Compaq extends Enterprise Network Storage Architecture

Compaq Computer Corporation has unveiled significant extensions to its acclaimed Enterprise Network Storage Architecture (ENSA).

Building on the proven foundation of its extraordinarily successful forbear, ENSA-2 provides a visionary roadmap for enabling businesses to succeed and win in the increasingly competitive world economy with a superior networked storage infrastructure. Compaq introduced ENSA-2, along with six industry-changing storage utility technologies, before an audience of more than 1 000 customers in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

"Compaq has delivered on the vision it unveiled in 1998 when ENSA was first launched," said Mark Lewis, vice president and general manager of Compaq`s Enterprise Storage Group.

"ENSA has enabled Compaq customers around the world to increase business velocity by improving flexibility, efficiency, and service levels. An ENSA storage utility is the foundation of today`s successful business model. Compaq is pleased to help its customers take business velocity to the next level by enhancing the world`s most successful storage utility architecture."

Compaq has led innovation in the network storage industry from homogeneous storage area networks (SANs) in 1997 to heterogeneous SANs in 1999 and open SAN supported solutions today. With the introduction of ENSA, Compaq was first to envision storage as a utility service, and has subsequently delivered on that vision with 11 major product and solution launches. Today, Compaq is the acknowledged leading supplier of SAN-based storage systems.

"We are excited to see Compaq`s Enterprise Network Storage Architecture further enhanced," said Cliff Reeves, vice president, Windows Server Product Management.

"Microsoft Windows technology is helping Compaq deliver world-class SAN and NAS solutions. We expect Windows customers to benefit from the enhanced capabilities that ENSA-2 envisions."

Building on its original architectural foundation, Compaq`s ENSA-2 encompasses six advanced technologies that enhance the ENSA storage utility to help customers solve their most pressing storage challenges. The business solutions that ENSA-2 promises are summarised below.

• .         Storage Challenge

• .         ENSA-2 Solution Explosive growth

• .         Storage network scaling Management complexity

• .         Storage virtualisation Skilled management resources

• .         Storage management automation Storage networking interoperability

• .         Commitment to drive open supported solutions Total cost of ownership

• .         Storage management simplification Return on investment

• .         Investment protection

The six new technologies incorporated in ENSA-2 include:

1.                   DtS architecture - brings the benefits of SAN technology to all size businesses while providing investment protection for more the 1.5 million Compaq ProLiant servers.

2.                   Storage network scaling - extends the ENSA storage utility to global proportions to support the pervasive information era by scaling Fibre Channel storage networks with IP networks.

3.                   Universal network storage - provides storage users with the flexibility to choose between block and file access to best meet application needs by merging Network Attach Storage (NAS) with SAN in a common storage pool that is easily scaled.

4.                   Storage utility automation architecture - simplifies automated storage utility management by implementing it independently of servers.

5.                   VersaStor virtualisation technology - enables storage without limits by providing a layer of abstraction between the logical and physical views of storage and data. Originally announced as SAN-wide block virtualisation, this technology is being implemented across Compaq enterprise storage product lines to provide automatic, transparent data movement and management by high level attributes. VersaStor technology is the engine behind ENSA-2 storage utility automation.

6.                   Lifecycle data management - automates the lifecycle management of virtual data objects from creation to global distribution to copy coherency and archive. Virtual data objects are convenient management objects defined by storage users and may consist of virtual disks, files, video streams, directories of files, etc. Virtual data objects are associated with high level attributes and management policies, and automatically managed and distributed according to those attributes and policies.

"Compaq`s ENSA-2 vision includes solutions to address the storage needs of the full spectrum of customers from small businesses to the large enterprises with value at each level," said John Scott, managing partner, Evaluator Group.

Lewis added: "Customers validate Compaq`s Enterprise Network Storage Architecture every day with their cheque books. The return on investment being realised by these customers today will be increased even more as we start delivering the ENSA-2 vision later this year."