Features - Storage Innovations:

LeftHand OFFERS AFFORDABLE, IP-BASED REPLICATION

LeftHand Networks, a leading provider of complete, integrated IP storage area network (SAN) solutions, announced Remote IP Copy, a combination snapshot and replication application that simplifies the process of creating and maintaining multiple copies of data, with almost real-time concurrency, across multiple locations. With Remote IP Copy, companies of all sizes have the ability to build a robust, off-site storage disaster recovery infrastructure at an affordable cost and to use a remote facility for backup and data archival.

"Typically, only high-end fibre channel storage solutions offer the high availability and distance replication required to build a complete business continuance infrastructure for storage," according to Tom Major, vice president of marketing at LeftHand Networks. "Few companies have the staff and budget to support this type of solution. Remote IP Copy provides both the high availability and site redundancy necessary to fully address storage disaster recovery, at a fraction of the cost of fibre channel. The simplicity of the solution will allow companies to implement disaster recovery with their existing staff, without investing in the training required to come up to speed on fibre channel."

"LeftHand has done a nice job of providing high-end functionality in an affordable IP-based storage solution," said Dianne McAdam, senior analyst and partner of Data Mobility Group. "LeftHand's Remote IP Copy will make the storage element of a complete disaster recovery plan much more practical for a broad base of users."

IP networks, including the LeftHand SAN solution, can be distributed across campus, metro and long distance networking infrastructures. Remote IP Copy provides the management capability to effectively snapshot and replicate data between multiple locations. Bandwidth requirements for the long distance network are minimized by the use of point-in-time snapshot technology, which limits the data sent back and forth to changes to the primary data set.

"We're basing our disaster recovery offering on LeftHand's Remote IP Copy application," said Tim Reeser, chairman of Engineering Computer Consultants, Inc, a hosted application and network integration provider with offices in Denver and Fort Collins, Colo. "Customer data will be replicated back to our site and stored on the LeftHand SAN. By replicating only the changes in the data, as well as basing the implementation on our existing Ethernet infrastructure, LeftHand has provided a well-designed, scalable, and affordable solution to address disaster recovery for storage."

Creating a copy of a volume in a remote location can ensure that database applications such as Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server have continuous access to data volumes if production application servers or data volumes fail. In addition, customers can migrate to an automated process for off-site data archiving. Volumes can be replicated to a remote site, where the tape backup occurs. The tapes can then be stored at the remote facility, eliminating the need to physically move tapes to a secure location separate from the primary data center. For companies with multiple facilities, backups can be consolidated to one backup location.

Remote IP Copy will be available Nov. 1 as an add-on application to LeftHand's SAN/iq Distributed Storage Matrix (DSM) SAN software. Pricing starts at $8,700.

In addition to the software enhancement represented by Remote IP Copy, LeftHand Networks announced a 1.2 TB SAN hardware platform, the Network Storage Module (NSM) 200. This new hardware platform offers a higher capacity entry point for large customers and a higher density form factor for sites with power and space constraints. It features non-volatile RAM cache to enhance performance while ensuring data integrity. The NSM hardware modules are clustered together using LeftHand's SAN/iq DSM software. Cluster capacity is unlimited and the addition of a hardware module does not require downtime. The NSM 200 is priced at $18,500 and will be available Nov. 1.

The announcement also broadens platform support to include the Linux operating system. Supplementing the current Microsoft Windows support with Linux will significantly increase the number of sites that can take advantage of the sophisticated yet simple-to-use feature set available with LeftHand's SAN solution. Support for RedHat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1 and SuSE 8.0 will be included with the core SAN/iq DSM software at no cost and will be available Nov. 1. The Linux driver for RedHat Enterprise AS 2.1 has been certified as part of the RedHat Ready! program.

The LeftHand Networks IP SAN offers all the benefits of full-featured networked storage, in a simple, integrated solution:

• Pooled storage with centralized management
• Seamless, unlimited scalability with no downtime
• Extraordinary ease of use to simplify implementation and provisioning
• Snapshot, replication and failover to ensure data availability

Pricing for LeftHand's SAN solution starts below $20,000 for a complete, fully featured SAN. LeftHand Networks has over 200 installations in multiple industries, including Fortune 1000 and mid-size companies in manufacturing, health care and life sciences, as well as governmental organizations and universities.