According to Hitachi Data Systems, its Lightning 9900 V Series, Thunder 9500 V Series storage systems and a prototype of the HiCommand Device Manager 3.x have been certified as fully compliant with the Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S), following an evaluation using the Storage Networking Industry Association Conformance Testing Program (SNIA-CTP).
MD of local HDS distributor Shoden Data Systems, Fanie van Rensburg, says compliance with the new SMI-S specification assures customers that the products will interoperate with other compliant products, which will aid in the deployment and management of multi-vendor storage environments.
"HDS recognised the management challenge faced by large organisations that rely on multiple vendors for their storage needs," he comments. "As a result, it was one of the first vendors to call for the development and adoption of industry standards to ensure heterogeneous storage management."
Created by storage engineers at the SNIA Technology Centre, the SMI-S is an evolving specification that will develop based on the needs of the end user community, which has assisted in defining the features addressed by the specification. Additions will be made to the SMI-S specification in the future, as requirements are identified and defined.
Hitachi Data Systems submitted its products for evaluation by SNIA using the Conformance Test Program - the process that is key to ensuring that vendors meet the requirements of the specification. Details of Hitachi Data Systems conformance to the SMI-S v1.0.2 standard will be available on the SNIA Web site at http://www.snia.org/tech_activities/snia-ctp.
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With offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town, Shoden Data Systems (Pty) Ltd is the sole distributor for Hitachi Data Systems in South Africa. Shoden Data Systems also has strategic agreements with CNT - a provider of storage networking solutions, products & services- and is a reseller of Fujitsu Siemens Computers. In addition, the company is a Veritas Premier Partner, providing integrated, managed, best-of-breed Storage Area Network solutions to the marketplace, and also distributes VMware, virtual machine software for Intel-based systems.
Based on more than 200 collective years of experience in the service, support and marketing of Hitachi products, Shoden Data Systems uses its intellectual capital and industry leading products to provide customers with total solutions in the storage, enterprise servers and connectivity arenas. The following offerings are available:
1. Storage - HDS Freedom storage range, including the enterprise-level Lightning 9900 series & the modular Thunder 9500 series
2. Connectivity - CNT and Brocade
3. Servers - Fujitsu Siemens PrimePower range of servers
Hitachi Data Systems
Hitachi Data Systems leverages global R&D resources to develop storage solutions built on industry-leading technology with the performance, availability and scalability to maximize customers' ROI and minimize their risk. By focusing on the customer's perspective as we apply the best hardware, software, and services from Hitachi and our partners, we uniquely satisfy our customers' business needs.
With 2,700 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts business through direct and indirect channels in the public, government and private sectors in over 170 countries. Its customers include more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.eu.hds.com.
Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 340,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2002 (ended March 31, 2003) consolidated sales totalled 8,191.7 billion yen ($68.3 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web site at http://www.hitachi.com.
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