iSCSI-Based IP Storage Area Network (IP SAN) Changes the Face of Storage Management at the University of California’s Berkeley Campus
Tiered Computer Network Storage Approach Results in Dramatic Cost Savings and Simplified Storage Allocation for Haas School of Business
MAHWAH, NJ (PRWEB) May 18, 2005 -- Recently, The University of California's
Berkeley-based Haas School of Business joined the growing list of U.S.-based
colleges and universities to implement an iSCSI-based IP storage area network
(IP SAN) as a means of addressing the need for increased storage capacity.
With an increasing amount of servers to connect and the number of
available Fibre Channel (FC) ports on their extensive FC SAN becoming scarce,
The Haas School of Business was in need of a more cost-effective way to manage
their storage network. Led by Chris Harwood, system administrator at Haas, they
worked with SANRAD reseller RADirect to implement an IP SAN that functions in
conjunction with the existing FC SAN in a tiered storage scenario. This strategy
enables Haas to offload backup server traffic to the more cost-effective IP SAN,
thereby freeing up the more expensive Fibre Channel storage space for
applications such as e-mail, production clustered SQL server services and
general file sharing.
With SANRAD's V-Switch 3000 iSCSI switch at its
core, Haas' IP SAN solution delivers significantly reduced CAPEX and OPEX, is
compatible with a wide range of storage arrays and server operating systems,
requires no HBA cards, and allows system administrators to enjoy high-end
features such as virtualization. Harwood especially appreciates the ASICS-
(non-PC) based architecture, as well as the simplicity associated with iSCSI.
Says Harwood, “Dramatic improvements like dynamic storage allocation have made
previously complex tasks so much simpler.”
Uri Zilberman, president of
RADirect, largely attributes the growth of IP SANs on campus settings to their
extreme simplicity and cost-effectiveness in relation to FC SANs. He explains,
“An IP SAN can deliver the same high-end features found in a fully-implemented
FC SAN, such as virtualization, mirroring, data replication, and high
availability – but at a fraction of the cost and complexity.”
SANRAD’s
VP of market development, Zophar Sante, also notes the increased movement
towards IP SANs on college/university campuses, citing a number of institutions
that have already completed successful implementations. “Although The University
of California at Berkeley is the latest campus that we've worked with, it joins
an already-extensive list of colleges and universities that have installed IP
SANs - The University of Michigan, The University of Alabama, and The University
of Florida, just to name a few.”
For more information about building an
IP SAN, including application drawings, case studies, white papers and more,
visit RADirect’s web site at www.rad-direct.com/everyone-needs-storage.
RADirect is
currently offering a free one-on-one webinar, “Campus Storage: What Every
College/University IT Manager Should Know About IP SANs”. This personalized
webinar features case studies and applications drawings from colleges and
universities that have successfully implemented IP SANs. Visit www.rad-direct.com/campus for online webinar registration and
more information.
About RADirect, Inc.
RADirect is a value-added
reseller specializing in computer networking access equipment and storage
networking solutions. The company's portfolio of carefully selected
best-in-breed products includes fiber multiplexers, modems and media converters,
solutions for the migration of legacy services to IP including voice over IP,
load balancing solutions, and more. RADirect's storage networking offering
includes IP SAN and RAID storage solutions aimed at providing extremely
reliable, high performance storage at a low cost per terabyte.
RADirect
is part of The RAD Group, a family of 15 independent companies that develop,
manufacture and market solutions for diverse segments of the networking
industry. Six RAD Group companies are traded on the NASDAQ.
RADirect is
headquartered in Mahwah, New Jersey. For more information about RADirect, please
visit www.rad-direct.com.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb241656.htm