Auspex NAS Converts Data Off Disk To Simple FilesAuspex NAS Converts Data Off Disk To Simple Files

Auspex Systems Inc. next week will unveil the Network Storage Controller, which will attach to existing storage area networks via the central switch. The NSc3000 will read blocks of data off of any disk and convert them to files, making it easier for customers to use the information. Meta Group analyst Phil Goodwin says that with the NSc3000, users of high-end network-attached storage devices now have three options: Auspex, EMC, and Network Appliance. However, Goodwin adds, "Network Appliance can't do this, and the EMC approach is very complex and expensive."

Kamran Pechrak, manager of the Unix group at Boeing Satellite Systems in El Segundo, Calif., believes NAS vendors lock customers in by selling only proprietary disks. And even though Pechrak realizes that the hard disks are a necessity, he can't wait to try a new approach to getting them. "With the NSc3000, we're supposed to be able to connect any kind of disk rather than a proprietary disk," he says. "We could avoid costs completely and use some legacy disk, or we can put in a high-performance [and expensive] disk system from EMC or Hitachi Data Systems."

Pechrak says Boeing Satellite was using Auspex NAS when it was the only game in town. Now the vendor has added a feature that makes it stand out among bigger competitors: Users aren't required to buy its disks.

Auspex argues that current storage networks, usually based on the Fibre Channel interconnect, are expensive and process all information as digital zeroes and ones, limiting users' options. "We'll bridge the users from IP, where they're hanging out, to a Fibre Channel SAN or direct-attached storage," says Bob Iacono, VP of marketing at Auspex. He says users of the NSc3000 will benefit from that collaborative work. "A CRM app attached from a server to a hard-disk storage system is available to only one user at a time," Iacono says. "On our NAS device, we'll use the same disk for the data, but multiple users can access the file simultaneously."

The NSc3000, which will store up to 9 terabytes of data, will be available in April, with pricing starting at $45,000.