Hitachi Data Systems Unleashes the Storage Industry's First Management Software for Large-Scale Virtualization, Logical Partitioning, and Universal Replication

Breakthrough advances in software enable radical efficiency across the enterprise, significantly lowering TCO, enhancing business continuity, and streamlining data lifecycle management

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City, New York. 7 Sept., 2004—Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), today announced a new suite of storage management software for the Hitachi TagmaStore? Universal Storage Platform (also announced today, see separate press release). This breakthrough software is the first in the industry to deliver large-scale storage virtualization-up to 32 Petabytes-across heterogeneous storage systems, logical partitioning of internal and external storage resources, and storage-agnostic data replication. The company also announced new enhancements to the Hitachi HiCommand? software modules to support the Universal Storage Platform.

"With organizations facing increasingly complex storage infrastructures, the groundbreaking virtualization and universal replication software we are announcing today enable a new paradigm for storage infrastructure," said Hu Yoshida, Chief Technology Officer, Hitachi Data Systems. "This new paradigm facilitates centralized management and deployment of advanced business continuity, performance optimization, data lifecycle management, and compliance solutions, delivering the radical efficiency customers need to substantially reduce costs and maximize business value."

By streamlining and automating common management tasks across heterogeneous storage systems, the Universal Storage Platform and associated software can reduce total cost of ownership for enterprise users by as much as 40 percent, according to independent software and services firm ITCentrix. Cost reductions are achieved not only through much improved administrator productivity, but also by significantly reducing the software licensing costs traditionally associated with maintaining multiple copy and management point products, and by radically efficient data lifecycle management.

"Until the introduction of the Hitachi Universal Storage Platform, it has been too expensive to provide a common management solution for the fragmented data assets of a corporation," said Dave Vellante, CEO, ITCentrix. "Based on our extensive analysis, nothing else compares to this product, which in a large configuration of 900 TBs with 2700 TBs of externally managed storage, will potentially deliver a 425-percent internal rate of return on a $12.7 million dollar investment over three years. This changes the dynamics of the storage industry."

Large-Scale Virtualization, Logical Partitioning, Universal Replication

The new software for the Hitachi Universal Storage Platform includes:

   
• Hitachi Universal Volume Manager
  The first large-scale virtualization implementation enables up to 32 Petabytes of internal and external storage to be aggregated into one common pool and managed by a single set of software tools. By providing a single management platform for all storage systems, Universal Volume Manager also allows data replication and migration capabilities across heterogeneous storage systems, whilst enabling efficient integration and utilization of older storage systems. Combined with Volume Migration, Universal Volume Manager enables policy-based data lifecycle management across multiple tiers of storage, including storing mainframe data on low-cost SATA-based midrange storage.
   
• Hitachi Virtual Partition Manager Software
  The first implementation in storage systems of the logical partitioning technology featured in Hitachi's large-scale servers, the Virtual Partition Manager allocates internal and external physical storage resources, including ports, cache and disk, into independently-managed Private Virtual Storage Machines. Partitions can be dynamically modified to meet application Quality of Service requirements based on changing business and application priorities. With the Universal Storage Platform, customers can use Virtual Partition Manager software to create up to 32 Virtual Storage Machines. Meanwhile, to the host, the Virtual Storage Machine appears as if it were its own storage system and, as such, allows decentralized management of allocated resources. This ensures efficient utilization of storage across the platform, including external storage systems.
       
• Hitachi Universal Replicator
  Continuing to advance Hitachi's superior asynchronous remote replication technology, the Universal Replicator features several industry firsts, including heterogeneous replication, disk-based journaling, protection against link failure, "pull" copying, and multi-data center support. This ensures enhanced business continuity over any distance and improved IT operations without the need for redundant servers or replication appliances. The Universal Replicator builds on the success of Hitachi TrueCopy? asynchronous remote replication software, providing a robust business continuity solution that supports both internal and externally-attached storage.
  
      "Our customers depend on us for information availability at the level they sign up for," said Jim Grogan, vice president of alliances at SunGard, a global leader in integrated software and processing solutions, with annual revenue of $3B. "Beyond the high availability levels and sophisticated remote copy we've come to expect from Hitachi, the Universal Storage Platform offers the storage industry's first implementation of logical partitioning. This capability opens new opportunities for us, as we are now able to more precisely match our customers' SLA requirements to the services we deliver."
  
      "Companies need storage solutions which scale across multiple dimensions, including capacity, performance, management, platform support, and availability," said John McArthur, group vice president and general manager, Information Infrastructure and Enabling Technologies, IDC. "Hitachi has developed a cohesive solution, leveraging R&D resources from across the company to protect prior storage investments and meet the future needs of the networked storage market."
   
• Enhancements to Storage Area Management Software
  A number of other industry leading Hitachi software tools have been optimized for the Universal Storage Platform. These include Hitachi TrueCopy for remote replication between Hitachi storage systems, Hitachi ShadowImage? In-System Replication for fast, non-disruptive local mirroring of mission-critical data, and Hitachi Volume Migration for policy-based data lifecycle management across all tiers of storage.
  
      The Universal Storage Platform also offers complete compatibility with the Hitachi HiCommand? software modules, including updated versions of HiCommand Storage Services Manager, HiCommand Device Manager, and HiCommand Tuning Manager; the new HiCommand Protection Manager; and Hitachi Dynamic Link Manager? path manager software. Furthermore, users will be able to standardize on tools such as HiCommand Chargeback, enabling centrally-metered storage resource charging, and HiCommand Application Modules for optimizing the quality-of-service requirements for Microsoft Exchange, Oracle, Sybase and File Server applications.

Hitachi Data Systems leverages global R&D resources to develop storage solutions built on industry-leading technology with the performance, availability and scalability to maximize customers' ROI and minimize their risk. By focusing on the customer's perspective as we apply the best hardware, software, and services from Hitachi and our partners, we uniquely satisfy our customers' business needs.

With 2,800 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts business through direct and indirect channels in the public, government and private sectors in over 170 countries and regions. Its customers include more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information, please visit our Web site at http://www.hds.com.

Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 326,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2003 (ended March 31, 2004) consolidated sales totaled 8,632.4 billion yen ($81.4 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web site at http://www.hitachi.com.

Tony Hynes, Hitachi Data Systems, (415) 730-6639, tony.hynes@hds.com

Quinn Daly, Blanc and Otus, (415) 517-6910, QDaly@blancandotus.com

© 2004, Hitachi Data Systems Corporation.  Hitachi Data Systems is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark and service mark of Hitachi, Ltd. HiCommand is a registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. TagmaStore, TrueCopy, ShadowImage, and Dynamic Link Manager are trademarks of Hitachi Data Systems. All other trade names, trademarks, and service marks used herein are the rightful property of their respective owners.