Features - Storage Innovations:

CYBERNETICS ANNOUNCES NEW miSAN ETHERNET SAN STORAGE

Cybernetics has just announced the immediate availability of miSAN, affordable new Ethernet network attached storage devices. Based on iSCSI technology, miSAN merges the best features of SAN and NAS, to strike the perfect balance in storage networking. miSAN models are optimized for network accessible disk storage capacity, or for D2D2T network backup with tape virtualization.

A traditional SAN is based on a Fibre Channel infrastructure, which is simply beyond the reach of most small to medium businesses. While a fibre optic, block level Storage Area Network can deliver exceptional performance, the costs and complexity of the hardware, cabling and software can be staggering. At the opposite end of the spectrum, traditional NAS devices are very affordable, and are compatible with existing Ethernet networking components and software. However, the file system overhead of the typical NAS device results in a crippling speed disadvantage, and precludes support for important applications. Cybernetics' miSAN is based on iSCSI technology to facilitate high-speed, block level transfers, yet it is built with 100/1000BaseT connectivity to connect to existing Cat 5 Ethernet networks. Since miSANTM is compatible with popular applications such as Exchange and SQL, and works with all existing software products designed to support ubiquitous SCSI devices, there is no requirement for expensive new software, and there is no learning curve.

miSAN is easy to install and manage. It simply connects to a standard Ethernet network with an IP address. Administrators access the intuitive on-board software to remotely allocate, assign, and monitor utilization and status of disk capacity or backup resources. According to a spokesman for Cybernetics, "miSAN settles the debate over NAS versus SAN for the SMB. Finally, there is a product that capitalizes on the best features of SAN and NAS, and eliminates the weaknesses of both networking strategies."