Iomega StorCenter NAS is great for backups

You can never be rich enough or thin enough, and you can never have enough storage.

I’ve been playing with Iomega’s brand new StorCenter ix2-200, a 4TB network-attached storage/home server that totally kicks NAS!

Not only is it a nice big target for Time Machine backups, it’s also an iTunes server. It plays nice with the Mac, and is dead easy to set up and use.

Aimed at small business and home users, Iomega’s StorCenter ix2-200 offers cheap network storage AND a media server. It’s a killer combo: you get a big roomy drive for Time Machine and a no-setup server for storing gobs of music and movies. Your media is accessible by any Mac or PC on your home network — as well as the Apple TV and the kids’ Xbox. Your files are also accessible over the internet.

Best yet, it’s a torrent machine, able to download and store torrents in the background. You just double-click on the torrent jobs you want downloading, and the ix2-200 does the rest. It’s fast and doesn’t clog your internet connection like a lot of Mac clients. Plus you don’t have to leave your machine on while you wait for the torrents to finish downloading. There’s also a built-in video player so you can watch downloaded torrents through the ix2’s browser interface. It plays video encoded in popular formats like .avi and divx, so no need to download VLC or Perian.

The ix2-200 is available in 1TB to 4TB capacities. Starting at $270 for the 1TB model, it costs $370 for the 2TB version and $700 for the 4TB version (two 2TB drives are still pretty expensive). That might sound pricey, but a comparable Hewlett Packard MediaSmart Home Server also costs $700 but offers only 1.5TB of storage. Yeah, the HP offers more performance, but it’s probably overkill in a typical home setting. According to Iomega, the ix2-200 can serve five simultaneous HD video streams at the same time, and support about 20 users at the same time.

It serves up media not just to Macs, Windows and Linux PCs, but UPnP devices like networked TVs and game consoles, including the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It’s preconfigured to share through iTunes and automatically shows up in iTunes as a shared device.

Setup was a breeze. I plugged it into the wall and home/office router, then ran the setup utility on my Mac. A few clicks later, and there it was in the Finder as a shared drive. Open Time Machine, and it’s available for backups. Dead easy. Another NAS appliance I’m reviewing wasn’t nearly as easy to set up..

The ix2-200 is configured through a browser interface, which is very intuitive (also unlike the other NAS appliance). Easy to add users, shared folders, set storage quotas and setup an FTP server.

The only problem I’ve had is with the browser interface, which is a little glitchy. Sometimes it jumps to a “configure network settings” screen, which disappears if you hit the Home link. It’s annoying, but not a deal breaker.

It’s got a gigabit connection and two drive bays. Drives are user replaceable, and it’s easy to add extra storage — just plug external drives into the three USB ports (one in front; two in the back).

Iomega says the ix2-200 is pretty green. It uses new green drives and automatically spins them down when not in use.

It also supports Bluetooth for backup and storage for smartphones, but alas not the iPhone until Apple adds for support for Bluetooth file sharing. It will work with jailbroken iPhones though. Requires a separate Bluetooth adapter (price TBD).

There’s a front panel “quick transfer” button for automatically copying files to and from USB thumb drives, flash memory cards and external USB drives. It can also initiate pre-set network copy jobs, which is useful for things like offsite backups.

There’s a bunch of other features for business users I’ll likely never use — like iSCSI for fast data transfers and support for up to five networked security cams.

But that’s all good. The iX2-200 is a great, full-featured package that’s not just a dumb hard drive but a capable addition to any home or office network. Recommended.

Overland Storage Launches NEO 200s and NEO 400s Autoloaders

Small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) face some tough choices right now. Disk-based backup is definitely on the rise and has many appealing features, but it can come with a price tag that these organizations simply cannot afford and may not meet all levels of data protection needs. Many SMEs are using tape as a primary backup target or leveraging tape as an archive in a disk-to-disk-to-tape (D2D2T) scenario. It is these requirements that the new NEO® 200s and NEO® 400s entry-level tape libraries announced this week from Overland Storage are designed to address.

There is no doubt that the price of disk-based backup has dropped dramatically over the last few years, even as its acceptance as a backup target has risen. But in small IT shops, tape still has appeal. It is portable, available in a small form factors and its upfront and ongoing costs are minimal, especially if needed to back up only a few hundred gigabytes (GBs) or up to one terabyte (TB) nightly. It is for reasons like these IT offices with budget, space and resource constraints are still purchasing entry-level tape libraries.

But as they look for new entry-level options, their appetite for more capacity and more features is increasing. Growing data centers and few or no IT personnel to manage backups means that hardware and software features once only found in midrange and enterprise tape libraries need to find their way into entry-level tape libraries.

To satisfy this growing hunger, Overland elected to leverage its proven NEO tape library family with the addition of an entry-level offering. The NEO 200s and NEO 400s entry-level tape libraries are the first products in this new line. While they do not possess all the features one will find in the NEOe product line, end users find the following features appealing for backup and archive applications:

* Web-based remote management and diagnostics
* Integrated bar code readers
* Choice of SCSI, SAS or native FC interfaces
* Easy rack installation
* Removable magazines with user-configurable mail slots

Of these features, Overland's decision to continue to support SCSI is notable because many of its competitors are moving to entry level tape libraries that only offer SAS or FC. While SAS interfaces certainly appear to the be wave of the future and are supported on these new Overland systems, continuing to offer a SCSI interface option still makes sense for SMEs since for now SCSI is still more prevalent and standardized than SAS and can provide sufficient throughput for smaller environments.

The NEO 200s and NEO 400s also diverge in a number of ways. The NEO 400s is a larger capacity, more full featured tape library while the NEO 200s more cleanly fits the definition of an autoloader/small library. Some other ways in which the NEO 200S and NEO 400s differ include:

* The NEO 200s supports both LTO-3 and LTO-4 tape drives while the NEO 400s only supports LTO-4 tape drives. Smaller organizations are less likely to have a need for the higher capacities and faster throughput that LTO-4 tape offers plus LTO-3 tapes are, on a per cartridge basis, lower cost than LTO-4 tapes.
* Redundant power supply option on the NEO400s. Overland has learned over the years that SMEs and data-intensive environments have a heightened need for data availability. The ability to add redundant power ensures a "backup" power source and ongoing access to data in the event of a primary power supply failure.
* Planned future options for the NEO 400s. For organizations faced with rapidly changing environments requiring an extra degree of flexibility, Overland is planning to provide a scalability solution that allows them to start with a NEO 400s with 48 slots and add capacity at a later date as needed. An encryption option also is planned to accommodate additional data security and compliance requirements.

Overland Storage Appoints Christopher Gopal Vice President of Worldwide Operations

Industry Thought Leader Joins Executive Team to Align Strategic Supply Chain Model with Operational Best Practices for Optimal Customer Satisfaction & Shareholder Value

Overland Storage, Inc. today announced the appointment of Christopher Gopal as vice president of worldwide operations. In this capacity, Gopal will oversee Overland’s global supply chain and operations strategies encompassing product sourcing, manufacturing, inventory, logistics, fulfillment and demand/supply management.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Chris to our executive team as the head of operations,” says Eric Kelly, chief executive officer of Overland Storage. “Chris is a well-known industry expert with a stellar track record in executing successful supply chain models with world-class results and increased shareholder value. We are confident he’ll play a pivotal part in helping Overland achieve greater operating efficiencies while enabling us to facilitate rapid product development at lower costs to meet market demands and drive business success for our global channel partners.”

Gopal brings nearly 35 years of experience in leading, managing and transforming all aspects of supply chain, operations and product development in an impressive career that spans both prominent global organizations and entrepreneurial start-ups in the technology and telecommunications industries. Previously, he was COO for Applied Solar, Inc., a next-generation solar energy company based in San Diego. He also served as vice president of worldwide operations at Dell, where he helped develop and implement the company’s supply-chain model and operations strategy.

Additionally, Gopal served as senior partner and director of Ernst & Young’s Global Supply Chain & Operations Consulting Services and has held executive positions at SAIC and Unisys. A well-respected authority on supply chain management and global operations, he speaks frequently at industry events and has co-authored three books, including “Supercharging Supply Chains: New Ways to Increase Value through Global Operational Excellence.”

“I look forward to working with Overland’s customers and suppliers to achieve operational excellence and global supply chain success,” said Gopal. “My background, previous experiences and hands-on approach will prove invaluable as we elevate Overland’s operations and build value while reducing costs through integrated demand/supply management.”

Gopal holds a Ph.D. in Business from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the Cranfield School of Management, UK.

Jillian Mansolf at Overland Storage recognized as one of the top 100 women in the channel

SAN DIEGO - August 26, 2009 - Overland Storage, Inc. (Nasdaq: OVRL) today announced that Jillian Mansolf, vice president of worldwide sales and marketing, has been recognized by Everything Channel’s CRN Magazine as one of the Top 100 Women in the Channel. The Top 100 Women in the Channel were chosen by the editors of the magazine based on the women’s achievements as executives and the amount of influence they wield over the technology channel. The Top 100 Women in the Channel represent a changing trend in what traditionally has been an all-male industry.

“We are very pleased to see women executives reaching the highest levels in a wide range of dynamic companies. It is with great pleasure that we honor the women who have made a profound impact in the technology marketplace,” said Robert C. DeMarzo, senior vice president and editorial director, Everything Channel. “We offer our congratulations to Jillian Mansolf for her significant contributions to our industry."

For the past 13 years, Mansolf has leveraged her significant channel sales and marketing expertise to execute highly successful global channel programs for a variety of high-technology organizations. Most recently, she joined Overland to lead the company’s sales organization and expand its strategic marketing efforts worldwide. Overland continually reinforces its channel commitment through the ongoing development of customer-centric resource and lead-generation programs designed to help its channel partners accelerate sales cycles while driving increased revenue and profitability.

“It’s an honor to join this group of inspirational leaders who are being recognized for making an indelible mark on the channel,” said Mansolf. “At Overland, our unwavering’ dedication to building and sustaining long-term channel relationships is reinforced by a constant focus on providing innovative products, sales tools, training and the educational resources our partners need to address their customers’ ever-increasing business requirements.”

Overland Storage appoints new VP of Worldwide Sales and Marketing

Overland Storage, Inc. today announced the appointment of Jillian Mansolf as vice president of worldwide sales and marketing. In this position, Mansolf will leverage her extensive sales and channel marketing experience to lead the company's global sales and marketing teams.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Jillian to our executive team as the head of worldwide sales and marketing,” said Eric Kelly, chief executive officer of Overland Storage. “Jillian is a storage industry veteran with a strong track record of success, including her tenure as an officer and executive at Snap Appliance. Her unique industry perspective as well as significant sales and marketing expertise will prove instrumental in leading the Overland sales organization while broadening our strategic marketing efforts worldwide.”

Previously, Mansolf served as senior vice president of sales and marketing at Data Robotics, where she spearheaded the company's global sales and marketing initiatives. Prior to that, she held various executive positions at Motion Computing, Maxtor and Dell. At Snap Appliance, Mansolf played a pivotal role in doubling sales and establishing the company as the worldwide NAS volume market leader.

Ravi Pendekanti will take on a new role as vice president of business development and solutions. This executive position, which reports to Kelly, reflects the importance of integrated solutions as a major growth driver in Overland's business. “Our strengthened executive team is well positioned to accelerate growth across all major lines of business and geographic areas,” added Kelly. “This will ensure Overland continually delivers compelling end-to-end solutions that effectively meet our customeers' requirements.”

Overland Storage Inks Strategic Disbribution Agreement with Synnex

Overland Storage, Inc. today announced that SYNNEX Corporation, a leading business process services company, has been named a new Overland North American distribution partner. Under the terms of the strategic distribution agreement, SYNNEX will add Overland’s complete line of storage and data protection appliances to the suite of solutions that SYNNEX already offers to its more than 15,000 resellers.

The agreement reinforces Overland’s continued channel commitment while complementing the company’s focus on bringing enterprise-class capabilities to mid-range customers through affordable and reliable products that reduce backup windows, accelerate recoveries, streamline data retention and facilitate cost-effective disaster recovery. Additionally, the partnership with SYNNEX will provide added benefits for Overland channel partners seeking innovative disk-based backup and recovery, tape automation as well as SAN and NAS data protection appliances.

According to Ravi Pendekanti, vice president of worldwide marketing for Overland Storage, the distribution agreement with SYNNEX will broaden the reach of Overland’s products while providing channel partners with strong technical expertise and support. “Overland is extremely pleased to partner with SYNNEX to help its vast community of resellers solve
ever-increasing data protection problems,” he says. “Together, we can offer a diverse portfolio of solutions backed by the right level of technical support and responsive service to ensure the availability and accessibility of business-critical data.”

SYNNEX will distribute Overland’s complete product line, including REO SERIES® disk-based backup and recovery, NEO SERIES® and ARCvault™ award-winning tape automation, ULTAMUS™ RAID high-performance SAN and Snap
Server® NAS-based data protection appliances.

"Overland Storage is a well-recognized name in the storage industry, with a reputation for developing affordable, reliable, cost competitive products tailored for small, midrange and distributed enterprises," says Bob Stegner, senior vice president of marketing, North America, for SYNNEX Corporation. "We are very selective in determining which technologies are added to our arsenal of products and are delighted to give our resellers the opportunity to choose Overland for their customers’ data protection needs."

EMC vs NetApp - Bidding war for Data Domain, Inc.

Storage administrators are keeping a close eye on EMC Corp.'s and NetApp's bidding war for Data Domain Inc. and wondering how the fate of the data deduplication backup specialist will impact their shops and the storage industry in general.

While customers generally see Data Domain fitting better with NetApp than EMC, they are nervous about the competitive aspects of the industry's consolidation. Nasser Mirzai, vice president of technology at San Mateo, Calif.-based TradeBeam Inc., has products from EMC, NetApp and Data Domain. He pointed out that Data Domain's product line is more similar to NetApp's than EMC's. NetApp and Data Domain have core software they use across different hardware designs suited to different sized businesses. EMC is also perceived as more of a large enterprise company, according to Mirzai, while NetApp and Data Domain have broader appeal to midrange organizations.

"I think NetApp could keep the same energy and momentum and bring that concept to its full potential of taking a similar approach across different sizes of product," he said. "If the perception is that this is a big monster EMC product and users can't afford it, it may slow down growth and impact adoption [of Data Domain devices]."

Mirzai also said EMC has more potential conflicts of interest with Data Domain customers because of its broad product portfolio. EMC CEO Joe Tucci has already pledged that his company will cooperate with all backup software vendors if it acquires Data Domain, but Mirzai isn't sure.

"What if this means that [EMC] NetWorker support for Data Domain would be better going forward than, say, [Symantec Corp.'s] Backup Exec?" he asked. Added Mirzai: "Data Domain management has already accepted the NetApp offer. I think NetApp has a stronger chance. Then again, money talks."

Storage administrators also suspect gamesmanship in EMC's tender offer to Data Domain shareholders rather than genuine plans for the company's data deduplication backup technology. "I don't think that they [EMC] are really interested in Data Domain," said NetApp customer Reinoud Reynders, IT manager at the University Hospitals Leuven in Belgium. "NetApp has a real advantage in dedupe of online storage." That said, Reynders said he doesn't expect NetApp to break the bank for Data Domain. "I'm very confident that the board of NetApp will only buy it for a fair price," he said.

Even some EMC customers said they worry about the competitive implications of EMC cornering the market on data deduplication with IP from both Avamar Technologies Inc. (which EMC acquired in 2006) and Data Domain. Sean O'Mahoney, vice president and senior manager of technology services at Republic Bank in Louisville, Ky., considered Data Domain but picked EMC's Avamar, NetWorker and DL3D virtual tape library (VTL) based on a partnership with Quantum Corp.

"Data Domain did have some features we liked – it would be positive for us if EMC picks it up," O'Mahoney said. "But if NetApp gets Data Domain, the consumer wins as it's a more competitive environment."

Another EMC customer, David Grant, data center manager at Kanata, Ontario-based Mitel Networks Corp., wrote in an email to SearchStorage.com, "If I had my 'druthers' I think that I'd rather see the young guy win…I have less trust in EMC's intentions, or in [its] ability to successfully add in Data Domain's technology to their existing product lines without losing something along the way. EMC [is] maybe just too big and set in [its] ways for me to feel good about [it] being the winning bidder here."

Not every EMC customer feels that way, however. "Obviously, with our investment in mostly EMC equipment and being a Data Domain customer, it probably makes better business sense for us [for EMC to win]," said Michael Passe, storage architect at Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "Generally, EMC doesn't have the strictly à la carte pricing model that NetApp follows on its NAS [network-attached storage] equipment."

But some NetApp customers find the consolidation just as worrying no matter who wins. Jim Krochmal, manager of IT at cement plant designer Polysius in Atlanta, wrote in an email to SearchStorage.com, "I prefer NetApp so I can stay in the same 'product family.' It just seems we have to declare allegiance to 'corporate families/gangs/partners' these days," he wrote. "[That means] fewer choices and less compatibility at full functionality."

Added Stan Horowitz, data management engineer at Philadelphia-based Temple University, "My concern is that the playing field in the area of data deduplication will be narrowed because both NetApp and EMC already offer competing solutions to what Data Domain offers."

Who will win the EMC, NetApp bidding war for Data Domain?

While customers consider how Data Domain's acquisition will affect them, industry analysts are debating who will win EMC Corp.'s and NetApp's bidding war for Data Domain Inc.

"Here is how this plays out," said Brian Babineau, a senior analyst at Milford, Mass.-based Enterprise Strategy Group. "NetApp counters with a richer offer, and EMC doesn't because it was just doing this to raise the price and they bow out." After a year or so spent squarely in the sights of EMC in a bitterly competitive market, Babineau said he doubts Data Domain employees would want to be integrated into EMC. "They are OK with NetApp," he said.

Backup expert W. Curtis Preston is just as certain EMC will prevail, writing in his blog, "There's no way NetApp's going to outbid EMC here. Everyone already thought that [$]1.5 [billion] was too much for NetApp to pay, given their track record with acquisitions. How are they going to outbid a [$]1.8 ALL CASH bid? …Methinks they're back to square one."

One customer who uses EMC and NetApp has a good idea who the ultimate winner will be.

"More than likely, the only clear winners will be the lawyers," said Tom Becchetti, who works with a Fortune 200 company that he requested not be identified because of corporate policy forbidding him to use its name publicly. "Data Domain stockholders won't be doing bad either."

EPA begins long process to green storage specification

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking to develop standards for making data storage devices more energy efficient, although it's probably years away from having an industry-standard green storage specification.

The EPA issued an industry letter indicating that it's taking formal steps to develop an Energy Star specification for enterprise data storage devices. Meeting the voluntary Energy Star spec would allow data storage equipment manufacturers to use the familiar Energy Star marketing label to promote product energy efficiencies. The EPA already has a similar Energy Star program for computer servers, and the server specification is expected this week.

There's a lot of talk about green storage from vendors, but customers have no formal way of comparing products to determine their power efficiency.

Andrew Fanara, program manager for the EPA's Climate Protection Partnership Division, said the agency wants to develop more standardized information to measure the energy consumption of data center products.

"The long-term Holy Grail, if there is one, is to be able to measure how efficient systems are when they're actually doing computing," Fanara said, "and then presenting that information to users and buyers in an industry-standard format."

No deadline has been set for establishing the green storage specification. Fanara said the process could take anywhere from six months to three years, depending on technical issues, industry interest and manufacturer support. Greg Schulz, founder and senior analyst at Stillwater, Minn.-based StorageIO Group, said he expects the initial specification in 18 months to two years.

Challenges to data storage industry agreement
Schulz said the EPA's biggest challenge will be getting the data storage industry to agree on an initial specification and a roadmap for future green storage specifications. "In some ways, the EPA is tasked with herding cats," he said.

The specification is a blueprint that will define the energy guidelines enterprise data storage devices must meet to participate in the Energy Star program, Fanara said. Once a product meets the specification guidelines, manufacturers can voluntarily submit the product information to the EPA and the product will be added to a data storage equipment Energy Star-compliant list.

Schulz said the specification's applicability to storage users' real-world needs will be the key to its success. "The program's metrics have to be of benefit for the IT organization," Schulz said. "Otherwise, it's just an interesting exercise."

Schulz believes the initial green storage specification should focus on the amount of energy a storage device uses while working, as opposed to the device's energy use while idle.

"With the focus on efficiency optimization, boosting productivity and business economic sustainability, the issue then becomes how efficient the device is while doing work," he said.

Framework for testing and performance
Fanara said he expects the EPA to issue a framework document within 60 days, prepared by the EPA Energy Star technical staff in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy. Energy Star staff will also gather input from data storage devices users, buyers and component suppliers. The framework will identify initial testing procedures, and the performance and features organizations typically look for when buying data storage.

The framework will be released to the industry for comments and feedback on identifying barriers to energy efficiencies and standardized product information.

Battling to make data centers green
Fanara said the green storage specification is part of the EPA's concentration on increasing data center energy efficiency.

He said the agency has "identified data centers as an important growing source of energy consumption, especially given its unique position as a critical component of our country's computing backbone."

The Energy Star program is developing a data center and office building benchmarking program that will rate a building's energy efficiency from one to 100. So far, the agency has benchmarked close to 100,000 office buildings nationwide, Fanara said.

To help storage managers identify and evaluate data center energy-efficiency opportunities, the U.S. Department of Energy offers the Data Center Energy Profiler (DC Pro) software tool suite, which includes two free software tools for data center managers. The DC Pro Profiling Tool diagnoses how energy is used in a data center, and provides ways to save energy and money. The DC Pro Assessment Tools conduct a more accurate assessment of data center energy-efficiency opportunities for each major data center system.