Rainfinity

EMC is rolling out an entry point system for file virtualization with the new Rainfinity File Management Appliance. The company said Rainfinity FMA provides easy-to-use wizards for setting up automated file management policies that transparently move and place files across NAS tiers, including archiving directly to content addressed storage (CAS) such as the Centera platform. FMA also automatically identifies and archives static files based on user-defined policies for streamlined backup and recovery.

Other FMA features include:

• Policy-based file management which supports rules for inclusion and exclusion
• Preview mode to review the impact of file placement policies
• Automated file movement and retrieval across primary and secondary storage tiers
• Support for multiple sources and destinations and integration with NetApp, EMC Celerra and EMC Centera
• Restores stub files and identifies and addresses orphan files
• Interoperability with snapshots, backup/recovery, anti-virus and Rainfinity NAS virtualization
• Automatically resolves name conflicts
• Upgradeable to Rainfinity Global File Virtualization

Rainfinity FMA is available now.

Centera

The company's content addressed storage (CAS) system is getting an overhaul, with the new Centera Generation 4 LP (Low Power) system. The nodes are designed with low-power processors and chipsets, adaptive cooling and more efficient power supplies. EMC said, while reducing energy consumption, the system also offers 50 per cent more storage capacity per node using 750 GB SATA disk drives.

Centera Generation 4 LP is also receiving improved security features in the EMC CentraStar storage environment with greater levels of authentication, system logging and auditing capabilities.

The latest version of Centera Universal Access software allows applications using CIFS and NFS protocols to implement management and replication policies on a per application basis. Previously, this was only available using the Centera API.

New management capabilities are being introduced in CentraStar software, including disk management and enhanced system clean-up. Centera FileArchiver software will now allow high-availability access to Centera-based archive information directly from the Celerra file system.

The new software is compatible with previous Centera generations, and is available as a free upgrade to customers with a maintenance contract. The new nodes can also be incorporated into existing Centera systems.

The Centera Genearation 4 LP nodes, CentraStar V3.1 SP3, Centera Universal Access 4.0 and Centera FileArchiver 4.0 are available now.

Clariion

EMC is introducing several new features for its mid-market Clarriion network storage systems. The new capabilities are included in the latest version of Clariion Flare storage operating environment, available for Clariion CX300, CX500 and CX700 systems.

The latest version of Flare includes native iSCSI remote replication capabilities for Clariion CX systems. Customers can now replicate data over distances using the built-in iSCSI ports using EMC MirrorView and EMC San Copy software.

Flare is also recieving additional security and compliance features, which include:

• A Secure Access to System, which allows an administrator to have the ability to define a security administrator role. Security administrators will be authorized to add new users or arrays but will not be able to monitor or configure the array.
• IP Address Filtering limits, which control and confine specific management stations.
• A compliance and audit feature which allows administrators to document all system login attempts.

Clariion CX3 UltraScale series systems will also be receiving support for 750 GB SATA II disk drives, as well as RAID 6 support. Additionally, the new version of Flare includes support for the Asymmetric Logical Unit Access (ALUA) standard for advanced active/active failover functions. EMC claims this pushes the Clariion CX3 to 99.999 per cent uptime, in what they claim is a first for the midrange market.

The latest version of Flare will be available in August 2007. A free upgrade will be available to Clariion CX3, CX300, CX500 and CX700 systems under a maintenance contract.

Phew.®