Akara Pushes Faster, Farther Storage NetworksAkara Pushes Faster, Farther Storage Networks

When not preoccupied with cutbacks, some IT managers are kicking the tires of new technologies. Storage networking is getting its share of tests, and a relative newcomer could have the right feature mix for a lot of companies.

Akara Corp. this summer is expected to ship a combination of optical-networking hardware, software, and services capable of filling a gap in existing storage networks. Its products are designed to connect Fibre-Channel, IP, and optical networks in a single machine. The combination would support faster transfer rates and connect longer-distance networks.

Customers who have Fibre-Channel storage networks now can only spread them over 10 kilometers for disaster recovery and other purposes. They can move the information across greater distances via WANs, but at speeds of about an eighth of what a storage network would move it.

Akara's Optical Utility Services Platform revolves around a VCR-sized multiplexer that connects six Fibre Channel or gigabit Ethernet ports to a pair of optical-networking OC48 routers that could process information at 2.8 Gbps. Akara says that by using underused Fibre-Channel and gigabit bandwidth, it can help customers spread storage devices 60 to 200 kilometers apart, and charge customers per use.

Jon Oltsik, VP of marketing at network service provider GiantLoop Network Inc., has tested the hardware. "Akara should be good for more efficient aggregation of the data-traffic-transport backbone and some neat management capabilities," says Oltsik. The "neat" management features include throughput and latency monitoring, virtualization so multiple customers can share the same networks, and security.

Yankee Group analyst Marian Stasney says Akara should succeed in the short term with customers who quickly need long-distance storage networks. "For them, just connecting Dallas [for instance] end to end is a challenge," says Stasney. She admits that while it's extremely new technology, she has no doubt that optical networking will be big in four or five years.