ProStor Launches InfiniVault Model 5

Removable disk storage specialist ProStor Systems announced the launch of InfiniVault Model 5, an integrated storage appliance in a tower design with five slots for RDX removable disks and a 1.8TB file area that can manage 250 million files. It is aimed at small to medium-size businesses that may require two copies of the data for disaster protection.

Buyers of the new Model 5, which retails for $14,995, can request an initial system "fill-up": Five RDX removable disk cartridges (2.5TB of uncompressed capacity) will be added to the Model 5 by ProStor at no additional charge.

By using 500GB RDX removable disk cartridges, InfiniVault Model 5 is able to keep 2.5TB (5TB compressed) of data online (in RDX removable disk cartridges) and an infinite amount of data capacity offline. In an application requiring two separate retention periods, ProStor said the Model 5 can be configured to provide self-protection while allowing RDX removable disks to be sent offsite for disaster protection.

ProStor is aiming the device at businesses that must abide by industry-specific data retention requirements, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (for health care), SEC Rule 17a-4 (stockbrokers and dealers), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Federal Rules for Civil Procedure and others.

Henry Baltazar, storage analyst at The 451 Group, said data archiving and compliance continue to be difficult challenges for SMB customers given that most products on the market today cater to enterprise customers with much larger budgets. “With the release of the InfiniVault Model 5, small compliance-sensitive businesses now have a relatively low-cost platform to help them meet their long-term data retention needs,” he said.

"Just because a company is small does not mean that their active archiving needs are nonexistent,” said Arun Taneja, founder and consulting analyst of the Taneja Group. “They demand the same level of reliability and feature set. However, their requirements for size are modest compared to those of larger enterprises. With the ProStor InfiniVault Model 5, that customer does not need to make any compromises."

With the addition of InfiniVault Model 5, ProStor is reducing its price for the ProStor InfiniVault Model 3 to target smaller businesses and single-application environments. The Model 3 is now priced at $9,995. In addition, the company announced a lower price for its expandable, rack-mounted systems: the Model 30 ($29,995) and Model 100 ($69,995).

“InfiniVault continues to gain recognition as the leading alternative to tape and optical storage solutions, and we are pleased to introduce the InfiniVault Model 5 to our ever-growing customer base," said ProStor President and CEO Frank Harbist. "The InfiniVault line offers unmatched capabilities for automated compliance, e-discovery, disaster protection and encryption, which are all ongoing concerns for the SMB market to efficiently and legally retain their data."

He concluded, "I'm also proud that we have been able to remove cost and increase both ease of use and the rich functionality of InfiniVault, allowing us to make the lowest cost systems for long-term data retention even more affordable for our customers."