Appliance Deployment Featured Article

Backup and recovery specialist Quantum (News - Alert) Corporation last week announced the general availability of the StorNext M330 metadata controller appliance, the first hardware version of the company's popular file-sharing and data management software. The appliance deployment strategy should help the San Jose, Calif.-based vendor target customers with throughput challenges and "big data" management needs.

Quantum's products are most often utilized by media and entertainment companies – such as producers, broadcasters and studios – to share and store large video files. In fact, the company's StorNext software is currently being utilized by the big four television networks as well as the majority of major cable providers and movie studios, according to BroadcastingCable.com.

The appliance deployment approach is aimed at providing archiving and file-management solutions to a wider range of customers through a single piece of hardware, Shawn Klein, Quantum's senior director of strategic marketing and alliances, told the news source. The M330 should help Quantum serve additional customers in the entertainment and media fields, as well as other companies that commonly handle large video files, he added.

"Once an issue for only Hollywood and select government agencies, rapid yet cost-effective ingest and ongoing data management of exploding rich content pools is now a critical requirement for many enterprises and mid-sized businesses," Richard Villars, vice president of storage and IT executive strategies at research firm IDC (News - Alert) noted in a statement.

"Solutions like Quantum's new StorNext M330, a powerful and easy-to-use appliance, will make it easier for IT organizations to effectively address the complexity of accessing and sharing video," he concluded.

The M330 is designed to be installed and scaled with ease. The appliance manages the access and sharing of large data files, eliminating the need to purchase a disk subsystem or tape library. The device includes all the functionality of the company's base file-sharing and data management software, as well as enhanced GUI and reporting tools, two StorNext SAN clients for the controllers and 10 StorNext SAN clients for supporting operating systems.

The new appliance can be purchased from Quantum or participating channel and distribution partners for $75,000. The solution includes StorNext hardware and software as well as licenses for 10 SAN clients, Klein told CRN.

Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jamie Epstein