 |
|
DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / JULY 14, 2003; VOL. 2 NO. 28
|
Breaking News -
Storage:
Hitachi, Others Team To Achieve
Data Storage Breakthrough
Sprint, along with Hitachi Data Systems and strategic alliance partner
Cisco,
has achieved a technical breakthrough that could have major implications on
how customers deploy effective business continuity strategies. The
telecommunications giant, along with its partners, has successfully tested
asynchronous data replication over an IP network, using Fibre Channel over IP
(FCIP) technology at a distance of more than 3,600 miles.
For customers, this proof-of-concept demonstration serves as a meaningful
example of business continuity solutions they can deploy using technologies
that are possible today.
"This could enable customers to replicate their mission-critical data at
extremely remote locations while using their existing cost-effective IP
connections, further protecting them from potential disasters that could occur
at a company's headquarters," said Oliver Valente, vice president of
Technology Development at Sprint. "Government regulations, for example, may
soon require some companies, especially in the financial and healthcare
markets, to be able to replicate their data at out-of-region locations. Until
now, feasible distances for remote replication using this technology were
typically in the 37- to 45-mile range, more of a metro-area scenario."
The demonstration was conducted using an FCIP connection originating from a
Sprint lab located in Overland Park, Kan. Optical cross-connect devices at
Sprint's Burlingame, Calif., lab created a continuous loop back to the
Overland Park lab, simulating a point-to-point FCIP connection spanning 3,600
miles. The equipment used to create the link included private Sprint circuits,
the Cisco MDS 9000 storage area network (SAN) switches with the Cisco MDS 9000
IP Storage Services modules and Hitachi Freedom Storage Lightning 9900 V
Series systems, running Hitachi TrueCopy data replication software.
"What made this unique was the configuration that engineers at Sprint,
Cisco
and Hitachi Data Systems teamed to develop," Valente added. "It's the type of
testing and teaming we are committed to doing. It's why Sprint, Cisco and
Hitachi Data Systems are leaders in their respective industries at developing
and putting into production applications and services that are designed to
meet and surpass our customers' needs."
Already, Sprint is a leader in providing optical network solutions to its
customers. For example, Sprint Optical Network Solutions can provide customers
with managed wavelength transport and managed customer premise equipment to
connect all of a customer's metro/region area campus locations for the
transmission of business-critical protocols and applications. The Sprint
Optical Network Solution also provides seamless access to the Sprint data
backbone network to support a customer's wide area network applications.
"Cisco has always viewed FCIP as an enabling technology for cost-effective
business continuity and disaster recovery solutions, especially over extended,
wide-area distances," said Soni Jiandani, vice president of marketing for the
Storage Technology Group at Cisco. "This demo is real-world proof of the value
that network transport technologies such as FCIP can deliver in extending SAN
traffic well beyond the data center environment."
"Hitachi Data Systems is keenly aware of the need to safeguard mission-
critical data, not only locally, but also across long distances for disaster
recovery and business continuance," said Marlene Woodworth, vice president and
general manager of Global Marketing at Hitachi Data Systems. "We are pleased
to demonstrate to the world that we have the technology today to deliver
asynchronous data replication with ultimate reliability and maximum security
to customers."
|