IBM Unveils New x86 and Mainframe Storage for Midrange Market
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IBM's System Storage DS3500 Express and System x3620 M3 Express provide storage options for midrange data centers.
IBM, focusing on the
slowly-but-surely-expanding midrange enterprise market, on June 1 unveiled two
new storage hardware and software packages for smaller data centers that use
x86-based commodity-type arrays, System x mainframe systems or both.
IBM launched versions of System Storage
DS3500 Express and System x3620 M3 Express for both types of data center
hardware.
The entry-level DS3500 Express is a starter storage system that provides
multiple connectivity options-Fibre Channel, iSCSI and SAS-enabling storage
administrators to deploy tiered storage networks.
Storage tiering keeps often-accessed data on a fast Tier 1 spinning or
solid-state disk, by far the most power-hungry option; Tier 2 data, accessed
less frequently, is kept on slower, less-expensive SATA (Serial ATA) disks.
Tier 3 is tape storage for data that may never see the light of day again.
Tiered networks, addition to filtering out unnecessary data and files that slow
up traffic, also provide immediate access to timely business data so it can be
used for internal corporate analytics if needed.
System x3620 M3 Express, a higher-performance system that runs on Intel's
latest Xeon multicore processors, features faster I/O throughput and is
optimized for storage-intensive workloads, such as data and files from social
networking sites, surveillance video installation and transaction processing, IBM
said. The x3620 also includes integrated RAID adapters for disaster protection
and higher data availability.
Pricing information, dependent upon number of arrays and overall capacity, is
available upon consultation with IBM Global
Services. Both systems are available at this time, IBM
said.
A recent IBM research project involving
1,541 CEOs of midrange companies reported that 78 percent of respondents said
they believe business complexity will continue to grow significantly over the
next five years, but only 54 percent believe they know how to deal with it
successfully.
For more information on the new IBM storage
offerings, go here. IBM
also has started a Website with product
information for midrange businesses.
Chris Preimesberger was named Editor-in-Chief of Features & Analysis at eWEEK in November 2011. Previously he served eWEEK as Senior Writer, covering a range of IT sectors that include data center systems, cloud computing, storage, virtualization, green IT, e-discovery and IT governance. His blog, Storage Station, is considered a go-to information source. Chris won a national Folio Award for magazine writing in November 2011 for a cover story on Salesforce.com and CEO-founder Marc Benioff, and he has served as a judge for the SIIA Codie Awards since 2005. In previous IT journalism, Chris was a founding editor of both IT Manager's Journal and DevX.com and was managing editor of Software Development magazine. His diverse resume also includes: sportswriter for the Los Angeles Daily News, covering NCAA and NBA basketball, television critic for the Palo Alto Times Tribune, and Sports Information Director at Stanford University. He has served as a correspondent for The Associated Press, covering Stanford and NCAA tournament basketball, since 1983. He has covered a number of major events, including the 1984 Democratic National Convention, a Presidential press conference at the White House in 1993, the Emmy Awards (three times), two Rose Bowls, the Fiesta Bowl, several NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, a Formula One Grand Prix auto race, a heavyweight boxing championship bout (Ali vs. Spinks, 1978), and the 1985 Super Bowl. A 1975 graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Chris has won more than a dozen regional and national awards for his work. He and his wife, Rebecca, have four children and reside in Redwood City, Calif.Follow on Twitter: editingwhiz
