Features - Storage Innovations:

DOT HILL INTRODUCES CHANNEL-FRIENDLY SWITCHLESS SAN

Dot Hill Systems Corp announced its new SANnet II SATA Switchless SAN solutions for the Windows and Linux operating systems. The newly released SANnet II SATA Switchless SAN solutions are offered in one, two and three TB factory configured bundles. Bundles include a SANnet II SATA storage system with single or redundant RAID controller and SANscape storage management software. The pre-configured Switchless SAN solutions are shipped with 4, 8 or 12 SATA drives providing capacities of 1.6, 3.2 or 4.8TB respectively.

"Bell Microproducts is recognized for turnkey programs for storage products that meet very specific consolidation and total cost of ownership objectives. Dot Hill's Switchless SAN for Windows and Linux helps expand our offering to VARs and OEMs looking for innovation and cost effectiveness," said Phil Roussey, executive vice president of enterprise solutions for Bell Microproducts.

The Switchless SAN is a lower-cost, less complex alternative to the traditional SAN. It is particularly well suited to the SMB (small-to mediumsized business) sector, as well as for nearline storage and disk-based backup solutions. According to a recent Gartner Dataquest report, "governmentmandated regulations, coupled with the deployment of storage infrastructures that reduce operating costs, will drive storage acquisition decisions." Government mandates such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA are driving businesses to deploy solutions that enable fast, cost-effective retrieval of stored files.

"We designed the SANnet II SATA Switchless SAN bundles specifically for our channel partners," said Omar Barraza, Dot Hill's director of marketing. "This solution is well-suited to businesses that want to simplify storage management and consolidate storage without the cost and complexity associated with traditional SANs that require external switches. SANnet II SATA Switchless SAN supplies up to a dozen servers with a fully integrated Fibre Channel SAN solution for less than the cost of direct attached storage."

Dot Hill's Switchless SAN technology is used to create Fibre Channel (FC) networks for the server ports within its SANnet II storage systems. Integrating FC networks inside these storage systems creates an internal or "embedded" SAN that supports up to 12 servers without external switches. The SANnet II Switchless SAN provides these business benefits: reduced acquisition costs, simplified management; fast performance; maximum efficiency; and superior dependability.

The SANnet II SATA Switchless SAN solution uses high-speed Fibre Channel (FC) connections to multiple servers combined with lower-cost, high-capacity SATA disk drives. It has 12 drive bays in a rack-optimized 2U (3.5 inches high) enclosure and supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 3, 5, 10, 30 and 50. With automated failover, dual redundant, hot-swappable and field serviceable components including disks, controllers and power/cooling modules, SANnet II SATA Switchless SAN solutions provide enterprise class reliability and are easy to service.