Fujitsu Siemens Also Announces New EMC CLARiiON

Together with EMC, Fujitsu Siemens Computers  announces the fourth generation of the FibreCAT CX series based on CLARiiON technology. Fujitsu Siemens Computers looks back on a longstanding partnership with EMC, on the basis of which a large number of innovative solutions have been integrated in the Dynamic Data Center.

FibreCAT CX4-120

With Fibre Channel and iSCSI, the four new FibreCAT CX4 models allow for an efficient consolidation of all storage environments. The optional expansion via Flash Drives in the two largest FibreCAT CX4 models increases the speed of the devices significantly. As a result, Fujitsu Siemens Computers with EMC is one of the first suppliers of SAN systems with flash-based storage. Thanks to the flexible input/output concept (UltraFlex), users are already prepared for the easy and non-disruptive incorporation of future connectivity technologies such as 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel, 10Gb/s iSCSI, or FcoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet). Considerable progress has also been made in the new FibreCAT generation in terms of energy efficiency: the cooling, for example, adapts automatically to the operating temperature (adaptive cooling), and starting in 2009, the maximum speed of the spindles can be reduced as required by a firmware upgrade (disk drive spin down). The optionally selectable flash drives or low-power SATA II drivers also help to reduce energy consumption even further. Virtual Provisioning allows the allocation of storage resources using virtualization. Furthermore, this expanded implementation of Thin Provisioning, increases efficiency because the hard disks are able to work to full capacity to prevent both excess capacities and bottlenecks.

The FibreCAT CX4 systems will be available starting in September 2008 at a price starting at approximately €20,000 directly from Fujitsu Siemens Computers or from the company’s certified channel partners.

"With the new FibreCAT CX4 series, our customers can lower their energy costs and gain highest availability, performance and flexibility at the same time," explains Helmut Beck, Vice President Storage Business at Fujitsu Siemens Computers. "In addition, their investment is well protected because the devices can be easily upgraded to new technologies. Together with the user-friendly management tools, the new FibreCAT CX generation provides an optimal environment for all companies that require large drive numbers and high bandwidth combined with absolute reliability in their storage products."

Kent Ferson, Vice President and General Manager at EMC, comments: "We are excited and pleased that Fujitsu Siemens Computers is announcing the next generation FibreCAT CX4 products at the same time as EMC. This is another major milestone in the decade long partnership between Fujitsu Siemens Computers and EMC. As EMC’s largest EMEA based partner, Fujitsu Siemens Computers continues to be a major contributor to the ongoing success of EMC products and solutions. We are confident that the latest CX4 technology will extend the leadership of our joint offering providing exceptional customer value and performance."

Flexible service packages, user-friendly upgrades
The FibreCAT CX4 series is certified for PRIMERGY servers as well as for the Dynamic Data Center solutions made by Fujitsu Siemens Computers. The devices can be configured either as stand-alone systems or as part of a heterogeneous server and storage solution. All the important components (RAID Controller, fans, power supply, disks) are redundant and hot-swappable. User-friendly management tools make administration simple. Users can easily upgrade their current FibreCAT CX systems to the new generation without having to change anything in the organization of their data, RAID groups or the allocation of LUNs (Logical Unit Numbers) – the new FibreCAT CX4 systems are up to twice as fast and twice as powerful as the previous systems.