Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) is using an iSCSI gateway from McData Corp. (Nasdaq: MCDTA) as the basis for its first IP SAN offering, rather than developing its own technology for the emerging IP storage networking market.
The offering combines McData's low-end Eclipse 1620 switch -- developed by Nishan Systems, which McData acquired in August -- with Hitachi's Thunder 9570V storage system. The 1620 acts as a gateway between IP networks and Fibre Channel storage, with two Gigabit Ethernet ports and two FC ports (see HDS, McData Team on iSCSI and McData Speeds Out IP Switch).
HDS's announcement yesterday is basically just an extension of the reseller deal the company already had in place with Nishan, although HDS was reselling Nishan's gear mainly for SAN extension applications.
HDS says it's targeting the bundle at small and medium-sized enterprises and asserts that the Nishan/Thunder combo is a "lower-cost alternative to Fibre Channel SANs." But with a starting price of $60,000 for 500 Gbytes of disk capacity, it's not exactly more affordable than traditional SANs.
What gives?
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