Infortrend adds to SMB storage range with EonStor DS

Infortrend has launched a range of iSCSI memory systems aimed at the small and medium sized business (SMB) sector.

The two systems, the first in the company's EonStor DS range, come with 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) connectivity and can fill 16 SAS drives at 6Gbit/s. The S16E-G2240 and S16E-R2240 systems have single and dual controllers respectively and come in a 3U form factor.

Management tools include local and remote replication and mirroring as standard, and the company claims that its thin provisioning systems can use over 90 per cent of each drive.

"The addition of the latest 10GbE iSCSI host connectivity to our EonStor DS family enables SMBs to easily meet demands in virtualised environments," said Thomas Kao, director of product planning at Infortrend.

"Affordably priced with SMBs in mind, the new EonStor DS solutions are ideal for budget-conscious businesses that are not willing to compromise on data storage performance."

The SMB market is growing steadily, despite predictions that the sector would be one of the first to move into cloud storage. While there is some interest in such services, most businesses prefer to run their own systems for important storage owing to cost and staffing issues.

"There is still a decent learning curve that needs to happen, and in an SMB, where there might not be an IT professional who is familiar with this, it is easier for the business to go out and purchase an external storage product than figure out the cloud," Liz Conner, senior research analyst with IDC's Storage Systems Group, told V3.co.uk.

"Also, the cost structure of the cloud might be prohibitive. With a physical storage device, the longer you have the device the 'cheaper' it becomes. Whereas the cloud is a subscription, and the more data you put into it and the longer you have the subscription, the more expensive it becomes."

There is a place for such systems, Conner said, but no sign of a major shift in buying patterns.