Features - Storage Innovations:

SNS CREATES iSCSI INITIATOR TO PRODUCE SOLUTION FOR MAC, WINDOWS

Studio Network Solutions (SNS), a designer and manufacturer of storage technology systems for the professional audio/video industry, announces the release of globalSAN X-8 and X-16, the first fully configured iSCSI SAN solutions to support Macintosh and Windows.

Studio Network Solutions' new systems offer a cost effective pathway towards achieving performance nearing that of Fibre Channel. globalSAN X-8 and X-16 employ iSCSI to enable an IP-based Storage Area Network. The easy-to-use, yet powerful technology enables a high-speed, lower-cost storage solution that is capable of spanning nearly any IP network. In order to take the globalSAN line of multi-platform products from concept to reality, SNS had to create an iSCSI initiator for the Macintosh. SNS created the iSCSI initiator in order to meet the increasing demand for affordable robust storage alternatives by Mac users. The development process for the iSCSI initiator was guided by one very important premise: make it perform exceedingly well for audio and video applications.

SNS will offer globalSAN X-8, an eight-bay, four-user package with 2TB of high performance SATA storage and globalSAN X-16, a 16-bay, six-user package with 4TB of high performance SATA storage. Both systems include licenses of iSANmp volume sharing software and both systems can be upgraded to support additional users/storage.

"Just as globalSAN is a natural extension to our existing line of A/V SAN PRO(TM) Fibre Channel-based storage solutions, the evolution to a fully configured, pre-packaged, high-speed Ethernet-based SAN solution (IP SAN) was the next logical step," stated Gary Holladay, SNS president. "Our new X-8 and X-16 are the long-awaited solutions for every studio and post-production facility looking for an affordable, multi-platform system that can actually handle their Final Cut Pro, Avid and Pro Tools editing over an Ethernet connection."

The 4TB globalSAN X-16 is rated to deliver 32 streams of DV or 8 streams of uncompressed SD video(a) using Final Cut Pro. The 2TB globalSAN X-8 is rated to deliver 128 tracks of 24-bit/48k playback per workstation* using Pro Tools. Either system can be upgraded to support additional users.

One of the key advantages of the globalSAN line of products is its ability to offer block-level access to data over widely deployed IP-based networks, allowing secure and easy access over Local, Metropolitan, or Wide Area Networks. For example, by installing a globalSAN system, a company in New York will not only be able to securely share data among its local users, but it can also share production information with a sister-company in Los Angeles, or backup to a remote storage location.