HP and Hitachi high-end disk array agreement
Posted: 18 August 2003
HP expands business continuity of HP StorageWorks Disk
Array XP platform with multi-site disaster tolerant solution
HP and Hitachi, Ltd announced they have extended their joint technology
agreement and original equipment manufacturer relationship for the
foundation hardware used by HP to develop the HP StorageWorks Disk
Array XP family. The agreement now extends through 2008.
The HP StorageWorks XP family — designed for enterprise-class
data centres — combines Hitachi’s high-end disk array
technology with exclusive HP-developed software, solutions and services.
Since signing the original contract with Hitachi in May 1999, HP
has continued to extend the XP technology and develop solutions
around the XP family. This includes a Pay-per-Use solution announced
in June and the new HP StorageWorks Multi-Site Disaster Tolerant
Solution described below.
The systems represent a key infrastructure component of the HP
Adaptive Enterprise strategy to deliver greater business agility
and improve the return on information technology investment for
customers.
“The unabated growth of corporate data means sustained, significant
demand for true high-end arrays,” said Charles Ashman, Manager
ESG Product Business Unit, HP UAE, Gulf and Levant. “The continuance
of the relationship between HP and Hitachi shows that each company
is dedicated to delivering high end arrays for enterprise customers
who need absolute data availability and the ability to easily add
and manage many terabytes of data.”
“Customers are demanding more from their infrastructure,
and the HP StorageWorks XP family answers their critical business
needs – whether it’s superior scalability, utility pricing
or bullet-proof business continuance,” said Bob Schultz, senior
vice president and general manager, HP Network Storage Solutions.
“With the extension of our successful relationship with Hitachi,
Ltd., we will continue innovating and supporting industry-leading
solutions based on the XP family.”
“Customers can expect high levels of collaboration and innovation
in future XP product development as HP and Hitachi enter the fifth
year of our successful relationship,” said Naoya Takahashi,
chief operating officer, information and telecommunication systems,
Hitachi, Ltd. “Our partnership is reinforced by a mutual commitment
to adding value to the enterprise with solutions based on the HP
StorageWorks XP disk array platform. The latest proof is the HP
Multi-Site Disaster Tolerant Solution, which asserts the power of
HP and Hitachi to deliver the tools customers need to keep their
businesses running smoothly.”
New Disaster Recovery Solution
The HP StorageWorks Multi-Site Disaster Tolerant Solution combines
HP’s expertise in software, networking, hardware and services
to help customers recover application processing quickly and effectively
— typically in less than one hour — should a local or
regional disaster occur.
The solution includes a local metropolitan recovery site to optimise
resource utilisation and ensure high resilience for normal operations.
Leveraging the versatility of the HP StorageWorks Disk Array XP
platform, HP also establishes a remote, ‘out of region’
site for automated data cycling and complete recovery capabilities.
Two nearby sites — ess than 100 km apart — protect
each other in case of a local disaster. Critical applications are
mirrored synchronously to the second XP system, and in the case
of localised failure, one site can take over application processing
to virtually the exact point where it was interrupted. A third site
located well outside the region offers protection should the two
most preferred sites be lost.
HP software uses the underlying remote copy capabilities of the
XP arrays for local, synchronous mirroring and long distance, asynchronous
mirroring to create redundancy and failover capabilities. The software
allows administrators to coordinate and automate synchronizing data
transfers across the three sites. HP Consulting and Integration
specialists can tailor HP’s management tools to a company’s
specific environment.
More information about the HP StorageWorks Disk Array XP family
and HP’s family of disaster-tolerant and other business continuity
solutions is available at http://www.hp.com/go/storage.
About Hitachi, Ltd
Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading
global electronics company, with approximately 340,000 employees
worldwide. Fiscal 2002 (ended March 31, 2003) consolidated sales
totaled 8,191.7 billion yen ($68.3 billion). The company offers
a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors,
including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial
systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For
more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s Web
site at http://global.hitachi.com.
About HP
HP delivers vital technology for business and life. The company’s
solutions span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access
devices, global services and imaging and printing for consumers,
enterprises and small and medium business. For the last four quarters,
HP revenue totaled $70.4 billion.
More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com.
About HP Middle East
HP is the largest IT company in the Middle East employing about
500 people in the region. HP has been present in the Middle East
since 1968, and opened its first regional office in 1994 and has
offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar, Cairo and
Ramallah servicing the GCC, the Levant and Egypt.
For more information about HP in the Middle East, please visit
www.hp.com/me.
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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