IPStor: Managing your stored information

Global storage provider, Acer, has introduced FalconStor`s IPStor, a vendor independent software solution, which uses standard components to create a fully virtualised, managed, storage network with unified SAN and NAS over Fibre Channel and/or IT.

"The increasing reliance on the access to enterprise data is pushing the limitations of traditional server-based storage solutions to breaking point," says Hilton Haefele, storage servers Product Manager, Acer. "As a result, the ongoing need to increase storage software capabilities while protecting the user community`s data has become a monumental task for most IT departments.

"In today`s economy, unlike in previous years, the associated costs in deploying an enterprise storage solution must show a ROI (return on investment) within six to 12 months. Only then can a company comfortably go forward with the deployment of an enterprise storage solution," he says.

Storage area networks (SAN) provide enormous cost savings and IPStor software and its underlying technologies help today`s businesses build an ROI model that demonstrates the cost savings that any organisation can realise by deploying this technology.

First and foremost, all enterprise storage solutions are architected around the SAN model and IPStor addresses the key areas and concepts in the deployment, management and maintenance of this type of solution. "The benefits of a SAN built on IPStor are varied," says Haefele. "One is that your enterprise will now have a centralised storage footprint which allows it to maintain its storage equipment in one general area."

With IPStor, organisations will be able to purchase storage in larger quantities and then provision the storage to the entire enterprise regardless of the location of its branch offices.

Enterprise storage can now be housed in one rack as opposed to server-based storage, which is internal or next to each server, thus organisation`s no longer need to purchase storage at the server level, even as their enterprise grows.

At the same time, localised storage facilitates improved security, since all storage devices are managed as a single pool instead of being distributed all over a data centre under the control of multiple hosts. In addition, another important feature is IPStor`s virtualisation which provides the ability to utilise any, and all, space in a centralised storage pool and allows that storage to be presented to the enterprise in any and all forms necessary to efficiently store and manage data in a heterogeneous environment.

"With IPStor, an organisation has the tools needed to develop a SAN that will not only support their growing storage needs, but also allow them to increase performance and reliability of their enterprise storage solution, while significantly reducing their total cost of ownership," says Haefele.