Startup Intransa Inc. has begun beta testing its iSCSI-based storage system, aiming to ship its first product by June. It's promising all the benefits of IP storage area networks -- claiming it will be considerably less expensive than a Fibre Channel SAN to buy and manage -- but will Intransa be able to deliver? (See Intransa Details IP SAN Plans.)
Intransa's SAN-sans-Fibre Channel, dubbed the IP5000, consists of iSCSI-based back-end disk enclosures connected to its proprietary storage controllers, which provide volume management and other functions. The system, which connects to servers over standard Gigabit Ethernet, will carry a starting list price of $62,500 for 3.2 Tbytes (1.6 Tbytes usable), including hardware and software.
"We're building a full-featured IP SAN, not just a Pentium box with an IP port out the back," says John Howarth, Intransa's director of product management.
The forthcoming system will be one of only a few iSCSI targets out there -- a piece of the iSCSI picture that industry observers note has been sorely lacking. LeftHand Networks is already shipping an IP SAN system, but it uses a proprietary block-level protocol, and another IP SAN startup, EqualLogic Inc., is also shooting for a midyear launch. But for the time being, Network Appliance Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP) is about the only other vendor who's delivered an iSCSI-enabled storage server (see IP SANs: Coming of Age, EqualLogic Tallies $15M, NetApp's IP SAN Wins a Fan, LeftHand Snatches $20M, and iSCSI Gets Go-Ahead).
Intransa's target market will be shops running Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) server applications, like Exchange and SQL Server, or Linux. The startup says it's been working closely with Redmond in developing its iSCSI system, and it's probably not a coincidence that Intransa's June launch will just about coincide with Microsoft's expected release of the final version of its iSCSI Windows drivers (see Microsoft to Unleash iSCSI).
Bob Friday, Chief AI Officer for Juniper Networks, explains how the advanced technology is transforming operations.
Contact center leaders from 8x8, Awaken Intelligence, and 360insight discuss the importance of agent experience.
AI may force enterprises to rewire parts of their data centers so they are fully optimized to run such workloads. The question is do you use Ethernet or InfiniBand?
