Fujitsu Siemens Computers, the leading European IT provider, has won a prestigious award from Microsoft for breakthrough technology that turbo-charges branch office networks.
The global annual Microsoft Worldwide Partner Programme Awards recognise the development and delivery of exceptional Microsoft-based solutions by Microsoft partners. The FibreCAT N20-WAFS Appliance was selected as a Microsoft Partner Awards Programme winner in the category of Device Manufacturing, OEM Hardware Solutions. Fujitsu Siemens Computers received the award last week at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2006 in Boston, United States.
Remote data access over WANs is a headache for distributed IT infrastructures, for example organisations with a network of branch offices. Since the processes of opening and saving files over a WAN are painfully slow - if possible at all - organisations usually end up with remote islands of storage in their branch offices - and each data island must therefore be managed and protected by an IT administrator.
Using Wide Area File Services (WAFS) technology, the FibreCAT N20-WAFS Appliance, as part of the Dynamic IT for Branch Office Connection concept from Fujitsu Siemens Computers, delivers local area network (LAN)-like performance across wide-area networks (WANs), therefore dramatically enhancing data access times for branch offices on a company network.
Rui de Oliveira, Product Manager Enterprise Computing and Storage at Fujitsu Siemens Computers, says: "In awarding this accolade to Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Microsoft recognises the benefits that our FibreCAT WAFS appliances provide in accelerating and enhancing the performance of networks for branch offices. We worked closely with Microsoft to develop these products, and we are very encouraged by the customer uptake since the appliances were introduced late last year."
Fujitsu Siemens Computers is using WAFS to dramatically speed-up wide-area networks. WAFS is a file system technology that optimises and reduces the amount of data traffic travelling across a WAN as well as fine-tuning standard TCP/IP protocols to the minimum number of transmissions.
Based on the tried-and-tested PRIMERGY server platform from Fujitsu Siemens Computers, with Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 operating system pre-installed, the deployment of FibreCAT WAFS Appliances dramatically cuts the amount of time for opening or saving centralised files in a branch office -from minutes to seconds. A 5MB Word file that normally takes 122 seconds to open over a standard network share can be opened in three seconds using FibreCAT WAFS, and a 6.7MB AutoCAD file can be saved in just six seconds compared with 192 seconds over a standard network share.*
Such enhanced performance means that organisations with distributed data networks are finally able to manage and protect branch office data in a central data centre without suffering the lengthy delays in lost productivity at branch offices caused by waiting for files to open, or save. In addition, the payback period is rapid, thanks to improved productivity, enterprise-wide file sharing and reduced downtime, plus savings in data management through storage and server consolidation, and no need for remote backup software licences.
The FibreCAT WAFS solution from Fujitsu Siemens Computers offers enterprise-class scalability, supporting up to 150 remote offices and 50 users per remote appliance. It consists of a core appliance located in a central office, and edge appliances in each branch office. The central appliance organises all data traffic on the WAN and additionally ensures that frequently-accessed data is held locally in a cache by edge appliances, therefore significantly reducing data access times for branch offices. Enterprise-class reliability is also a given through hot-swappable disks, hot-swappable redundant cooling fans and power supplies.
In addition to performance gains, the FibreCAT WAFS appliances allow for "lights out" (remote-only) management of IT infrastructures in branch offices, with edge appliances controlled via a Web-based interface. The Dynamic IT for Branch Office Connection offering is a key element of Fujitsu Siemens Computers` Dynamic Data Centre concept.
* Sources: Fortune 5 customer with a T1 link between locations in San Francisco and Houston, with a latency of 60 milliseconds; Fujitsu Siemens Computers customer testing over a T1 link with 60ms latency.
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Fujitsu Siemens Computers is the leading European IT provider with a strategic focus on next-generation Mobility and Dynamic Data Center products, services and solutions. With a platform and services portfolio of exceptional depth, our offering extends from handhelds through desktops to enterprise-class IT infrastructure solutions and services offerings. Fujitsu Siemens Computers has a presence in all key markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with the services division extending coverage up to 170 countries worldwide. Leveraging the strengths, innovation and global reach of our joint shareholders, Fujitsu Limited and Siemens AG, we make sure we meet the needs of customers: large corporations, small and medium enterprises and private users. To meet international standards for corporate social responsibility, Fujitsu Siemens Computers is a member of the United Nations Global Compact.
For more information on Fujitsu Siemens Computers, please visit www.fujitsu-siemens.com.
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