A flurry of storage technology announcements hit the wire Monday as Spring Storage Networking World 2001 got under way in Palm Desert, Calif.
Setting the tone for the show, both Cisco Systems Inc. and Brocade Communications Systems Inc. unveiled its own IP storage routers. Industry experts said that the Cisco and Brocade products represent the dawn of a new era of IP-based storage. IP-based storage architecture moves storage data across standard Internet connections using high-speed protocols such as iSCSI.
Other news from Monday's Spring Storage Networking World 2001 show included a range of announcements from SAN support to improved storage software.
Dell Computer Corp. announced the company has extended its Dell PowerVault SAN technology to support Intel-based servers from third-party companies such as Compaq Computer Corp., IBM Corp., and Hewlett-Packard Co. Dell officials hope the move will encourage companies using non-Dell servers to add Dell storage technology to their networks.
SANavigator Inc. marked the official launch of its SANavigator Version 2.0 SAN management software with a demonstration of remote SAN management. From the company's booth at the show, SANavigator officials demonstrated a number of real-time SAN management routines using SANavigator to control a SAN located at the company's San Jose, Calif., headquarters.
Adaptec Inc. announced the availability of its AEA-7110C Ethernet adapter. The device is targeted at manufacturers of server and storage subsystems wanting to add IP technology such as iSCSI to their offerings. Although the iSCSI specification will not be formally adopted by the industry as a standard until later this year, the Adaptec adapter is available now, according to officials for Adaptec.
Storage management company StorageNetworks Inc. rolled out upgrades to its Virtual Storage Portal storage service management software, its STORos storage operating system, and its STORvision command and control software.
New to the STORos is an XML-based API that enables users to write applications from their existing management framework to STORos, which can then run that application across a SAN, a NAS (network attached storage), or a tape storage library, according to StorageNetwork officials.