HP Buys Clustering Software Maker, Launches D2D Backup Solution

Published: March 6, 2007

by Alex Woodie

Hewlett-Packard continued its resurgence last week when it announced plans to acquire PolyServe, a developer of sophisticated file system software that helps manage storage resources in Windows and Linux environments. The IT giant also unveiled a new disk-to-disk (D2D) storage offering designed for lower-end Windows environments.

PolyServe is a Beaverton, Oregon, company that develops software that helps companies consolidate and virtualize their NAS and SAN resources. The company's flagship products, called Matrix Server, is a clustered file system that allows all nodes in a cluster to read and write data to the same storage array, without bumping heads, eliminating one of the roadblocks to achieving high levels of scalability and availability in a cluster.

HP says it plans to apply the Matrix Server technology to its NAS solutions for the blade server market. "The acquisition will also allow HP to offer customers a powerful consolidation platform for databases that require high performance and resilience," the company said.

The acquisition of PolyServe--a private company with 117 employees and a partnership with IBM--is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to be close within 60 days. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

HP also unveiled the new StorageWorks D2D Backup System, a new disk-based backup device designed to replace tape-based backup processes for computers running Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003.

The StorageWorks offering is available in two flavors: the D2D110 Backup System, which offers 750 GB of backup storage and costs about $2,000, and the D2D120 Backup System, which offers 1.5 TB of storage and costs about $3,000. Both devices feature four RAID-protected SATA drives spinning at 7200 RPM, 1 Gigabit iSCSI (Ethernet) connections, and throughput speeds of up to 40 MB per second.

While the backup devices hold spinning disks, administrators manage them just as they were LTO2 tape drives or autoloaders. Each box can emulate up to four tape devices, and because each tape device can emulate up to 24 separate tape cartridges, the boxes give the user flexibility that comes with having 96 virtual tape cartridges to work with. Each device can be connected to up to four PCs or servers.

Bob Wilson, vice president of Nearline storage for HP's StorageWorks division, says the new devices are ideal for small to mid size businesses (SMBs) looking for simplicity, reliability, and affordability. "The new D2D devices virtually eliminate the main causes of failed backups and slow restores to help protect our customers' most valuable asset--their data," he says.

The StorageWorks D2D Backup System don't become available for purchase until this week, but some early adopters have already put them through the paces.

One such beta site is the Compass Public Charter School in Boise, Idaho. "The HP D2D Backup System allows us to easily backup administrative data and student projects from all three of our servers simultaneously every day, and incremental backups are incredibly fast with a Gigabit Ethernet network," says Sal Simili, who's the volunteer systems administrator for the school.

For more information on the new devices, see h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/d2d_bs/index.html?psn=storage.

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