Storage:

AMI Launches RTG (Ready To Go) NAS Solution at SNW

"SNW is the perfect place to showcase our latest storage offerings, both hardware and software, to the storage industry," said Michael Patellis, AMI National Sales Manager. "This latest solution, the RTG, is perfect for anyone looking for a high-performance NAS at a low cost. With a simple integration of several options, the user can build a NAS solution from readily available off-the-shelf components, for any storage need. The benefits of this approach are many, including time-to-market and lower costs."

High-end NAS at low-end prices

The StorTrends RTG and StorTrends RTG LE are NAS solutions created when users choose from a number of low-cost servers in the market and create a "Ready to Go" NAS solution. Both the RTG and RTG LE are equipped with CPU, memory and hard drives. These units are being offered at an SNW show special price, beginning at $499. The RTG can be further upgraded by adding these options:

• Up to 4 IDE drives -- 640 GB
• Gb/Ethernet
• AMI's StorTrends NAS Management Station

NAS Management Station

The NAS Management Station, a key feature of AMI's StorTrends NAS software, offers a multitude of high-performance features:

• NAS Porting Kit, which allows porting to different hardware platforms
• NT/2000 based; runs on NT domain server
• StorSeek utility for discovery of NAS servers (including scheduled discovery)
• Views hardware health from one single station
• Imports local or global users/groups
• SSL certificate loading
• Imports/exports configuration of NAS server
• Centralized configuration from one location for all NAS (1.2 features)

Multi-purpose, high-density, small form factor storage solutions

AMI displayed its StorTrends 1108 and 1312 solutions for NAS, JBOD and RAID enclosures.

The StorTrends 1108-P 1U NAS includes eight Ultra160 SCSI hot swap drive bays, two hot swap power supplies and AMI's Indium NAS controller. The AMI-designed 1U chassis with front panel LCD and LEDs provides proper thermal management. All drives are mounted using the revolutionary "eZswap" lever action hold down. New drives are installed by inserting them straight out of the box -- without screws, rails or carrier assemblies -- and then latched in place with no mounting accessories or assembly. The 1108's AMI backplanes (series 904 and 905) have four Ultra160 (Ultra320 ready) slots and Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) v.0.9 and v.1.0 support.

The StorTrends 1312-P 3U NAS has 12 Ultra160 SCSI hot swap drive bays, redundant and hot swap power supplies and AMI's ServTrends 1100-P multi-purpose server appliance. The chassis includes two AMI backplanes (series 906) with six single channel Ultra160 (Ultra320 ready) slots and IPMI support.

The 1108-P and 1312-P feature AMI's StorTrends NAS software, with support for Apple (AFP and AppleTalk), NetWare (NCP and IPX), Linux and Unix. The software includes HTTP, FTP-based file transport support, Secured Administration Access (using SSL), a NAS Management Station (NT/2000-based and runs on the NT domain server), NDMP incremental backup, a new and unique GUI for increased usability, a threshold setting and "SoftUpdate" support for journaling of the file system.

StorTrends 1108; a NAS filer in the Interoperability Lab's departmental theme for small to medium scale IT operations

The demonstration focused on moving actual video and audio digital data to local Network Attached and SAN Attached storage devices. Data was replicated to remote storage via IP networks to the Business Continuance section of the Large Scale IT Operations Theme. All data is protected by redundant servers, paths and storage devices, but with departmental-size devices. Data is archived to departmental size tape storage in addition to the remote backup done by the Business Continuance.

About AMI

Founded in 1985, American Megatrends Inc (AMI) has dedicated its resources to providing OEMs, resellers and systems integrators with leading edge computer technologies. Privately held, AMI is best known for its BIOS, but also supplies state-of-the-art hardware, software and utilities to today's high-tech manufacturers. AMI offers high-density motherboards, disk subsystems and innovative storage solutions and is a voting member of the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). Headquartered in Atlanta, AMI has locations in the U.S. and throughout the world including Chennai, Munich, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo to better serve its customers. For more information on AMI products and services, call 1-800-U-BUY-AMI or visit www.ami.com.

Contact American Megatrends Inc, Atlanta, Amber LeClair Strong, 770-326-9176 or 800-828-9264, ambers@ami.com.