DinoStor yesterday introduced the DinoStor TapeServer, a network backup appliance that allows a single automated tape library to be shared across an existing Ethernet network. The new product enables multiple Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP)-compliant NAS servers, application servers and mail servers to share a single tape library.
DinoStor designed its TapeServer with the same storage “appliance” model that is familiar to NAS customers. The plug-and-play installation process only requires the attachment of a network Ethernet connection to either the 10/100 or 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet port, and connecting a tape library to one of the two available Ultra160 SCSI ports. All TapeServer settings are then configured via a secure, browser-based GUI. Additional TapeServer units can easily be deployed to accommodate expanding network storage requirements.
While proprietary alternatives allow basic library sharing, they make no contribution to improving network backup performance. DinoStor TapeServer improves the performance of network backup by allowing tape libraries to operate at the maximum potential possible with Gigabit Ethernet. According to DinoStor, a single TapeServer can stream data at 110 MB per second, providing the performance potential of high-performance LTO, SDLT and AIT-based libraries. For maximum throughput, three DinoStor TapeServers, which would occupy just 5.25 inches of rack space, will back up more than one terabyte per hour. The TapeServer has a list price of $9,995.
DinoStor TapeServers will allow organizations to preserve their existing IT infrastructure by enabling library sharing over Ethernet networks (including Gigabit Ethernet), producing Fibre Channel-like speed without the expense and difficulty of deploying back-end Fibre Channel SAN.
According to Jim Ward, CEO of Reliaty, Inc., a provider of backup and data protection software, “Customers are demanding higher performance and greater return-on-investment from their NAS infrastructure. TapeServer lives up to its promised reduced backup cost, increased NAS and backup performance and ease of management. Its network-attached secondary storage model serves IT environments of all sizes.”
“DinoStor TapeServer fulfills the potential of the NDMP architecture, while creating a new product class — Network Enabled Backup — to provide a true universal platform for library sharing across the network,” said Srini Sankaran, President and CEO of DinoStor. “The shared access, high performance and enhanced data availability enabled by the TapeServer delivers many of the benefits of SAN-based backup without the associated cost, complexity and interoperability challenges. The ability for our customers to share their large-scale automated libraries among multiple NDMP servers makes a compelling case for the value proposition of the DinoStor TapeServer.”
According to DinoStor, unlike competitive sharing alternatives, TapeServer allows customers to use their existing libraries instead of purchasing a completely new “network enabled” library, or making extensive and expensive modifications to proprietary library designs in order to implement library sharing. Instead, the DinoStor TapeServer is fully compatible with all standard SCSI tape products, such as libraries from ADIC, Compaq, HP, IBM, Overland, Qualstar, Quantum, Sony or StorageTek. It works seamlessly with the leading NDMP hardware and backup software, such as products from Atempo, BakBone, Computer Associates, CommVault, EMC, HDS, HP, Legato, Network Appliance, Reliaty, Syncsort, Tivoli or Veritas.
