Atto Media Storage Platforms for IBM DS 3000/5000 With Mac Workstations

ATTO Technology, Inc. announces has completed enablement for IBM System Storage DS3000 and DS5000 series disk storage systems operating in Mac OS X environments. The use of ATTO 8Gb Celerity Fibre Channel host bus adapters with Quantum StorNext data management software offers a high-availability IBM storage solution for the Mac market. This combination allows Mac users access to a robust midrange storage solution that is designed to enhance workflows and increase productivity by keeping content available in real time.

One of the first to put the solution to the test is Brigham Young University-Hawaii. “This solution has revolutionized the way we work, and opened the door for creativity; removing limitations on speed and capacity, while ensuring redundancy,” stated Russ Merrill, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Director of Instructional Media and Production.

ATTO Celerity Fibre Channel HBAs allow for connectivity to Mac Pro workstations and Apple servers running Mac OS X. A custom driver, developed by ATTO for use with Celerity host adapters, provides the high-availability connections to the IBM DS5000 series storage while ensuring maximum bandwidth and minimal latency. ATTO’s years of digital media industry experience with high-bandwidth environments ensure that Celerity host adapters are tuned for optimal performance.

“The combined capabilities of ATTO’s Celerity host adapters and the IBM DS5000 System Storage will meet customer’s demands for high-availability and high-performance requirements,” states Timothy Klein, President and CEO of ATTO Technology.

StorNext data management software enables high-performance file access and sharing, as well as integrated data archiving capabilities. BYU-Hawaii decided to run the StorNext solution on IBM Bladecenter servers based on their superior price/performance capability.

The integration of the video production department’s local storage into the BYU-Hawaii IBM DS5000 SAN system was a crucial component. “IBM came out ahead with both performance and price,” according to John Call, Systems and Network Administrator for Brigham Young University-Hawaii. The advantages were recognized first hand; “With all of the testing that has gone into the infrastructure, all of us sleep soundly knowing that the content will be there when we need it.”