Unisys SA has announced the PrimeStor Network Attached Storage server (NAS2000), bringing enterprise-class storage features and functionality to the network marketplace. As a fully redundant, high-capacity fibre channel storage server, the PrimeStor NAS2000 can reduce costs in a heterogeneous network environment, while at the same time providing high availability, scalability and effortless administration. Its Windows NT user interface and patent-pending Unisys Dynamic RAID software make the NAS2000 easy to use and simple to expand. The NAS2000 RAID storage arrays can be upgraded with additional capacity in less than one minute, all while continuing to provide service to the network. "Network storage requirements are expanding around fifty percent a year. The myriad file, application, and web servers used in today`s networks make it difficult to share data and manage storage growth effectively," said Mark Patterson, business initiative manager, Unisys SA. "Unisys experience with enterprise-class storage and Windows NT, positions us to provide an optimised storage solution for heterogeneous networking environments. The PrimeStor NAS2000 now makes it possible to centralise network storage onto an intelligent storage server, while at the same time providing enterprise-class high availability and data protection." What an idea: attaching storage to the network rather than a server The PrimeStor NAS2000 server attaches directly to a network, much like a print server. The NAS2000 has the intelligence to provide access to data independent of the operating system of the requesting platform. These two elements combine to create a storage architecture in which multiple heterogeneous clients and servers can directly access the data. Open and easy to use, right out of the box Unlike other network attached storage solutions, the Unisys PrimeStor NAS2000 is a completely open solution that utilises Intel processors and standard Microsoft Windows NT software. Use of Windows NT makes the NAS2000 easy to use, maintain and upgrade. Unisys has carefully pre-configured the hardware and software of the NAS2000 so that it can be run right out of the box without the need for custom systems integration. The NAS2000 server currently supports commonly used protocols such as CIFS (Windows NT) and NFS (UNIX), and soon NetWare, HTTP, and FTP protocols as well. Client platforms running a variety of client operating systems, network protocols and applications can access data stored on the NAS2000. Ease of use, scalability, fault tolerance, integrated data management, backup, and competitive price/performance allow the PrimeStor NAS2000 storage server to satisfy the needs of the most demanding customers. Fully redundant and highly available, on Windows NT Unisys experience in building high availability, enterprise-class servers and storage subsystems, along with Unisys knowledge of Windows NT, has enabled Unisys to make the NAS2000 a fully protected Windows NT-based network storage solution. The NAS2000 has been architected - with an internal two-node cluster and other redundancies - so there is no single point of failure. Unisys has even designed the system to protect the Windows NT in-memory data cache, eliminating a point of vulnerability for Windows NT servers. The NAS2000 mirrors the in-memory cache to protect against such data loss. The easiest ever RAID to upgrade Unisys innovative Dynamic RAID software makes the PrimeStor NAS2000 easy to use and simple to upgrade storage capacity. The Dynamic RAID software has the dynamic capability to make immediate use of added capacity without requiring a re-boot of the server or the reallocation of disk space. Administrators can expand disk arrays with the system still available to users - without interrupting file services - by simply adding the disks, even disks of different capacities in increments as small as one disk drive. Many RAID systems require that the storage system be taken off-line and completely rebuilt anytime new capacity is added. Other RAID systems also require that any new disks must be the exact same capacity disks as the existing disks in the array. The PrimeStor NAS2000 makes these steps unnecessary - use any capacity disk, added at any time, and the Dynamic RAID software automatically readjusts. The storage capacity of the NAS2000 can currently be expanded from 54GB to over 500GB, and to one terabyte in the future. Availability PrimeStor NAS2000 is available immediately for purchase through Unisys direct sales channels. The Unisys storage web site can be visited at http://www.unisys.com/marketplace/storage for more information on the PrimeStor NAS2000 server. A full suite of service and support offerings from the Unisys Worldwide Service and Support Organization are available. This includes the NAS2000 and a comprehensive range of network services from the desktop to the largest of networks.
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