IBM Updates Storage Offerings For SMBs

On the heels of EMC's upgrade of its flagship midrange Clariion CX storage line this week, IBM has launched new storage gear for SMBs.

In addition, the company has released enhancements to its BladeCenter platform that will provide midsize customers with lower-cost links between iSeries systems and industry-standard xSeries blade servers and iSCSI-based storage.

IBM's new DS4700 storage controllers are intended for midsize organizations running data-intensive applications, such as archiving of large files including video and medical images, IBM officials say. Based on hardware from OEM partner Engenio Information Technologies, a division of LSI Logic, the DS4700 will eventually replace the DS4300.

The DS4700 not only includes a new storage controller, but for the first time in the DS4000 Series IBM is offering 15,000-rpm Fiber Channel drives that support 4 Gbps--a twofold improvement in connectivity.

The controller includes 16 drive bays and up to eight host ports, which reduce the need for a switch, says Craig Butler, IBM's manager of product marketing for disk, SAN and NAS.

"The value to customers is a lot more performance," Butler says.

For more than 112 drives, customers can also link to IBM's new EXP710 or EXP810 expansion drawers. Currently, customers must use SATA or Fiber Channel drives in a given drawer, though the controller supports the use of either type of drive, Butler says. In the future, customers will be able to mix and match the two drive types within a drawer, he says.

Future plans call for iSCSI connectivity, as well as support for serial-attached SCSI drives, according to Butler. IBM is also preparing to launch a 500-GB SATA drive for the DS4700 and is planning a 4-Gbps Fiber Card host-bus adapter for its xSeries, providing higher-speed throughput between its industry-standard servers and the midrange storage platform.

Meanwhile, IBM is also bolstering its BladeCenter offering for midsize customers with the launch of its Server Connectivity Module--an entry-level Ethernet network switch module for those who want basic connectivity to a LAN.

Priced at $1,000, the Server Connectivity Module doesn't have the "bells and whistles" of IBM's existing switches that are priced at $3,000 and above with such features as Layer 2 switching.

"It's really an economic alternative for network connectivity," says Matt Wineberg, worldwide product manager for IBM's BladeCenter line.

IBM is also looking to bridge its iSeries (AS/400) systems with IP-based networks and Windows-based servers. The company is offering a new HBA sourced by QLogic that will provide iSCSI connectivity to storage and xSeries-based blade servers running Windows. It is priced at $649.

For partners who want to sell but not deploy IBM's BladeCenter offerings, IBM Global Services is launching a new offering from the vendor's Jump Start portfolio that's specifically geared toward blade server installation for SMBs.

It will be offered direct as well as through IBM partners. Wineberg says the offering is not intended to cause conflict with channel partners who offer implementation services.

"This is not meant to compete with those who provide implementation services in the channel; it's meant to be a complement to close blade sales," he says. The services will start at $7,000.