Promise Updates Its RAID for Mac OS X

Promise Technology Inc., a leading supplier of sophisticated RAID storage solutions for enterprise and SMB customers, today announced that Promise VTrak E-Class RAID subsystem models sold by Apple now include 1TB hard drives, Bonjour support and a new pro, aluminum look. Using an enterprise-class 1TB drive, the VTrak now offers capacities up to 16TB per 3U shelf. For customers looking for peak performance, the E-Class now offers systems configured with 450GB 15,000-rpm SAS drives for a capacity of 7.2TB per 3U shelf. With Bonjour, it is now easier than ever to discover and configure a VTrak for Mac OS X system out of the box. Featuring a new, pro aluminum look, the VTrak E-Class looks even better next to Apple hardware such as Xserve.

promise_updates_its_raid_for_mac_os_x

"With the only RAID system qualified by Apple for use with their professional hardware and software applications, Promise Technology is committed to delivering the world’s best RAID subsystem for Mac users," said Sam Sirisena, general manager of Promise’s Advanced Storage Group. "At the introduction of several models of VTrak systems almost a year ago by Apple to its customer base, the VTrak storage systems were already fine tuned for Apple applications. We have continued to work with Apple very closely to further enhance, fine tune and pack with more features in the new models. With up to 16TB per shelf, new firmware including the Bonjour support and an exciting new look, we think our Mac customers who crave storage performance, capacity and reliability will love the improvements."

Each VTrak RAID 3U subsystem supports up to 16 integrated 3.5-inch SATA or SAS drives and supports up to four J-Class expansion chassis for capacities up to 80TB for secondary storage applications. High performance and reliability is delivered through dual redundant active-active RAID controllers, 4Gb Fibre Channel connections to the host, hardware RAID 5 and RAID 6 support and 2GB of cache per controller. The VTrak E-Class RAID subsystem delivers outstanding performance for general server and video storage workloads, reaching up to 1400MB/s of sequential read performance and 617MB/s of sequential write performance in a RAID 5 configuration with redundant controllers. When configured with Apple’s Xsan 2 clustered file system and Final Cut Studio 2, the 32-drive VTrak subsystem delivers up to 6 streams of 8-bit uncompressed high definition video, 22 streams of ProRes HQ compressed HD video and 26 streams of 8-bit uncompressed SD video.

The new firmware release for Mac OS X features Bonjour discovery and configuration using a browser-based management interface, eliminating the need to install any software on your computer. Simply open your browser and click on the VTrak unit you would like to manage. An easy to use guided setup allows novice users to create and provision the storage in just a few minutes. For advanced users, the VTrak provides powerful tools to rapidly deploy multiple units that are custom-tuned for applications like Xsan 2 and Final Cut Studio 2. Existing customers with Mac OS X qualified VTrak E-Class units will be able to download the firmware release to take advantage of the numerous enhancements.

Along with the functional updates to the VTrak, Promise is introducing a new low-cost single controller VTrak model to address the needs of smaller server environments looking for the reliable performance of a VTrak with the ability to expand over time. This entry configuration is configured with four 1TB drives and can be upgraded to a dual active/active RAID controller and additional drives for greater capacity.

With large VTrak deployments worldwide, enterprise users have come to rely on Promise Technology to protect their valuable data. Promise continues to expand on our commitment to our customers by offering new onsite parts replacement program for the VTrak E-Class storage subsystems called Promise ServicePlus. With the ServicePlus program customers in major cities in Europe and North America can have a fully qualified service technician replace a failed component within as little as four hours of identifying a problem, available 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

Pricing and Availability
Promise VTrak E-Class RAID Subsystems are orderable exclusively through the Apple Store and Apple Authorized Resellers and will begin shipping in January.

Promise VTrak E-Class subsystem
with a suggested retail price of $7,499 includes:

4TB raw capacity storage
Single RAID controllers with 2GB cache per controller;
Dual 4Gb Fibre Channel SFP ports with 400MBps throughput per channel;
Four 1TB 7200-rpm SATA hard drive modules; and
32MB on-drive cache.

Promise VTrak E-Class subsystem
with a suggested retail price of $11,999 includes:

8TB raw capacity storage;
Dual redundant active/active RAID controllers with 2GB cache per controller;
Dual 4Gb Fibre Channel SFP ports per controller with 400MBps throughput per channel;
Eight 1TB 7200-rpm SATA hard drive modules; and
32MB on-drive cache.

Promise VTrak E-Class subsystem
with a suggested retail price of $14,999 includes:

16TB raw capacity storage;
Dual redundant active/active RAID controllers with 2GB cache per controller;
Dual 4Gb Fibre Channel SFP ports per controller with 400MBps throughput per channel;
Sixteen 1TB 7200-rpm SATA hard drive modules; and
32MB on-drive cache.

Promise VTrak E-Class subsystem
with a suggested retail price of $18,999 includes:

7.2TB raw capacity storage;
Dual redundant active/active RAID controllers with 2GB cache per controller;
Dual 4Gb Fibre Channel SFP ports per controller with 400MBps throughput per channel;
Sixteen 450GB SAS hard drive modules; and
16MB on-drive cache.

In addition to the Promise VTrak E-Class subsystem offerings, Promise offers J-Class expansion chassis in SATA and SAS configurations.

Promise VTrak J-Class expansion chassis
with a suggested retail price of $11,999: