News
INRANGE & IBM Alliance
Extended distance storage networks are one of the key imperatives for enterprise IT users, enabling real-time disaster recovery, business continuance, and remote processing sites. Many large systems users have not been able to accomplish this over distance because of the inability to remotely tie large storage systems to their central sites using commonly available telephony networks. This limitation will be lifted with IBM and INRANGE Technologies’ new support alliance. Under this agreement, INRANGE’s IN-VSN (Virtual Storage Networks) family of storage networking solutions will support channel extension and PPRC (Peer to Peer Remote Copy) capabilities for IBM's "Shark," its new Enterprise Storage Server.
The 9801 Storage Networking System provides mission-critical computer networks and SANs with channel extension functions. This means that users can locate large IBM and compatible storage systems remotely from enterprise server sites to support business continuance or data migration applications, using standard leased line communication facilities.
To create truly virtual storage networks, both S/390 mainframe and open systems environments will be supported. "Customers are creating a new type of computing environment to support their businesses, which demands systems and storage to interoperate regardless of geographic boundaries," says Charles Foley, EVP and CTO at INRANGE. "Storage solutions vendors who integrate the channel extension capabilities of our IN-VSN family will be able to significantly extend the value of their offerings in customers' global IT infrastructures."
The 9801 Storage Networking System was successfully tested with excellent performance at IBM's Storage Systems Division and SAN lab in Tucson, Ariz. INRANGE can extend IBM's Peer to Peer Remote Copy (PPRC) implementation up to 300 km distances, across standard telephone lines. Greater distances can be supported but are application dependent. The unique data compression capability of the 9801 Storage Networking System was key in both performance, and obtaining maximum bandwidth utilization.
"Our commitment is to enable Virtual Storage Networks throughout the enterprise, by providing massively scalable, highly-available storage network infrastructures," says Greg Grodhaus, President of INRANGE Technologies. "Our partnerships with the leaders of the storage industry, as evidenced with IBM, will pay tremendous dividends for our customers."