AppIQ, OptiFacio, and Silverback Systems Demonstrate High Performance Data Storage at Breakthrough Price Points at Storage Networking World, Fall 2004

Business Wire, Oct 25, 2004

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Companies Demonstrate How Standards-Based iSCSI Storage Networks Based on Intel XScale Technology Make Advanced Storage Capabilities Available to More Customers

Offering a glimpse into the future of data storage, AppIQ(TM), OptiFacio, and Silverback Systems today announced they will be demonstrating advanced data storage capabilities at breakthrough price points at the Storage Networking World, Fall 2004 trade show. IT managers for both large enterprises and small and medium sized businesses will see how high-performance, cost-effective storage networks can be implemented using the ubiquitous Internet Protocol (IP), Common Information Model (CIM) standard, and Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S). The demonstration platform, which showcases an iSCSI storage area network (SAN), integrates OptiFacio's SAN OS and embedded run-time middleware, Silverback Systems' iSNAP(TM) (storage network access processor) and AppIQ StorageAuthority(TM) Suite SAN management software, and is based on Intel XScale(R) Technology. The demonstration will be available in Intel's booth (P4) throughout the event, which takes place October 25-28 at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando.

"Bringing the next wave of users to networked storage will require industry standard infrastructure, high availability, low price points, and operational simplicity through solid solutions," said Robert Gray, Research VP, Worldwide Storage Systems, IDC. "iSCSI, using existing Ethernet and IP technologies for reducing storage total cost of ownership, overcoming distance limitations, and improving interoperability is well positioned technology. The collaboration among AppIQ, Intel, OptiFacio, and Silverback Systems shows that iSCSI-based SAN solutions with standards-compliant devices and powerful management solutions are not far away."

The demonstration will show how the business applications of SAN technology such as SAN/NAS gateways, Information Lifecycle Management (ILM), serverless backup, disk-to-disk backup, database replication, and shared storage can be made more affordable and delivered to entirely new market segments. It will also provide another proof point that CIM and SMI-S are the right standards for ensuring storage interoperability and simplifying management, and that Fibre Channel SANs and iSCSI SANs can co-exist within the same customer environments to offer unprecedented flexibility in aligning storage costs with business requirements.

The iSCSI SAN consists of Microsoft Windows and Linux host servers, each configured with Silverback Systems storage accelerators designed using Intel XScale technology. Two iSCSI storage systems, each designed using the Intel reference platform and featuring an embedded CIM Object Manager (CIMOM) from OptiFacio, will be connected to the Silverback Systems host adapters via an IP network. AppIQ StorageAuthority Suite SAN management software will leverage CIM and SMI-S to discover and display the iSCSI SAN topology, and monitor and report on the configuration, connectivity, capacity, and performance of the iSCSI SAN components. The result is a SAN solution made up of higher volume, lower cost hardware components, and commercially available management software that delivers many of the same end user benefits of today's higher-priced SANs, including:

--faster data transfer

--higher data availability

--flexibility to share storage across multiple applications

--ability to quickly scale storage capacity

--easier manageability

--faster backup and recovery

AppIQ: Simplifying SAN Management

AppIQ provides comprehensive, multi-vendor SAN management and storage resource management software that enables enterprise IT organizations to efficiently manage data storage as a business-focused IT utility. AppIQ StorageAuthority Suite seamlessly integrates storage resource visualization, provisioning, monitoring, reporting, and policy-based automation, and correlates business-critical applications with SAN configuration, capacity, and performance. AppIQ and Intel previously announced a collaboration to develop management solutions for iSCSI-based storage networks . AppIQ is leveraging these efforts to offer an integrated, standards-based family of storage area management solutions that supports all storage technologies - DAS, NAS, and SAN - on all physical protocols - ATA, SCSI, Fibre Channel, and iSCSI - giving IT managers the power to manage heterogeneous storage infrastructures through a "single pane of glass."

"Today's economic realities are forcing businesses to closely match storage costs with application and end user service level requirements," said Ash Ashutosh, CTO, AppIQ. "To do this, IT organizations need management software that embraces emerging storage technologies and protects existing investments. This demonstration proves that AppIQ is the best choice for managing multi-vendor, multi-protocol storage networks and should ease concerns about how iSCSI-based SANs will be managed, helping pave the way for mass market adoption of iSCSI technology."