Xyratex OneStor RAID With 8Gb FC

Xyratex, Ltd. announced performance and data protection enhancements for its OneStor Extensible Storage Platform (ESP) family. OneStor is a modular, standards-based architecture designed to drive diverse workloads leveraging extreme storage density, 8Gb/s throughput, intelligent platform management and power efficiency in the industry’s most versatile, adaptable storage system design.

The introduction of the third member of the OneStor family, the SP1212s; a 2U, 12-drive storage system; joins the IOPS-optimized SP1224s and the capacity-optimized SP1424s family. This versatile trio of storage enclosures complements the introduction of RAID data protection and high-performance 8Gb/s Fibre Channel (FC) host connectivity across the entire RAID product family. The OneStor ESP family enables server and storage OEMs investment protection and reduction in time to market by up to 50 percent.

"Xyratex has been a trusted partner for many years as our storage supplier, delivering highly reliable, innovative product designs that provide our customers a competitive edge," said Billy Russell, manager, solution architects, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. "The announcement of the 6500 series storage from Xyratex is key to strengthening our relationship, and we look forward to adopting this technology for our Professional Services business."

OneStor, a flexible and scalable architecture which delivers robust reliability and energy efficiencies, is noteworthy by its ability to reduce sustaining engineering costs and product qualification expense. Xyratex OEMs are able to customize the system to meet a diverse set of application workloads and environments ranging from data centers to distributed operations. Xyratex’s platform architecture enables advanced storage management functionality and simplification of installations and future deployments.

OneStor SP1212s: Balanced Performance and Storage Capacity for the Broadest Range of Applications
The OneStor SP1212s complements the performance and capacity enclosures previously released, ensuring the needs of Xyratex customers are met without compromise. With a capacity of up to 12TB of SAS and SATA disk drive storage in a 2U rack-mount storage enclosure, the OneStor SP1212s even further improves the modular flexibility already offered by the OneStor family. With the addition of the OneStor SP1212s system, Xyratex now offers a full line of OneStor storage systems that meet a variety of OEM requirements for supporting value-based, transaction-intensive and dense storage applications.

The entire OneStor ESP storage platform offers 85 percent efficient power conversion. All OneStor ESP storage systems feature the OS-independent, intelligent platform management software, which automatically manages devices and provides advanced diagnostics. In addition, this advanced software continuously monitors and minimizes energy consumption while ensuring reliable, uninterrupted data storage access.

"As a key contributor to, and supplier of leading edge products to OEMs and Solution Integrators, Xyratex has to stay ahead of both the market and technology curves," said Mark Peters, an analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. "To retain its market leading status, the company must always be at the absolute forefront in shipping new functionality; and its new 8G/s FC controller is testimony to its continued resolve to not only innovate, but to execute on that innovation in a very timely fashion."

OneStor F6500E Data Protected RAID Systems Offer New Choices
The OneStor F6500E RAID system, which is ideal for a wide range of data-intensive business applications including database storage and high-resolution video, is now available as part of the OneStor ESP family. With server virtualization and consolidation on the rise, companies can utilize 8Gb/s FC to maintain high-speed connections while protecting vital data. Xyratex has emphasized reduced power consumption within its OneStor F6500E RAID systems through its Advanced Power Management software.

OneStor F6500E

The OneStor architecture can support up to 96 high-performance SAS or cost-effective SATA-II drives, for optimal efficiency and support for rapid business growth. In addition, these systems use proven RAID-6 software and can support up to 512 snapshots to ensure that data remains accessible and protected. Adding to its data protection features, the F6500E includes redundant hot-swappable components and dual-ported SAS and SATA drives for continuous data access. All Xyratex RAID systems feature StorView storage management software, which provides a simple, intuitive interface that offers administrators remote access and management capabilities as well as advanced monitoring and notification for all storage systems.

"OEMs must be able to respond quickly to rapidly expanding market demands, including the need for adaptability and flexibility in their storage systems. The Xyratex OneStor family delivers a proven formula for success by giving OEMs and Solution Integrators the ability to utilize a full family of solutions to create competitive, efficient and leading edge storage systems," said Lisa Hart, vice president of worldwide marketing, Xyratex. "This announcement allows our customers to leverage their previous investment in OneStor and provide data protection, performance and flexibility."