Features - Storage Innovations:

MTI'S VIVANT 400 JOINS FORCES WITH IBM'S FAStT700

MTI Technology Corp, a leading provider of enterprise storage solutions for more than two decades, announced recently that it now has interoperability and long-term customer support certified by the Storage Networking Industry Association's (SNIA) Supported Solutions Forum (SSF).

With the signing of mutual support agreements by MTI, IBM Corp, Brocade Communications Systems Inc, FalconStor Software Inc and Veritas Software Corp, customers of MTI Vivant 400 and IBM FAStT700 storage solutions have best-of-breed options for local heterogeneous mirroring and data migration between heterogeneous systems (MTI-to-IBM or IBM-to-MTI), as well as long-distance remote replication via an IP network, including heterogeneous replication (IBM-to-MTI) and homogeneous mirroring (MTI-to-MTI).

The capabilities are part of a new interoperability solution ­- registered by SNIA's SSF and aimed at midrange storage customers -­ enables users to combine and easily support multi-vendor storage systems in their data networks and protect their vital corporate data with offsite backup. The solution resulted from cooperative testing by MTI, IBM, Brocade, FalconStor and Veritas.

The MTI-IBM combination is an ideal fit for the two companies' mutual storage customers, with IBM's FAStT700 and MTI's Vivant 400 both providing fast 2 gigabits-per-second Fibre Channel technology and utilizing Brocade fabric switches.

"We're happy to be part of the SSF and the climate of cooperation that fosters such interoperability," said Phil Ruff, MTI's vice president of engineering. "Most cooperative certifications are very point-in-time specific, but here you have multiple vendors working together and guaranteeing the support and serviceability of the solution, both now and ongoing."

Those implementing the new solution have access to a single point for support through the SSF's Cooperative Support Group Relationship, administered by TSANet (Technical Support Alliance Network). This relationship provides critical multi-vendor contact information and an escalation process via the Internet, allowing vendors to access the information 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. MTI is a member of TSANet as well as the SNIA and SSF.

The SNIA is a not-for-profit organization, made up of more than 300 companies and individuals worldwide spanning the entire storage industry. Its SSF is a group of companies that promotes customer adoption of open storage networking solutions by encouraging vendors to work together and deliver mutually supported, interoperable solutions.

About MTI Technology Corp

MTI's mission is to be at the forefront of developing and delivering storage solutions to customers -­ through innovation, customer feedback and best practice. A premier provider of enterprise storage products for more than 20 years, MTI develops, integrates and manufactures high-performance, high-availability storage products for midrange to Global 2000 companies worldwide. MTI also services select third-party hardware and software, and its Professional Services organization provides planning, consulting and implementation support for storage products from other leading vendors. Headquartered in Anaheim, CA, MTI may be reached by telephone at 800-999-9MTI (toll free) or 714-970-0300, or by fax at 714-693-2256. The Web address is www.mti.com.