Sun targets storage with revamped strategy

Sun Microsystems has revamped its storage products in a bid to grab a share of the burgeoning global network storage market.

The company rolled out a host of new systems including local and remote data protection software, customer services and support programmes, and new storage partner initiatives.

Among the new products is Sun's StorEdge T3 modular system that can store between 324Gbytes and 88Tbytes of data. It also provides access to remote management, diagnostics and monitoring.

Sun also introduced two related software offerings, StorEdge Instant Image 2.0 and StorEdge Network Data Replicator, and unveiled a packaged storage area network (San) platform as well as a version of StorEdge for its Solaris operating system. The systems support Microsoft's Windows NT, Hewlett Packard's HP-UX and IBM's AIX operating systems as well, and Sun is working to add Linux support.

Jim Porter, an analyst with research company DiskTrends, said: "This is long expected and long overdue. Up until now, Sun's server offerings have been a hodgepodge without the availability of matching certified storage systems." He added that Sun has worked for three years to produce a coherent system.

Sun also announced a Capacity on Demand leasing programme that enables users to lease systems with a starting price of one cent per megabyte in the first year for certain configurations.

The company outlined plans to work with storage software supplier Veritas to develop multi-platform San management standards. Sun is collaborating with Metromedia Fiber Network to develop remote storage management services to allow vendors to offer pay-as-you-go bandwidth and storage services.