Cluster-in-a-Box Mesos CB220 Value SKU by Quanta QCT

Quanta QCT, manufacturer of server, storage and network equipment for cloud-ready data centers, has unveiled a Value SKU for the MESO CB220 storage appliance.

Pre-configured with Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Storage Server 2012, the cluster-in-a-box solution is tailored to the needs of the SMB market segment.

In traditional HA storage clusters, connections between storage and servers requires numerous network cables, and each server has its own local storage. To support failover, traditional HA storage clusters connect to an external JBOD, which is used as shared storage. The CB220 puts two server nodes and shared storage in a single 2U chassis. This results in higher density, and it also consumes 22% less power than a traditional HA cluster. This design is supported within Windows Storage Server 2012 by default, so users don’t need to connect many external cables, and complex system configuration is eliminated.

The MESOS CB220 Value SKU is a 2U 2-node clustered network storage appliance featuring transparent failover via two redundant nodes in an active/active cluster enabled by Windows Storage Server 2012 Failover Clustering solution. It is embedded with Storage Spaces, a technology that enables virtualized storage by grouping disks into storage pools. The system creates virtual disks called storage spaces from the available capacity in the storage pools. Each node is equipped with two Xeon Processor E5-2609, 32GB of memory, and two GbE ports.

Configuration of the appliance takes approximately 20mn from power on to file sharing. These features and others provide energy and cooling efficiency and infrastructure investment savings over the life of the appliance.

The storage appliance enables cost-effective, optimally utilized, HA, scalable and flexible storage solutions for business-critical deployments. It delivers storage virtualization capabilities that empower customers to use industry-standard storage for single computer and scalable multi-node deployments. It is appropriate for a range of customers, from entry to SMBs, and hosting companies using Windows Storage Server 2012 for highly available storage that can cost-effectively grow with demand.

"Our strategy is to apply ruthlessly efficient hardware design principles that drive acquisition and operational costs down for our customers," said Mike Yang, GM and VP of Quanta QCT. "With the CB220, we’ve done that for our smaller customers. Preconfigured with Windows Storage Server 2012, it gives our customers a powerful value and performance choice."

The CB220 offers up to 48TB of internal capacity and can be expanded to 240TB externally with the Quanta MESOS M4600H disk enclosure. It supports Storage Spaces in Windows Storage Server 2012, as well as RAID-0 and -1.

"Windows Storage Server 2012 introduced breakthrough storage advances including the built-in Storage Spaces technology. With such innovations, Windows Storage Server 2012 provides affordable storage for customers, including organizations that cannot afford expensive storage," said Mike Schutz, GM, server and tools marketing, Microsoft Corp. "By building its MESOS CB220 storage appliance on the foundation of Windows Storage Server 2012, Quanta gives customers a proven solution for highly available clustered storage."