Press Releases

3PAR Powers On iSCSI for Utility Storage

Simple and Efficient Storage Now Paired with Simple and Efficient Storage Networking

FREMONT, CA — August 15, 2006

3PAR®, the leading provider of Utility Storage, announced today the availability of native iSCSI connectivity for 3PAR InServ® Storage Servers. This capability gives new and existing customers the ability to extend their consolidation efforts and to take advantage of the utilization and management benefits of Utility Storage using both Fibre Channel and IP-based storage area networks (SANs).

"With iSCSI support, we can now consolidate even more applications onto our Utility Storage infrastructure," said Mark Douglas, Vice President of Technology at eHarmony. "The InServ Storage Server gives us a single storage platform that we can manage simply and efficiently across Fibre Channel and IP-based SANs."

iSCSI for Utility Storage enables customers to extend to their IP-based SANs the same dramatic cost reductions they receive when using 3PAR Utility Storage with their Fibre Channel SANs. iSCSI for Utility Storage customer benefits include:

Protocol-independent storage consolidation: Organizations may now supplement Fibre Channel-based storage deployments with an IP-based storage network while maintaining a single, consolidated storage pool
Application server cost reduction: Instead of adding Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs) for storage connectivity to each new server in large Linux® and Microsoft® Windows Server® environments, organizations can now reduce server deployment costs using built-in gigabit Ethernet ports and iSCSI drivers.
Database storage consolidation: A customer who previously selected network attached storage (NAS) to deploy in a high-growth database environment can retain its investment in an IP storage network while gaining the performance of a block-level system. At the same time, the customer can eliminate the incremental expense of NAS and the struggle of managing the proliferating number of NAS systems that can plague high-growth database environments.

According to IDC, market demand through 2010 for iSCSI in midrange and high-end storage systems selling for $50,000 and above is growing at a 70% compound annual growth rate. (IDC, "Worldwide Disk Storage Systems 2006-2010 Forecast and Analysis: Expansion, Efficiency, and Economics Driving Growth," May 2006, Doc #201596.)

"Users continue to look for more economic ways to deploy SAN environments than traditional Fibre Channel," said Dave Reinsel, IDC Director of Storage Research. ìIntegrating iSCSI into its storage array designs allows 3PAR to expand its market beyond Fibre Channel SANs and enables it to address consolidation needs in the high-growth area of IP-based SANs. Users can take advantage of iSCSI solutions such as 3PAR's regardless of storage network type and can consolidate both Fibre Channel-based and IP-based storage."

iSCSI connectivity for the InServ Storage Server is enabled through the use of dual-ported iSCSI host bus adapters, which may be added to any InServ Storage Server non-disruptively. Adapters feature complete iSCSI and TCP/IP offload for enhanced performance and support for active-active iSCSI multipathing.

iSCSI for Utility Storage is available immediately and is supported with Red Hat Linux, SUSE Linux and Microsoft Windows Server. Pricing for the 3PAR InServ Storage Server with four iSCSI ports starts at around $115,000 and includes installation, training and three years of support.

"Where practical, storage companies should be indifferent about network protocols and we don't force a choice between Fibre-Channel or iSCSI." said David Scott, President and CEO of 3PAR. "All that matters is reducing the total cost of data for our clientele, and now 3PAR can offer its disruptive economic alternative to traditional arrays in both Fibre-Channel and iSCSI fabrics."

About 3PAR
3PAR® (NYSE Arca: PAR) is the leading global provider of utility storage, a category of highly virtualized, tightly-clustered, and dynamically-tiered storage arrays built for utility computing. Organizations use utility computing to build cost-effective virtualized IT infrastructures for flexible workload consolidation. 3PAR Utility Storage gives customers an alternative to traditional arrays by delivering resilient infrastructure with increased agility at a lower total cost to meet their rapidly changing business needs. As a pioneer of thin provisioning — a green technology developed to address storage underutilization and inefficiencies — 3PAR offers products designed to minimize power consumption and promote environmental responsibility. With 3PAR, customers have reduced the costs of allocated storage capacity, administration, and SAN infrastructure while increasing adaptability and resiliency. 3PAR Utility Storage is built to meet the demands of open systems consolidation, integrated data lifecycle management, and performance-intensive applications.