Artecon Launches LynxNSS Product Line; Only Fibre Channel Specialized Network-Attached Storage Solution Announced
Business Wire - November 17, 1997 09:30
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 1997--Artecon, the leading manufacturer and supplier of the broadest spectrum of enterprise storage solutions, today announced its LynxNSS(TM) product line of high-speed network-attached storage servers.
This new product line, which will debut at Artecon's booth S8152 and also be demonstrated at the Fibre Channel Loop Community exhibit area (room N250) at COMDEX Fall '97 in Las Vegas, Nov. 17-21, includes the only specialized network-attached storage servers to leverage the dramatic performance and functional benefits associated with Fibre Channel (FC) interfaces to the network. With support for FC-AL (Arbitrated Loop) and FC switched-fabric topologies, LynxNSS provides added resiliency and flexibility to networks requiring high-speed data transfers, especially with video streaming or image processing applications.
In addition to delivering significant speed increases in file transfers, Fibre Channel is also expected to play a major role in an industry trend toward Storage Area Networks (SANs) -- specialized networks that link multiple servers with multiple storage systems.
"With its 10km cabling range between nodes and gigabit bandwidth capability, Fibre Channel is fast becoming the most effective choice for the high-end enterprise backbone," said Dana Kammersgard, vice president of sales and marketing at Artecon. "With its network connectivity, multi-platform support, and superior performance, the LynxNSS is a compelling solution for enterprises with plans to implement SANs."
LynxNSS Offers Maximum Versatility in Enterprise Storage
To ensure that the LynxNSS provides IT investment protection and the highest degree of flexibility to network administrators, the LynxNSS was developed with these advantages:
-- A wide variety of network interfaces including 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, FDDI, CDDI, and quarter and full-speed Fibre Channel to accommodate changes in network requirements.
-- The capability to simultaneously support multiple file transfer protocols -- NFS, SMB/CIFS, and HTTP -- to facilitate file sharing in heterogeneous computer environments so that all UNIX, Windows 95 and Windows NT clients can access files at the same time.
-- The ability to have mixed RAID levels so systems administrators can choose a different RAID level -- 0, 1, 3, 5 or 1+0 -- for each application in order to tune system performance for the needs of individual groups.
LynxNSS Delivers Industry-Leading Performance
The LynxNSS features Artecon's AerREAL(TM) real-time file server software. AerREAL is based on open standards and was conceived and designed to perform one specialized task well -- serving files fast. With just 250,000 lines of code, compared to several million normally used by a UNIX derivative OS, AerREAL eliminates unnecessary overhead and focuses exclusively on providing rapid file access. The fewer lines of code also translates into a system that is much more reliable as well as easy to administer and maintain.
The multi-processor architecture of the LynxNSS incorporates a Pentium processor fully dedicated to file transfer and additional RAID RISC processors to isolate RAID functions. This multi-processor architecture is advantageous during normal operations and particularly when disk failure occurs.
Competing systems slow down significantly during disk failure because they must rely upon a single processor to perform both the rebuild operation and the normal file transfer functions. LynxNSS' multi-processor architecture frees up the Pentium processor to continue its file service function without interruption and enable rebuilds that take only minutes, compared to rebuilds that take days on single-processor systems.
LynxNSS Provides Enhanced Data Integrity and Fault Tolerance
The LynxNSS utilizes the most proven and effective filing method, the Journaling Automation System (JAS), which maintains real-time journaled records of all file operations on disk. JAS accomplishes safe writes directly to the disk I/O subsystem without the added step of temporarily holding it in memory. In the event of power failure, the file volumes on a LynxNSS RAID drive are always available in a consistent and current state in less than 60 seconds, as opposed to competing systems that may take hours.
The RAID controllers and CPUs of the LynxNSS can be optionally configured for failover so that upon failure of the primary unit, the secondary controller or processor takes over for nonstop operation. Hot-swap RAID controllers and disk drives allow replacement of failed components without taking the server offline. The LynxNSS also employs all the advanced event-reporting and fault-tolerant features of the LynxArray RAID system (see Artecon press release Oct. 30, 1997) including SAF-TE management interface, N+1 hot-swap fans, dual redundant hot-swap power supplies and dual AC inlets.
Pricing and Availability
LynxNSS will be shipping in December 1997. Pricing starts at $15,995 for a 27GB LynxNSS system or $0.60 per megabyte.
About Network-Attached Storage Servers and SANs
There is growing demand for centralized storage systems with the protection of RAID (redundant array of independent disks) and simplified backup afforded by network-attached storage servers. A network-attached storage server with diverse network interface abilities and cross-platform interoperability simplifies systems management and reduces costs.
With crucial corporate information dispersed over many different servers and networks in client-server systems, the network-attached storage server can establish a central point of access and management to the distributed data, creating the Storage Area Network (SAN). The SAN provides a high-performance infrastructure to protect from data loss and to make the information easily available and accessible.
About Artecon
Founded in 1984, Artecon provides turnkey systems integration to Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies and universities. Artecon's products fall into three broad categories: workstation and server rack solutions; power; and mass storage. The company has subsidiaries in Japan, France, England and the Netherlands and also operates through reseller channels worldwide. Additional information on Artecon products and services can be found on the Internet at artecon.com . |
