TechWatch: Backup; Storage; Monitors

The need for speed is answered with new drives and monitors, and soon Windows users will have a new way to back up data. Got any hot products of your own? Send them to [email protected].

Microsoft Gets Into Backup

Microsoft is looking to become a player in the market for backup-and-recovery software. The software giant has released the public beta of its newly christened System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM), which will be targeted at SMB customers. DPM runs on either Windows Storage Server or Windows Server 2003 and performs disk-to-disk replication and recovery among servers and storage arrays. The DPM console pings Microsoft's Active Directory, allowing administrators to define what servers it wants to replicate to a backup target. Once the administrator defines servers to be backed up, a DPM agent is deployed on those servers, where DPM creates snapshots. The company also released an SDK, allowing third-party vendors to hook into DPM. The beta is available now, and Microsoft says the software should be available in Q4.

Microsoft Data Protection Manager, www.microsoft.com Price: To be announced, but will require a license for every server deployed

Seagate Revs 2.5-Inch Drives

Seagate has just upped the threshold of its Momentus family line of drives with a 120-GB, 2.5-inch drive that runs at speeds of up to 5,400 rpm. For white-book builders looking to provide systems that are on par with desktops, Seagate also unveiled the first 100-GB drive that runs at 7,200 rpm. Both drives add enhanced support for Serial ATA. Particularly notable, the extended SATA functionality means the drives support native-command queuing, which offers faster performance by streamlining data delivery through sorting and queuing commands. While the key market for these drives will be notebook and white-book systems, Seagate also is targeting them for nonmission critical blade servers, external storage arrays and systems such as copiers.

Seagate Momentus drives, www.seagate.com Price: $380 for 7,200-rpm SATA drive; $308 for 5,400-rpm SATA drive

ViewSonic Goes For Speed

For your average office worker, an LCD monitor with a 4-ms response time is arguably overkill. But for customers who use graphic-intensive applications or video, the ViewSonic VX924 is worthy of consideration. Based on the company's Xtreme video response, this LCD supports high-definition broadcast-quality video, and comes with both VGA and DVI inputs. The 19-inch display (a 17-inch model called the VX724 is due out in June) boasts a contrast ratio of 550-to-1 and a viewing angle of 160 degrees. It comes with an antiglare panel and can be mounted either on the supplied thin bezel or on a wall.

Viewsonic VX924 LCD display, www.viewsonic.com Price: $495