Shoden Data Systems launches modular storage system in SA

In alignment with HDS' TrueNorth strategy, Shoden Data Systems today announced local availability of the Hitachi Freedom Storage Thunder 9500 V Series storage systems.

The 9500 V Series is designed for customers looking for a high-performance, easy-to-use modular storage system, providing centralised management and large capacity in a small footprint.

Fanie van Rensburg, MD of local distributor Shoden Data Systems, says: "The Thunder 9500 V Series storage system is ideally-suited to small- to medium-scale consolidation, allowing customers to optimise resources and reduce total cost of ownership. Its performance level - combined with high capacity and packing density - makes the Thunder 9500 V Series ideal for data-intensive industries including healthcare, life sciences research, rich media and retail."

According to industry analysts, the introduction of the Thunder 9500 V Series expands Hitachi Data Systems' broad range of solutions to encompass entry-level systems to full capacity modular systems that will be competitive in all segments of the modular market. "If its track record continues, Hitachi Data Systems should gain considerable market share in this highly competitive space," says Chuck Standerfer, senior partner, Evaluator Group.

Building on Hitachi's high-end storage technology leadership, the Thunder 9500 V Series also features a virtualisation assist layer to ease storage management and better utilise resources.

As with the Lightning 9900 V Series, this virtualisation layer allows administrators to mix heterogeneous servers on a single port and provide security to the Logical Unit (LUN) level through Host Storage Domains. By simplifying the infrastructure through smaller SAN configurations, fewer switches, Fibre Channel cables and host bus adapters, virtualisation further lowers total cost of ownership and accelerates return on investment. Additionally, the Thunder 9500 V Series boasts the industry's most compact form factor, allowing terabytes of storage capacity to be housed in a fraction of the space of its closest rivals. Through its Hi-PER Architecture, the Thunder 9500 V Series delivers approximately 2.3 times the performance of its predecessor. This architecture provides hardware RAID design, with high-speed I/O processing and interconnects. It also includes up to 2GB cache per controller, and advanced cache algorithms. Additional optimised performance is achieved with Hitachi FlashAccess software, which "locks" data into cache and provides solid-state response times.

The CIM-compliant HiCommand Device Manager, a component of the HiCommand Management Framework, provides centralised management for the Thunder 9500 V Series, as well as the rest of the Hitachi Freedom Storage 9000 product line. The systems support a single interface to the HiCommand Management Framework and are easy to install, configure and expand.

The Thunder 9500 V Series is available in a number of flexible, upgradeable models that address customer needs in a wide range of business sizes and industries. All are based on the Hi-PER Architecture and share the same microcode and cabinetry:

* The Thunder 9570V rackmountable system delivers high performance and high capacity in a small footprint with up to 4GB cache, four 2Gbps ports and 224 drives (32TB) per system. This high-end modular storage system is ideal for consolidation, as the centralised storage system in medium to large businesses, or in the distributed deployments of Fortune 500 companies.

* The Thunder 9531V, Thunder 9532V and Thunder 9533V storage systems are available in pre-configured, specially priced, deskside packages. These models, ranging from 360GB to 1TB in capacity, can be upgraded to the Thunder 9570V storage system.