Earlier this year, IBM introduced the IBM TotalStorage NAS Gateway 500, a combination of hardware and software that lets large enterprise customers link Storage Area Networks (SANs) over IP networks. (Click here to see the News and Views summary of that introduction.) Last week, the company announced a new configuration of the TotalStorage NAS Gateway 500 aimed directly at small and midsized businesses (SMBs). The new entry-level option lets customers configure the system with just one POWER4+ microprocessor (compared with up to eight processors in larger configurations) and decrease the starting price from $50,000 to less than $30,000.
In conjunction with the new configuration, IBM has announced a software upgrade for the TotalStorage NAS Gateway 500. The new software includes asynchronous, synchronous-mode, and Mirror Write Consistency (MWC) mirroring over IP networks. Other enhancements include better support for Windows environments, support for EtherChannel and IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation, and the ability to configure the system to use the Internet or a modem to request a service call
