Acer presents a simple and modular storage system for SMB

With Acer-Hitachi SMS 100 the Taiwanese company heads for flexibility and ease of use without compromising on performance and ensuring low management costs

Global Press Conference -- Budapest, September 19, 2008 -- The growing digitalization of business information and companies' data entails, even for SMB, a steady growth of storage space and the need to deal with complex backup and archiving. An issue that, even not taking into account the costs, becomes more critical when one considers most of the systems on the market are unsuitable to meet SMB's needs. Of course, considering that the lack of full-time IT people reduces the possibility to introduce new technologies.

Acer-Hitachi Simple Modular Storage 100 is the answer to these and other needs. "Acer-Hitachi SMS 100 is a revolutionary storage product, that offers enterprise class features but does not require specific storage experience to be installed and connected to any server through a Ethernet network. All our partners are more than qualified to deliver to the end user a high level yet low cost solution," explains John Roberts, Server Business Unit Director, Acer EMEA. He also points out, "The entry level configuration includes six disks with a starting price of 6,000 euro while other product available on the market are usually more expensive and do not include disks."

High reliability and easy upgrade
Acer presents a complete solution that includes one or two controllers, 6, 8 or 12 high performance SAS (Serial SCSI) disks or cost-effective SATA II supporting RAID 6. In addition, all models are equipped with two open drive slots for installing replacements, allowing the user to replace the disk drive in the extremely rare event of a disk failure. High reliability is one of Acer-Hitachi SMS 100 strong points.

More precisely, Acer-Hitachi SMS 100 has no single point of failure. This means that should disk failure occur, the system would continue to operate without any disruption. The second controller ensures the availability of all volumes in the event of a controller failure. In a similar way, RAID 6 allows for any two HDDs to fail without losing data and protects data integrity. In the event of a failure, the disks can be replaced without affecting the system operation. "It is not even necessary to remove the damaged disk," explains Roberts. "All you need to do is insert the new disk in the slot and the system will automatically rebuild the RAID group." Finally, in the highly unlikely event that the entire system needs to be replaced, all is required it is to connect a new SMS 100 and activate the automatic data copy with just a click. All the data will be quickly copied from the old system to the new one.

This feature can be useful also when the growth of the company calls for an increase of the storage capacity. Thanks to the auto-migration feature, upgrading the system to a larger capacity or higher performance is very straightforward. It is only required to install another Simple Modular Storage and connect it to the existing system to automatically copy all data.

Data Copy software included to provide a complete solution
In order to provide a solution complete with integrated data protection, Acer-Hitachi SMS 100 has been equipped with data copy software easy to use thanks to its point-and-click GUI.

Owing to this program, you do not have to copy the entire data volume, but can duplicate only the changes made to the data volume. The snapshot software included ensures quick data protection, with no impact on the server performance. In case of more complex copy/recovery operations, is available an optional software that allows to create data copies without interfering with SMS 100. Moreover, as an option ShadowImage Replication and TrueCopy Extended Distance software are also avalilable.

Capacity to meet any need
Acer-Hitachi SMS 100 is designed to directly address the capacity and performance needs of virtually every organization. Best of all, the system supports all the main server OS available, such as Hp-Ux, Ibm Aix, Microsoft Windows 2003, Microsoft Vista, Microsoft XP, Novell NetWare, Red Hat Linux, Red Flag Linux, Suse Linux, Sun Solaris and VMware. Furthermore, Acer-Hitachi SMS 100 complies with RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances) directives, so that Simple Modular Storage not only is compliant with the rules that restrict the use of hazardous substances in electronic appliances but is also energy efficient, making the solution highly convenient.

Businesses can decide to choose capacity (opting for cost per GByte) with 500 or 750 GB SATA II disks or prefer performance selecting SAS HDs. Serial Attached SCSI interface ensures high performance storage while allowing seamless access to the disks, even in the event of failure. Acer-Hitachi SMS 100 supports 146 and 300 GB high speed (15,000 rpm) SAS disks.

All key operations, such as setup and configuration, volumes provisioning (that is assigning volumes to servers or network areas), protection, backup and restoring are managed by a clean, straightforward, easy to use user interface. "Considering the ease of operation and the high reliability of the product, the system management can be safely outsourced and entrusted to Acer Solution Partners, for instance, without increasing management and maintenance costs," says Roberts.

For product specifications and availability, please contact your nearest Acer branch office. Acer's contact information may be found on http://www.acer.com.

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About Acer
Since its founding in 1976, Acer has constantly pursued the goal of breaking the barriers between people and technology. Focused on marketing its brand-name IT products around the globe, Acer ranks as the world's No. 3  vendor for total PCs and No. 2 for notebooks, with the fastest growth among the top-five players. A profitable and sustainable Channel Business Model is instrumental to Acer's continued growth, while the successful mergers of Gateway and Packard Bell complete the company's global footprint by strengthening its presence in the U.S., and enhancing its strong position in Europe. Acer Inc. employs 5,000 people worldwide. 2007 revenues reached US$14.07 billion.

Contact:
Stella T.H. Chou, Henry Wang
PR, Branding Division
8F, 88, Sec.1, Hsin Tai Wu Rd., Hsichih,
Taipei Hsien 221, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Tel: 886-2-8691-3204/1046
Fax: 886-2-8691-3262
E-mail: Stella_th_chou@acer.com.tw  Henrywang@acer.com.tw

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