New Storage, Security Products Debut at Macworld

There’s a lot going on in data storage and security–more than one might imagine–this week at the Macworld Expo 2008 here in foggy San Francisco.

Here’s a quick-hit listing of some of the new storage product happenings at the venerable Moscone Center:

—Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled Jan. 14 during his keynote speech a wireless backup device for Macintosh called Time Capsule, with models costing $299 and $499. This is a backup appliance that works with Time Machine to automatically and wirelessly back up everything on one or more Macs running Mac OS X Leopard. Time Capsule combines an 802.11n base station with a server-grade hard disk in one small package.

—Atempo previewed its updated Continuous Data Protection software for Mac OS X. The company’s new Live Backup automatically and continuously captures and tracks data modifications as they occur on any network-connected desktop or laptop. Live Backup conserves both network bandwidth and storage space, and it works silently in the background, automatically backing up data wherever the computer is located, whether at corporate headquarters, a remote office or a secured Internet connection. The software offers a wide range of recovery capabilities, from self-serve file restoration of lost or accidentally deleted files to complete system recovery.

—ATTO Technology, which makes storage connectivity and infrastructure software for data-intensive computing environments, is demonstrating its new ExpressSAS RAID adapters that provide parity protection and enhance workflow productivity from SD through 4K film for demanding broadcast and postproduction environments. ATTO is also showcasing its high-end FastStream storage controller appliances.

—Intego released FileGuard X5, a free upgrade to its well-known data protection software, which creates so-called “virtual safes” where users can store their most private or sensitive documents. Users can store these “safes” on file servers or external disks and can keep them on home or office Macs with no risk of anyone opening them, company officials say.

—Ciprico launched its new MediaVault 5116 storage array for Mac OS X. The MV5116 will support both SAS and SATA II drives while connecting to the host computer at data rates five times faster than 4G Fibre Channel solutions, the company said. Utilizing the latest SAS disk drives, the 5116 has demonstrated streaming performance of up to 1.4G bps, making it one of the first products to support two 2K video streams simultaneously.

—Rocstor, which provides data storage and encryption security, announced several new state-of-the-art products: three new multi-interface drives with eSATA ports and shock-resistant casings; two new desktop-type, RAID hot-swappable hard drives with JBOD and Raid 0 and 1 connectivity; and Rocsafe PX, a USB pocket drive containing one of the highest levels of security integrated with eNova Real-Time Hardware Encryption and two-factor authentications, smart card and password protection.