April 22, 2008 -- Nimbus Data Systems, a provider of IP storage systems, has announced the formation of the 10 Gigabit Ethernet Storage Alliance, in partnership with members Arastra, Force10 Networks, Fujitsu, Fulcrum Microsystems, Mellanox Technologies, Neterion and NetXen.
The Alliance is billed as an ecosystem of adapter, switch, and storage system developers united by a common goal: to increase awareness and enterprise deployments of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE) as the superior storage networking infrastructure for server virtualization and enterprise-wide storage consolidation, given the technology's proven interoperability, low cost, common management and high performance.
"As long expected, 10-GbE is now a viable platform for high performance storage networking. As server, network, and storage virtualization transform the way we build and operate datacenter infrastructure, 10-GbE will become the unifying and strategic network," contends Michael Peterson, president of Strategic Research Corporation. "I have to compliment [the member companies] for their leadership in recognizing the importance of creating this Alliance to help customers learn about the value of 10-GbE in their environments."
According to the Alliance, via 10-GbE storage networking technology, enterprises can: reduce storage network infrastructure cost by 30-75%, as compared to 4-Gbit Fibre Channel; reduce storage costs by 50% by combining block and file-level services (SAN and NAS) onto one network; simplify IT administration through uniform management across the LAN, WAN, and storage network; increase bandwidth by 2.5 times as compared to 4-Gbit Fibre Channel, while minimizing latency; capitalize on multi-vendor interoperability of 10-GbE switches, adapters, and storage devices; support today's iSCSI, NFS, CIFS, and emerging protocols like FCoE, iSER, and iWARP, on one network; deploy disaster recovery affordably by extending the storage network to the WAN without FC gateways; and reduce software licensing costs by leveraging multi-pathing built-into 10-GbE adapters
"10-GbE brings versatility and simplicity to enterprises of all sizes through network consolidation, familiar management, more bandwidth without trunking, and multi-vendor interoperability," says Thomas Isakovich, founder and CEO of Nimbus Data Systems. "With 10-GbE now available for less than half the cost per gigabit of even traditional Gigabit Ethernet, all of the necessary elements are in place for immediate enterprise deployments."
10-GbE vendors and system integrators are encouraged to join the Alliance to highlight their technologies for this rapidly growing market, which will reach $4 billion by 2010, according to research from Dell 'Oro Group. In joining the Alliance, partners will help foster interoperability with other 10-GbE components and provide a forum for multi-vendor cooperation in developing turn-key 10-GbE storage platforms.
To learn more about joining the Alliance, email info@10gbestoragealliance.org.
