NEWS BRIEFS

Las Vegas, NEV. — IBM announced the ProSCSI JBOD DL2000J storage subsystem, the first in a new generation of storage solutions ideal for OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and resellers who integrate and sell external storage.

The operating system-independent, high density Ultra 160 SCSI JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks) enclosure increases storage subsystem capacity by 40% over the previous offering and provides high reliability in an easy-to-manage solution.

“The need for more storage is rising exponentially, while floor space is limited,” said Eric Herzog, vice president of marketing for IBM OEM RAID storage solutions. “This solution will enable users to get high volume and density with the scalability they need to keep up with their growth.”

“IBM’s ProSCSI JBOD solution is a fully qualified, market-ready storage solution that OEMs can apply to their user needs that may range from building-block storage customization to end-to-end solutions,” said Dan Tanner, Senior Analyst, Storage and Storage Management at Aberdeen Group.

IBM’s ProSCSI JBOD represents the next wave in its OEM storage strategy, which was unveiled in February when StorageSmart by IBM ProFibre Storage Array RAID subsystems for SCSI and Fibre Channel disk drives were announced. Featuring RAID controllers from industry leader Mylex, which was acquired by IBM last year, the ProFibre Storage Array DL1100R can be combined with the ProSCSI JBOD DL2000J to form massive storage systems. In addition, large storage systems can be constructed by connecting the JBOD to a server through a PCI host bus adapter or RAID controller.

IBM plans to offer several additional members to the OEM subsystem family, including both Fibre Channel and SCSI JBOD and RAID subsystem solutions that support the next generation of connectivity and storage technologies.

The ProSCSI JBOD DL2000J subsystem supports the latest 15,000 and 10,000 RPM Ultra 160 SCSI interface drives, enabling faster data transfer rates and data access. It is also compatible with previous generation SCSI interfaces such as Ultra and Ultra2 SCSI. The JBOD enclosures complement the RAID subsystems announced earlier this year.

By utilizing advanced, fault-tolerant redundancy features, such as hot swappable drives, dual cabling, dual cards, dual power units and cooling components, the ProSCSI JBOD helps to ensure high availability. Constructed with sophisticated vibration dampening material, the subsystem is designed to significantly reduce disk drive vibration, resulting in fewer misreads and faulty error messages, and curtailing service costs.

System administrators can daisy chain subsystems that start as small as 9GB and scale to over 1TB per JBOD (when using 72GB drives). Three configurations are available: a single SCSI path running 14 disk drives; dual SCSI paths running seven drives per bus; and dual SCSI paths running 13 drives in a redundant state.

The ProSCSI JBOD DL2000J is shipping now to OEMs and by Q1 2001 to the IBM Technology Group (TG) worldwide sales and channel network, which includes distributors, resellers and system integrators. MSRP pricing starts at $2,999.

IBM is a leader in the creation, development and manufacture of the industry’s most advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, networking systems, storage devices and microelectronics. IBM TG’s Storage Technology Division offers customers worldwide the most comprehensive range of industry-leading storage products available today. These storage solutions are offered through IBM, as well as a large network of IBM Business Partners and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). More information is available on the web at http://www.storage.ibm.com/storagesmart .

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