News Briefs - Hardware:

LeftHand Networks Announces New NSM 150 Hardware Platform

LeftHand Networks, a leading provider of complete, integrated IP storage area network (SAN) solutions, announced the Network Storage Module (NSM) 150, a storage platform featuring Serial ATA drives. Multiple NSM 150s are designed to be clustered together using LeftHand's SAN/iQ software to form a simple, self-managing IP SAN.

The NSM 150 is based on an industry-standard storage platform. Clusters of NSM 150s offer granular and unlimited capacity; adding hardware modules to the cluster does not require downtime. The NSM 150 supports four SATA drives and dual NIC connectivity with failover, and is available in two capacities, 640 GBs and one TB. The NSM 150 can coexist in a cluster with LeftHand's existing NSM 200 modules. The NSM 150 is priced starting at $6,000 and will be available in August.

"The NSM 150 is yet another proof point of LeftHand's software strategy," said Tom Major, vice president of marketing at LeftHand. "Both the NSM 150 and LeftHand's OEM agreements are evidence of our corporate direction to provide IP SAN solutions built on standardized, affordable hardware platforms while using our SAN/iQ software to provide superior scalability and availability." LeftHand announced an OEM relationship with Crossroads Systems in March and has another unnamed OEM partner.

"With the maturing and standardizing of storage hardware infrastructure, users are increasingly focusing on investments to simplify and reduce costs of providing and managing their data and content," said Robert Gray, senior analyst at IDC. "Many end users report plans to double storage software spending in the next 3-5 years, a reflection of the shifting values."

LeftHand leads the IP SAN market with over 650 systems installed in multiple industries, including Fortune 1000 and mid-size companies in manufacturing, healthcare and life sciences, as well as government organizations and universities.