Big Blue is the first top-tier vendor to offer iSCSI technology
IBM moved back into the iSCSI (Internet SCSI) market Friday with a new array priced at $3,000 and aimed at the small and midsize business market.The TotalStorage DS300 and its Fibre Channel companion, the DS400, are aimed at the same low-end space other vendors have been targeting lately. EMC, for instance, released its low-priced Clariion AX-100 array in May, although they have not offered an iSCSI-based system yet.
“This shows the impact of this mid-tier market,” said Charles King, an analyst at Sageza Group. “This is just more evidence that higher-end capabilities are continuing to move down in more affordable packages. This is where the action is, and iSCSI is one way vendors will be addressing the market,” he said.
IBM officials say that having the new arrays use the same management system as IBM’s higher end products is a real savings for IT systems. “The fact that we’ve got a whole family that uses the same management infrastructure helps companies lower their overall storage costs,” said Rich Lechner, vice president of IBM storage systems.
News source: InfoWorld
