Features - Storage Innovations:

QUALSTAR INTRODUCES RLS-4470 RACKMOUNT TAPE LIBRARY

Qualstar Corporation, a leading manufacturer of automated tape storage solutions, has announced its new RLS-4470 rack mounted automated tape library, which enables companies to store more than 18 terabytes (TB) of corporate-critical information in a minimum of space.

Introduced at FOSE, the RLS-4470 confirms Qualstar's position as the market leader in shipment of AIT-equipped tape libraries. The RLS-4470 holds up to 70 Sony AIT-3 cartridges in a compact 5U form factor, for a total storage capacity of more than 18 terabytes (compressed). Operating as many as four AIT drives simultaneously yields a very high data transfer rate of up to 449 gigabytes per hour, or one terabyte in little more than two hours, enabling firms to rapidly backup and restore vital data.

"AIT has become the technology of choice for many mid-sized business that are faced with the challenge of managing large amounts of data in limited space," said John Woelbern, director of OEM tape storage solutions marketing for Sony Electronics' Business Systems and Solutions Company. "Qualstar's integration of Sony's AIT-3 drives in the RLS-4470 rack mounted library allows for a wide range of cost- effective and space-efficient automated solutions that combine advanced technology with capacity and reliability."

The RLS-4470 broadens Qualstar's complete line of rack mounted libraries, with total capacity ranging from 2 terabytes to more than 18 terabytes. Its Simply Reliable design extends Qualstar's reputation for delivering dependable, long-lasting products to the market. In addition, the company announced that its RLS-4445 AIT automated tape library, introduced at last year's Comdex conference, can be easily upgraded in the field to offer the greater storage capability of the RLS-4470.

The RLS-4470, like all of Qualstar's RLS-series rack mounted libraries, offers the widest range of features and options in the market to enable users to economically specify a solution to meet their individual requirements, including:

• True hot-swappable tape drives;
• Dual, redundant, hot-swappable power supplies;
• 2Gb/second SANSmart Fibre Channel interface;
• VIOP, an exclusive Qualstar feature, allowing users to set the number of storage slots dedicated to tape I/O operations;
• Q-Link(TM), Qualstar's browser-based remote manager, enabling users to configure, monitor, diagnose and manage libraries from anywhere in the world.

The RLS-4470 can be easily converted in the field to run under Fibre Channel, or other emerging protocols such as iSCSI, through the use of Qualstar's IPM (Interface Personality Module) architecture.

"Companies tell us they need more storage capacity, but don't have unlimited space to house larger and larger libraries," said Bob Covey, Qualstar's vice president of marketing. "The RLS family of automated tape libraries is designed to address these issues and gives firms real, tangible value for their money. The RLS-4470 gives users a wider range of options than ever before, across the full gamut of tape's capabilities, from rapid backup and restore to off-site archiving. With data storage requirements continuing to grow, our rack mounted libraries are designed to meet current and emerging needs."

The RLS-4470 is available exclusively through Qualstar's channel of authorized resellers, with a suggested list price beginning at $23,000.