IRVINE, Calif. -- Sept. 10, 2010 -- Sonnet Technologies announces the Fusion(TM) RX1600 Vfibre(TM), a high-performance, expandable 16-drive RAID video editing SAN server with multi-user Fibre Channel and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity built in. This 4U rackmount system integrates Tiger Technology(R) metaSAN Storage Area Network (SAN) Server software with an ATTO dual RAID controller-equipped SAS/SATA storage system. Capable of supporting a 4K workflow or multi-stream, multi-user collaborative workflows, Fusion RX1600 Vfibre provides direct connection for up to twelve 8Gb Fibre Channel users and 6 Gb/s aggregate bandwidth for users connected via Gigabit Ethernet.
"Our Fusion RX1600Fibre customers requested the capability to build the SAN server software into the storage unit itself and also to serve Ethernet as well as Fibre users. We did both with the Fusion RX1600 Vfibre," said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. "Furthermore, the RX1600 Vfibre delivers 65 percent more performance than our acclaimed RX1600Fibre."
Optimized for video editing, the base configuration Fusion RX1600 Vfibre provides four Fibre Channel ports, expandable to twelve -- additional Fibre users can be served with a Fibre Channel switch. Fusion RX1600 Vfibre supports multipath I/O to enhance performance and fault tolerance, combining data paths from two or more FC ports to increase performance to support a 4K workflow, and provide redundancy in case of a cable malfunction, which is the leading cause of storage connection failure.
The Fusion RX1600 Vfibre video editing SAN server employs Tiger Technology's metaSAN, a high-speed file sharing SAN management application, setting a new standard for cross-platform workgroup collaboration. Available for Mac OS(R) X, Windows(R), and Linux(R) users connected via Fibre, metaSAN enables multiple users to simultaneously access a common pool of data files as easily and transparently as if the content was stored on their computer's local drive. The metaSAN deployed on Fusion RX1600 Vfibre makes it the dedicated metadata master for the group, ensuring maximum CPU availability for SAN services and allowing client workstations to connect and shut down at will. This also enables client workstations connected via Fibre to render without affecting the Fusion system's ability to serve data to other connected workstations.
"Tiger is thrilled to see Sonnet bringing to market this powerful and flexible SAN-in-a-box," says Bernard Lamborelle, director of sales at Tiger Technology. "By integrating the most complex SAN components (RAID, switch, and metadata master) in a single unit, the Fusion RX1600 Vfibre offers unmatched ease of integration and exceptional value to anyone wanting high-performance file-level sharing without the intricacies often associated with more conventional setups."
Each workstation connecting to the RX1600 Vfibre over Fibre Channel requires a 1-port or 2-port Fibre Channel host adapter, a metaSAN client license, and a Gigabit Ethernet port dedicated for metadata use. Users accessing files stored on Fusion RX1600 Vfibre through its Gigabit Ethernet ports may copy files using Windows Server 2008 file services, or can purchase Tiger Technology metaLAN software to gain block level access to the SAN storage pool and work directly with the files on the Sonnet system.
The Fusion RX1600 Vfibre provides flexible storage pool configuration. The storage pool is formatted with an easy-to-use integrated system setup, management, and diagnostics configuration application. RAID group partitioning support increases storage efficiency by providing more logical unit numbers (LUNs) without the need to use lower-capacity RAID groups. MetaSAN manages shared storage access the same as any local drive. Standard OS account management tools are used to grant or deny access to the individual users. Integrating additional storage capacity is economical and nearly as easy as attaching a Fusion RX1600 Expansion system with two cables. Fusion RX1600 Vfibre also scales to support many more users with the addition of Fibre switch.
Sonnet's Fusion RX1600 Vfibre's 16 RAID storage drives are controlled by dual ATTO Technology RAID controllers. Featuring ATTO's exclusive Advanced Data Streaming (ADS(TM)) technology, these controllers provide controlled transfer acceleration for steady data streaming, especially important when working with video. ADS compensates for data transfer rate peaks and drops, maintaining a consistent data flow to allow more streams for the bandwidth available. The RAID controllers provide tunable rebuild priority, enabling the Sonnet system to deliver full performance to users during a RAID group rebuild, unlike general-purpose shared storage systems that typically experience a severe drop in performance during a rebuild.
The Sonnet Fusion RX1600 Vfibre is compatible with Mac OS X and OS X Server Versions 10.5+ (including Snow Leopard(R)); Windows Server 2008, 7, Vista(R), Server 2003, and XP Professional; and many Linux operating systems. It works with mainstream video editing applications including Apple(R) Final Cut Pro(R), and Adobe(R) Premiere(R) Pro.
Sonnet Fusion RX1600 Vfibre with either 16TB or 32TB capacity is expected to be available Q4 2010. Pricing is to be announced.
For more information about Sonnet Technologies' products, visit www.sonnettech.com.
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About Tiger Technology
Founded in 2003, Tiger Technology OOD is a privately held company now based in Sofia, Bulgaria. It delivers new technologies and OEM solutions in the field of storage area networking. The company's flagship product metaSAN builds upon years of SAN-related expertise. It is used by thousands of digital content creation facilities and enterprise professionals involved with handling large bandwidth files. metaSAN is a unique, cross-platform, hardware-agnostic, high-speed file sharing SAN management solution that sets new standards for workgroup collaboration and reliability. For further information on Tiger Technology please visit www.tiger-technology.com.
About Sonnet Technologies
Sonnet Technologies Inc. of Irvine, Calif., is a leader in providing storage systems for professional users of Macintosh(R), Windows(R), and UNIX(R) systems in the film, video, and broadcast industries. Since its founding in 1986, Sonnet has pioneered and brought to market innovative solutions that enhance the performance and connectivity of Macintosh and industry-standard computers. Today, the company is a world-leading computer hardware upgrade company with a product line featuring a range of high-performance, cost-effective, and reliable storage solutions, as well as a variety of performance-extending upgrade cards. More information is available at www.sonnettech.com.
