TrueSAN Unveils Heterogeneous SAN Management Package

TrueSAN Networks

Called Cloudbreak, the new software combines virtualization, storage network and device management, storage resource management and business continuance technology into a single platform, said Tom Isakovich, company president and CEO.

TrueSAN had been developing custom storage management software and bundling it with its hardware for managing midrange SANs for some time, but recently decided to put its various applications into a single integrated package to offer a low-cost way to manage heterogeneous storage systems, Isakovich said.

Cloudbreak, which comes bundled with two 1U Intel rack-mount servers for redundancy, manages storage regardless of what company manufactured it, said Isakovich. It is aimed at customers that might need the power of an EMC Symmetrix with that vendor's SRDF software but with a budget more suited for Compaq equipment, he said.

Because Cloudbreak integrates so many different applications, it can take the place of six or seven stand-alone software packages, Isakovich said. However, the applications are modular, so customers can turn off any part of Cloudbreak if they have another application they prefer to keep.

Other vendors are moving toward putting these functions in a single application, but no company offers such an integrated platform, said Isakovich. "Companies like EMC and Veritas are moving that way," he said. "But the pieces are scattered. [Those vendors need to spend time to integrate them."

Cloudbreak will go into beta this quarter and is expected to be released in mid-2002. Isakovich said pricing has yet to be determined, but he expects the application to be priced at around $300,000 to $400,000 for managing 10 Tbytes of data, not including maintenance contracts.

TrueSAN has a small direct-sales force to get initial customers signed up to validate Cloudbreak, but Isakovich said the company really wants to drive three-quarters of its sales through solution providers or OEMs, especially those working with clients looking at mid-range SANs.