New model of midrange Hitachi Freedom Storage 5800 family provides data-center-level features in entry-level open-systems configuration; enables resellers to build SAN-based solutions.
20 September 1999 — Delivering data-center functionality in an entry-level configuration, Hitachi Data Systems today launched the Hitachi Freedom Storage™ Model 5840, a new, lower-capacity, channel-ready member of the mid-range Hitachi Freedom Storage 5800 family.
As a key element of its strategy to provide high-availability open-systems storage to users outside its traditional Fortune 200 customer base, Hitachi Data Systems is making the Model 5840 available through a worldwide network of distribution partners and authorized resellers, as well as through its existing large-account sales teams. The new model offers a versatile, reliable, and scalable foundation on which resellers can build storage solutions supporting Storage Area Networks, e-business, data warehousing, and back-office applications.
"The 5840 is an ideal product for sale through distribution partners," said David Miller, Vice President of North American sales for Wyle Systems, a master reseller in Hitachi Data Systems' multi-tiered indirect-sales channel. "Wyle Systems now has the opportunity to target cash-conscious customers whose business requirements call for implementation of high-availability storage solutions. With this product, we can easily demonstrate how they can protect their initial investments as their storage needs continue to grow."
Based on the same architecture as the previously released members of the 5800 family, the 5840 offers unrivaled performance for use in applications experiencing thousands of transactions per minute and where nearly continuous availability of data is an absolute necessity for business success. With storage capacities ranging from 36 gigabytes (GB) to 360 GB, the 5840 is well suited to help fast-growing companies scale up their information technology operations from internal hard-disk-drives to external disk subsystems big enough to hold and protect their rapidly expanding databases. Six 5840 subsystems can be mounted in a single rack, providing a total of more than 2 terabytes of storage capacity per rack enclosure.
"One of our customers — a prominent member of the telecommunications industry — is finding the 5840 to be a very attractive solution for their distributed systems environment," said John Murphy, Executive Vice President, Advanced Systems Group, a leading systems integrator with offices throughout the western United States. "This company runs large data centers, but also requires departmental storage supporting high-availability database operations in a multi-server environment. With the 5840, besides getting the high availability they need, they are also seeing three times the performance of their previous equipment, at almost the same price point."
The 5840 offers the same high availability, reliability, performance, connectivity, and centralized management functions as the other, larger-capacity models of the Hitachi Freedom Storage 5800 family. These functions include the recently announced TurboLUN™ feature for achieving maximum performance by locking frequently accessed information in cache and the Online Microcode Update feature, which enables advanced functions to be added to the subsystem without disrupting end-user applications, thereby providing nearly continuous availability.
Like the entire 5800 family, the 5840 fully supports Fibre Fabric Login to enable SAN connectivity. The 5840 also supports Hi-Track®, an optional "call-home" service that continuously monitors the subsystem and transmits status information to Hitachi Data Systems' customer support center.
The 5840 houses up to ten 36 GB disk drives in a standard 19-inch rackmount chassis (or optional tower cabinet), plus an optional "hot spare" drive that is dynamically invoked if there is any evidence that one of the other drives should need to be replaced. Customers for whom performance is a high priority may choose to install Hitachi's 18 GB disk drives, which spin at 10,000 rpm.
"The 5840 is a core element in the portfolio offered by Hitachi Data Systems' multi-tiered indirect sales network," said Richard Search, Vice President, Hitachi Data Systems storage marketing. "It is a versatile and reliable building block for use in high-performance, high-availability solutions developed by value-added resellers and systems integrators."
With wide-ranging interoperability and connectivity — including UNIX®, Windows NT®, and NetWare® — the new model gives channel partners unequalled freedom in developing fully `open' solutions such as Storage Area Networks for their clients."
Model 5840 with Fibre Channel or SCSI connectivity is available now at list prices starting under $20,000 from Hitachi Data Systems' select Channel Partners.
Recognized as a leading provider of business solutions for the world's most IT-intensive corporations, Hitachi Data Systems offers professional services, multiplatform storage subsystems, and the industry's broadest line of high-performance servers. The company's extensive range of products and services, coupled with its business alliances with key industry leaders, enable it to transform IT into business agility for high-end and middle-market customers. Hitachi Data Systems is owned by Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT) and has its headquarters in Santa Clara, California.
Contacts: PR: Hitachi Data Systems
Hitachi Data Systems is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark and service mark of Hitachi, Ltd. S/390 and OS/390 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.
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