Will Z-force Be Brocade of NAS?
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Storage Networking World -- Z-force Inc. says its "file switches" achieved an
aggregate throughput of 2 Gbyte/s, accessing more than 47 Tbytes of network-attached storage
in a single file system -- which the startup claims shows "99 percent linear" scaleability (see
Z-force Demos Huge NAS).
The test, which the company conducted at its Laguna Hills, Calif., headquarters,
included 12 Z-force file switches connected via Gigabit Ethernet to 102 NAS
devices from Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq: DELL - message board), Iomega
Corp., Quantum Corp. (NYSE: DSS - message board), and Xtore.
Z-force, which tested its switches using Intel Corp.'s (Nasdaq: INTC - message
board) Iometer software, says a single switch was able to support a maximum of
170 Mbyte/s throughput and that 12 switches supported a total of 2.02 Gbyte/s.
Each switch in the testbed included 1.5 Gbytes of cache, but the company says the
eventual shipping version may be configured differently.
"We're using no special NAS devices, no special software on the clients," says
Stephen Terlizzi, VP of marketing for Z-force. "We're using standard building
blocks." The entire configuration as tested would cost between $750,000 and
$800,000 list price, compared with three or more times that for "big box" NAS
systems, he says.
Why did Z-force stop at 102 NAS boxes and 47 Tbytes? Because that's literally the
most servers it could get its hands on from its partners, Terlizzi claims. He says
there's theoretically no limit to how big a Z-force array could grow [ed. note: rather
like Bono's ego, then].
But it still isn't disclosing particulars about the product, which doesn't even have an
official name yet. [Ed. note: How 'bout "Z-switch"? Just a suggestion.] The company
says the "low port-count" switch is set to start shipping by the end of the year with
general availability in the first quarter of 2003. Pricing is expected to be between
$35,000 and $40,000 per unit. Z-force has tested it in Windows NT and 2000
environments and says the switch supports both Common Information File System
(CIFS) and Network File System (NFS) protocols.
Unlike other high-end NAS startups, such as BlueArc Corp., Spinnaker Networks
Inc., and Zambeel Inc., Z-force isn't forcing customers to buy its own proprietary
storage systems. The Z-force NAS arrays are made up of commodity parts --
standard, 1U-high NAS boxes and Gigabit Ethernet switches. "We don't want to be
in the business of selling storage," Terlizzi says.
Z-force compares itself to Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BRCD
- message board), in that it's able to connect servers to pooled NAS arrays in the
same way Fibre Channel switches aggregate FC arrays.
"Today NAS is a point solution masquerading as an infrastructure," Terlizzi says.
"We introduce a switched infrastructure." He says the company's sweet spot, at
least in initial deployments, will be customers that are aggregating six to 10 NAS
devices using one Z-force switch.
Actually, the Z-force technology is more akin to Web switches that load balance
traffic among multiple Web servers. You'll remember that Cisco Systems Inc.
(Nasdaq: CSCO - message board) and Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE/Toronto: NT -
message board) each bought Web switch startups in multibillion-dollar deals at
the height of the stock market in the late 90s. (Cisco bought ArrowPoint
Communications and Nortel bought Alteon WebSystems.)
Perhaps the closest potential Z-force competitor was Pirus Networks Inc., which
Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW - message board) bought last month.
Pirus's approach was broader, encompassing both block and file storage; Sun has
indicated that it plans to use the Pirus switch technology to provide virtualization
among multiple SAN arrays (see Sun Beams on Pirus).
Z-force is primarily developing indirect sales channels, via original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) agreements and value-added resellers (VARs), but it expects
to have a few direct customers. We've heard IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM - message
board) in particular has shown interest in the Z-force system. Terlizzi says only that
the company is engaged in discussions with several major OEMs about potential
deals.
Founded in the fourth quarter of 1999, Z-force took in $16 million in a second round
of funding a year ago, from Allegis Capital, Alloy Ventures, Rock Creek Capital
Ventures, and Quantum Technology Ventures, the venture-capital arm of Quantum
Corp. (NYSE: DSS - message board) (see Z-force Is With Us).
The company, which has 35 employees, will be able to "go well into next year
without any revenue" based on its current funding, Terlizzi says. Still, Z-force plans
to start raising additional funds at the end of 2002.
— Todd Spangler, US Editor, Byte and Switch
byteandswitch.com |
