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Xiotech has added a faster, more scalable storage area network-based storage subsystem to its Magnitude 3D line.
The Magnitude 3D 3000 is two to five times faster than the Eden Prairie, Minn., companys existing Magnitude 3D products, with significantly more capabilities to protect data in the case of a disaster.
The product, built on an open systems platform, also allows for hot, on-the-fly controller upgrades without downtime and supports existing Magnitude 3D storage and storage tiers.
Like the companys recently introduced Magnitude 3D 1000e, the Magnitude 3D 3000 is aimed at the midmarket.
Customers in this segment require easy-to-use, easy-to-manage, cost-competitive solutions.
“Because we mask the complexity, you can get some significant benefits in terms of ownership costs, how long you can run it, and the types of people you need to manage it,” said Mike Stoltz, executive vice president for marketing. “That all translates into dollar savings for the SME [small and medium-sized enterprise], which is focused on getting the most out of a product they can because they are the epitome of more for less.”
The new offering is faster and more scalable than previous products in the Magnitude 3D line.
The goal, Stoltz said, is to ensure that performance does not degrade as storage needs increase.
The Magnitude 3D 3000 also offers significant increases in performance due to the products focus on application-specific tuning.
“If you had a database running at a certain volume and wanted to give it more performance, you can do it on that application, whereas if youve got some archived data sitting on a SATA [serial ATA] drive, it doesnt need that same level of performance,” Stoltz said.
“We give the SME flexibility by having one system to manage and one to use, so they can meet the needs of different applications.”
The system also can be upgraded from an existing Magnitude 3D platform to the 3000 without downtime—something this market segments considers valuable.
“We can take one controller down while another controller takes over all of the workflow for it, replace the controller with the newer version, and be up and running as if nothing happened,” Stoltz said.
Xiotechs virtualization capabilities, which enable many of these functions, are a real differentiator for Xiotech, said John Webster, senior analyst at Data Mobility Group of Nashua, N.H.
“A lot of the things in this product have been carried over from other products that build on top of Xiotechs virtualization capabilities, like the ability to create a copy and then swap the copy with the original and keep running,” he said.
“There are a number of things they do as a result of the way they virtualize the box underneath that are unique to what they offer the market that others arent necessarily doing.”
Stoltz said the Magnitude 3D 3000 is only the next step in an overall strategy that isnt fully complete.
The company plans to extend the Magnitude 3Ds reach and working to integrate more closely with applications that surround it, he said.