<CLARiiON recognizes the monumental shift that will be taking place within the user community over the course of the next year as organizations large and small begin to realize the revolutionary benefits of fibre channel technology," said Larry Hemmerich, vice president and general manager of CLARiiON>
Full release below:
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CLARiiON Announces Special Migration Programs To Facilitate Fibre Channel Storage Transition
Business Wire - November 17, 1997 10:58
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LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 1997-- COMDEX --
Innovative Technology Exchange And Free Fibre Channel Upgrade Programs Greatly Expand User Migration Options
CLARiiON, the world's leading supplier of open RAID-based storage systems and a Data General company, announced today from Fall Comdex 1997 three migration programs aimed at accelerating the adoption of the fibre channel interface standard by storage users. These programs offer an ideal opportunity for the large number of organizations who are currently planning to migrate to fibre channel storage technologies in 1998 to begin that transition now. "As the leader in the development of fibre channel RAID storage, CLARiiON recognizes the monumental shift that will be taking place within the user community over the course of the next year as organizations large and small begin to realize the revolutionary benefits of fibre channel technology," said Larry Hemmerich, vice president and general manager of CLARiiON. "Through these programs, CLARiiON hopes to make this evolutionary process as flexible and simple as possible."
Technology Exchange Programs
Effective as to purchases after November 17, 1997, these programs permit storage users to purchase SCSI-based storage, then convert that hardware to storage based upon the fibre channel interface standard in the future. By providing a way for users to have the opportunity to take full advantage of fibre channel connectivity, CLARiiON is helping to protect what is often one of the largest investments made by information systems organizations - storage. A growing number of organizations have already made the decision to standardize on fibre channel as their storage interface. By offering these migration programs, CLARiiON is giving these companies the ability to install SCSI-based storage now, then easily migrate to fibre channel connectivity as implementation plans unfold. "CLARiiON believes these programs deliver what users want - an easy way to migrate to the fibre channel interface," said Gary Wright, director of solutions marketing for CLARiiON. "Fibre channel offers a number of significant advantages over SCSI, and these programs provide an ideal opportunity for organizations large and small to begin that transition without making compromises."
Fibre Channel Technology
Fibre channel offers quantum leap advantages over SCSI technology, including up to a five times increase in speed, more than a 20 times increase in connectivity distances, support for more than seven times the number of disks per storage path, and storage area network connectivity advantages made possible with hubs and switches. In addition, fibre channel is a powerful enabler for the CLARiiON Multidimensional Storage Architecture (MSA), which permits storage to be configured and scaled in multiple dimensions on the basis of an application's needs. "CLARiiON firmly believes that fibre channel is the storage interface required by today's storage-centric applications. No other technology has the same level of momentum, industry support, or performance," stated Mike Feldstein, vice president of engineering at CLARiiON.
Free Fibre Channel Upgrade
CLARiiON is offering free SCSI to fibre channel storage processor upgrades for Series 3000 arrays ordered from participating CLARiiON resellers. This program permits organizations to upgrade these Series 3000 arrays to fibre channel connectivity free of charge anytime in 1998. The Series 3000 currently offers over 530 GB of capacity and delivers more performance than any other Classic CLARiiON array. By taking advantage of the Series 3000's speed and data integrity features, organizations can build fast, highly available systems suited to virtually any application requirement. Upgrading the Series 3000 from SCSI to fibre channel host attachment is a simple process that usually takes under an hour. In the process, no backup and restore of data is necessary, and all storage management tools remain the same, removing the requirement to re-train administrative personnel. The conversion to fibre channel is completely transparent to existing applications. "We believe this is the first fibre channel connectivity upgrade offered free of charge by any major storage vendor. CLARiiON is once again setting the pace for the storage industry in developing innovative approaches to the adoption of new technologies," stated Wright. "The free fibre channel upgrade is an ideal migration solution for users who want to take advantage of the benefits of fibre channel connectivity over the next year."
Technology Upgrade Program
For users who require the very fastest fibre channel RAID storage processing, the CLARiiON technology upgrade program is a perfect fit. Organizations who order Series 3000 arrays from participating resellers can exchange these arrays until the end of 1998 towards the purchase of the industry's first all-fibre channel storage family - the FC5000 Series of fibre channel storage arrays announced in June. In addition, all Series 3000 arrays purchased through the free fibre channel upgrade promotion are also eligible for this program. The FC5000 Series supports multiple terabytes of disk capacity and gigabytes of cache, enabling users to define systems that meet their capacity and performance goals while still maintaining the highest degree of data availability. "Our FC5000 Series offers the high availability our end users have come to expect of CLARiiON plus performance that truly exploits fibre channel capabilities," stated Hemmerich. "By offering this technology upgrade program, organizations can take advantage of highly reliable storage through the Series 3000 today, then migrate to the powerful FC5000 Series as their application requirements dictate."
Classic CLARiiON Consolidation Program
In combination with the two fibre channel migration programs, participating CLARiiON resellers will provide rebates to users of existing CLARiiON hardware who decide to trade-in their existing arrays for new Series 3000 systems. These trade-in rebates are based upon the type and amount of hardware being exchanged. And, the Series 3000 arrays are eligible for the free fibre channel upgrade and the FC5000 technology upgrade program. By trading in older CLARiiON arrays for newer ones, organizations can recognize a number of advantages - higher performance, storage consolidation for simpler administration, newer technologies like fibre channel and 18 GB drives, and greater potential capacities.
Storage Channel Partners
The aforementioned programs are available from participating CLARiiON strategic channel partners who can provide you with further details. Some limitations may apply. Current and potential CLARiiON storage users should contact their local CLARiiON sales representative to learn more about these fibre channel programs. To find a local CLARiiON sales representative, email info@clariion.com, call 1-800-67-ARRAY, or visit the CLARiiON WWW site at clariion.com |
