Fujitsu Makes Storage Secure

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Anxious to improve on its status as a contender in the market for high-end storage systems in the U.S., Fujitsu Computer Systems on Tuesday unveiled the first storage servers to offer encryption technology.

The Eternus 8000 and Eternus 4000 come with an emphasis on security, automatically storing data using standard 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) technology.

This technology prevents perpetrators from accessing corporate data should they take one of the disks from the storage server, and is the key differentiator from comparable products from EMC, IBM and Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), said Gartner analyst Roger Cox.

“Encryption is getting more and more attention with respect to data protection, and right now they’re unique in the market and showing leadership in the market with respect to encryption on disk arrays,” Cox said.

The systems boast more storage capacity and speedier data processing speeds over previous Fujitsu machines, the Eternus 3000 and 6000.

The Eternus 8000 comes in three models: the 900, 1100 and 2100, ranging from 240 terabytes to 1.38 petabytes of storage to appeal to a variety of user classes.

The 2100 boasts eight controller modules, each equipped with a 3.6 gigahertz dual-core chip that processes data 2.5 times faster than the company’s existing Eternus 6000 machines.

The smaller, modular Eternus 4000 also comes in three models, the 100, 300 and 500, storing from 1.5 terabytes to 210 terabytes. These machines are roughly 1.5 times faster than previous Eternus 3000 models, thanks to the dual-core chip.

The new machines signal a go-to-market evolution for Fujitsu, which Gartner ranks No. 7 in worldwide disk storage sales and No. 2 in Japan behind HDS.

Cox said Fujitsu is trying to bring the Eternus 4000 and 8000 to market in the U.S. with its servers, a departure from its previous tactic of reselling EMC Symmetrix systems with its servers.

“I expect these products to be sold in conjunction with the Risc-based servers and Intel-based servers they sell here in the United States,” Cox said.

“They’re very fast performing products; they have a lot of scalability and capacity. They’re solidly built products.”

The company is looking to broaden its sales penetration worldwide, where it lags behind EMC’s Symmetrix machines, IBM’s DS8000 and HDS’ TagmaStore systems, said Cox.

“They’re not going to be like IBM or like EMC. They’re going to be a solid performer and gradually increase their position and share of the marketplace.”

Other features in the new Eternus arrays include remote advanced copy functionality, which allows data to be replicated between multiple Eternus storage systems during business operation without increasing the load on servers.

These features support both synchronous and asynchronous replication so that data volumes can be located on a remote system without sacrificing performance on the servers in the primary location.

EMC and IBM offer similar remote replication capabilities. Analysts agree remote replication is one of the must-haves for geographically dispersed companies looking to back up data from several locations.

Other features include iSCSI host interfaces to smooth the way for LAN-WAN-LAN connections. The new servers also provide Security Architecture for Internet Protocol (IPsec) on iSCSI to secure data transmitted across the LAN/WAN network.

Finally, the new machines include Massive Arrays of Inactive Disks (MAID) technology, which reduces power consumption and extends the life of disk drives. These machines stop drive spindle rotation when disks are not being accessed.

Article courtesy of InternetNews.com

Clint Boulton
Clint Boulton
Clint Boulton is an Enterprise Storage Forum contributor and a senior writer for CIO.com covering IT leadership, the CIO role, and digital transformation.

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