5big Network includes a 10TB model, making it the first in its class to offer double-digit capacity.

Strengthening LaCie's support for Apple applications, the 5big Network is now compatible with Time Machine backup software; with just one click on the LaCie Administrator website, all Mac computers on a single LAN can access the 5big Network and perform a variety of backups. Additionally, the 5big Network provides improved multimedia server capabilities, allowing users to play media from the NAS solution through a UPnP-AV compatible device such as a PS3 or Xbox, directly to a television or directly to any DLNA multimedia device. The 5big Network is also compatible with the iTunes server, which provides iTunes users access the NAS device from the application interface.

"Networked storage has become a way of life for small businesses and a feature that's more commonly desired in the home," said Edin del Mar, LaCie's SOHO NAS Product Manager. "The evolution of these two products provides our customers with enhanced convenience and usability, demonstrating LaCie's commitment to optimizing form and functionality."

The 2big Network is a two-bay RAID device that provides up to 4TB of professional storage. Its upgrade includes features such as Windows Active Directory Support (ADS) and local backup. It also supports integration with MS Windows network domains, making it easy for IT Administrators to manage.

Expanding its backup capabilities, the LaCie 2big Network enables users to perform incremental and scheduled backups to external devices. It also ships with client licenses of Genie Backup Manager Pro for Windows and Intego Backup Manager Pro for Mac, a software suite that allows users to reliably and efficiently back up documents, emails, or other digital assets, or restore them in the case of data loss. Additionally, the 2big Network is fully compatible with Time Machine.

LaCie continues to evolve its full line of NAS solutions to provide optimal performance, industry-leading security and backup features, as well as unparalleled capacities – offering customers a customized solution suited for any home or small office.

Availability

The LaCie 2big and 5big Network will be available through the LaCie Online Store, LaCie Reseller, or LaCie Storage Partner starting at the suggested retail price of $319.99 for the 2big Network and $799.99 for the 5big Network (excluding VAT).