HDS Unveils New Thunder, Enhancements To Lightning

The Lightning 9900V enterprise-class array is getting new software called Open LDEV Guard. This allows data to be stored in the Lightning in a read-only format for regulatory compliance purposes instead of going to an optical drive, said Jim Beckman, director of hardware product marketing at HDS, Santa Clara, Calif. For instance, a particular file can be set so that it is read-only for three years, meaning it cannot be modified or deleted during that time. After that, the file can be deleted and the disk space returned to the storage pool, he said. Such data also can be hidden from the host for extra protection, he added.

Also new is HiCopy software, which allows data to be replicated between a Lightning and a Thunder array, Beckman said. "This will allow data to be replicated from the Lightning to a lower-priced modular array so that customers will not need another Lightning to do replication," he said.

Another new feature is Three Data Center Copy, which allows customer data to be simultaneously replicated to two remote sites for disaster-recovery purposes, said Beckman.

Meanwhile, HDS' new Thunder 9580V modular array can be configured for up to 449 hard drives, or about 64 Tbytes of raw capacity, doubling that of the current Thunder 9570V, he said.

The 9580V will also offer bandwidth of 7.4 GBps, twice that of EMC's Symmetrix DMX and six times that of an EMC Clariion CX array, Beckman said. Other features include eight Fibre Channel ports and the ability to carve them into up to 1,024 virtual ports.

Also new for the Thunder series is a QuickShadow feature, which allows the taking of point-in-time data snapshots, Beckman said.

The 9580V is not replacing the current 9530V or 9570V, said Beckman. It is possible to grow the previous Thunders into a 9580V to protect customer investments, he said.

Oliver Poppenberg, vice president of sales at Perfect Order, a Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based solution provider that works with both of HDS' arrays, said he is excited to see HDS start adding many of the data replication features found in competitors' arrays, especially the ability to replicate between a Lightning and a Thunder. "Anything a vendor does to help clients cut costs is very welcome," he said.

HDS continues to prove its technical capabilities with the new products, said Poppenberg, but the company and its partners continue to be hampered by a lack of brand-name recognition. "They have great technology, but hardly anyone knows them," he said.