Gateway, Iomega Roll Out New Storage Appliances

GATEWAY 850 SCSI JBOD STORAGE ENCLOSURE
Gateway introduced the Model 850 SCSI JBOD, a rack-mounted, 2U unit that supports up to 12 hot-swappable Ultra320 SCSI hard drives and yields total storage space of 1.7 Tbytes. The array comes with a minimum of three hard drives, so it's RAID-ready right out of the box. It can transfer data via single or split SCSI backplanes and single- or dual-bus mode using LSI Ultra320 SCSI controllers.

Equipped with three 36-Gbyte hard drives, rack rails, hot-swap fans, two 350-watt power supplies and audio-visual fault indicators on the front panel, the SCSI JBOD is a good fit with DAS for databases, file sharing and data archiving.

Gateway is not well-known for its enterprise storage hardware, but if the vendor keeps producing such high-quality, affordably priced arrays as the SCSI JBOD, it could become one of the bigger players in the storage industry.

IOMEGA NAS 800M
Iomega's new NAS unit allows file sharing and backup across Windows, Macintosh, NetWare, Unix and Linux clients on a LAN or WAN. An intuitive Web-based interface makes it easy to install.

The Iomega NAS 800m is a 2U, 19-inch rack-mount unit that features an eight-drive RAID. Two 2.4GHz Intel Xeon processors ensure that data is manipulated as quickly as possible, and the unit is equipped with redundant hot-swap power supplies and fans. The 800m is available in two configurations: One includes eight 160-Gbyte 7,200-rpm hot-swappable ATA drives for a capacity of 1.28 Tbytes; the other one has eight 250-Gbyte hot-swappable ATA drives for a total capacity of 2 Tbytes. The arrays can be configured as RAID 0, 1 or 5.

The difference between the two 800m configurations is in the size of the hard drives and the resulting amount of storage space, but the higher-capacity unit also has double the memory,2 Gbytes vs. 1 Gbyte,and one of its 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports features an Alacritech TCP/IP Offload Engine that improves the array's overall performance.

The 800m is one of the first products to bundle Storage Server 2003, which is based on Windows Server 2003 and integrates with the Active Directory service to enhance data security and simplify storage management. The software also supports heterogeneous file serving, backup and replication, and it can consolidate multiple file servers to reduce network complexity and centralize the management of all storage resources. NAS devices running Windows Storage Server 2003, including the 800m, allow plug-and-play integration with existing networks.

The 800m is easy to set up. It can be connected to an open LAN port or a workstation using a crossover cable. Included with the NAS is a disk-based utility that discovers a NAS device on the network automatically. In networks using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, the NAS can be managed immediately. If a network doesn't use DHCP, an appropriate IP address and subnet mask must be entered manually.

The 800m has LEDs that provide a visual indication of system status, and the chassis has a hood that opens to provide quick access to any hot-swappable components. This unit also features a serial port for connection to a UPS so that the NAS unit can be powered down safely before the UPS' battery power is depleted. In addition, the NAS 800m has an Ultra 3 SCSI 160 port for direct connection to tape backup devices, which reduces network traffic during backups.

CHANNEL PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS
>GATEWAY 850 SCSI JBOD STORAGE ENCLOSURE
PRICE: $5,243
WARRANTY: 3 years parts and labor
DISTRIBUTORS: Direct from vendor
TECH RATING:

CHANNEL RATING:

CHANNEL OVERVIEW: Poway, Calif.-based Gateway launched its ProNet Partner Program last month. The program includes two solution provider tiers based on sales revenue, along with specific support for government/education resellers. Gateway's account representatives and direct-sales staff participate in joint sales with partners and provide other sales assistance. Gateway provides marketing collateral and MDFs for its premier partners and will soon unveil additional marketing assistance and a partner portal.

>IOMEGA NAS 800M
PRICE: $12,499
WARRANTY: 3 years parts and labor
DISTRIBUTORS: Bell Micro, D&H, Ingram Micro, Synnex, Tech Data
TECH RATING:

CHANNEL RATING:

CHANNEL OVERVIEW: Iomega, based in San Diego, launched its channel program in early 2003, and benefits vary by sales volume. Field-based engineers and sales representatives provide pre- and post-sales technical support, and they assist in sales as well. Sales presentations, marketing resources, technical support, training and more are available at Iomega's partner portal.

Note: Vendors can earn up to five stars for technical merit and five for their channel program. If the average of these two scores is four stars or greater, the product earns CRN Test Center Recommended status.