DataCore Aims Major Software Enhancements at Shared Storage Requirements for Virtual Server Infrastructures

New release of SANmelody and SANsymphony storage virtualization software materially improves performance, availability and utilization for Virtual Infrastructure

CANNES, France and FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida - Visitors to VMworld Europe 2009 were among the first to learn how new versions of DataCore SANmelody(tm) and SANsymphony(tm) storage virtualization solutions materialize into SAN-wide performance boosts, radically simple, high-availability, and optimum disk utilization for users of Virtual Infrastructure.

64-bit "Mega Caches" Boost SAN-wide Performance

Leading the list of new features in SANmelody 3.0 and SANsymphony 7.0 are native 64-bit controller software with support for mega cache capacities. "In large scale, consolidated data storage, cache is king," commented James Price, vice president channel and product marketing, DataCore Software. "DataCore's solutions will now support up to a terabyte (TB) of cache. They dwarf anything in the market and scale linearly with each node that you add to the fabric." The entire working set of a large number of virtual machines can now be kept in SAN-wide cache for unprecedented performance. Behind the cache, VMware customers can grow their storage pools from a few hundred gigabytes to multiple petabytes.

Radically Simple, High-Availability for Non-Stop Storage Virtual Infrastructure

Needless to say, storage pools of such immensity are in constant flux. With this in mind, the new product enhancements are fully integrated into DataCore's radically simple, high availability solutions for VMware. Only DataCore allows maintenance, upgrades, expansion, and failures to take place throughout portions of the storage infrastructure without disrupting applications. "VMware customers are demanding that the many storage-related interruptions they face while making metro-wide, virtual machine migration, failover and load balancing be eliminated. Solutions like those offered by DataCore are addressing these interruptions and are critical to making these tasks practical," said George Crump, senior analyst at Storage Switzerland.

Full Use: Efficient Space Reclamation for Thinly Provisioned Storage

Both SANmelody and SANsymphony offer the choice to thinly provision virtual disks rather than tie up physical capacity when LUNs are first created. This is particularly desirable with virtual machines that generally consume only a small fraction of the total volume assigned to them. In the new releases, previously allocated or thinly provisioned space can be reclaimed in the background after applications or file systems no longer need it. With this functionality, the SAN returns unused capacity that may have been temporarily needed for some operations and can now further optimize resource utilization.

Windows Server 2008-based, Universal Storage Controllers

Configuring DataCore software on x86/X64 Windows servers transforms them into universal storage controllers. ESX servers and virtual machines (VMs) needing storage, connect to the DataCore controllers using iSCSI or Fibre Channel. All of the popular operating systems, including Windows Server 2003, 2008, Unix, Linux, NetWare and MacOs can take advantage of DataCore's SAN-wide storage virtualization features. In small configurations, the DataCore controller is hosted on a VM as a virtual appliance alongside application VMs. The SAN is completely virtual needing no external storage. Larger configurations dedicate physical servers to this storage virtualization role and typically include both internal disk drives and external arrays. The new SANmelody 3.0 and SANsymphony 7.0 releases have been re-architected to exploit the power and scalability of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 for either virtual or physical x86 and x64 platforms as universal storage controllers.

New Hypervisor Migration Support and Tighter Integration to VMware Virtual Center

DataCore's "Transporter" time saving migration facility is a new option in SANmelody 3.0 and SANsymphony 7.0. Transporter migrates disk images and workloads between different operating systems, hypervisors and storage subsystems - eliminating lengthy backups and restores due to complicated format conversions
In addition, a plug-in for VMware's Virtual Infrastructure Client is a no-charge option that allows administrators to non-disruptively provision, share, clone, replicate and expand virtual disks among physical servers and VMs.

All DataCore Packages for VMware will be Updated to SANmelody 3.0 and SANsymphony 7.0

DataCore has a suite of ten SANmelody-based Business Continuity (BC) and Disaster Recovery (DR) packages available for VMware environments, ranging from Feature Packed BC/DR SAN Starter Virtualization Bundles to a Feature Packed BC/DR 32 Terabyte SAN Virtualization Bundle to virtually unlimited capacity SANsymphony Bundles.

Key features include:

* Highly Available, Shared Virtual Disks
* Thin Provisioning
* Online Snapshots
* Disaster Recovery (DR)
* High-speed Caching

As of March 2009, all the BC/DR Packages will all be shipped with the new SANmelody 3.0 capabilities. For more details on the Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery packages, please visit: www.datacore.com/SMBpackages.

DataCore yields the highest availability, fastest performance and fullest utilization from your storage assets, making it an essential element of VMware configurations.

Free 30-day trial - Try DataCore Today!

DataCore's storage virtualization software solutions pool and mirror disk blocks across available devices, despite differences in make and model. In the process, they speed up I/O response and throughput using extensive SAN-wide caching.

For a free 30-day test drive, please visit: www.datacore.com/trialsoftware.

About VMworld Europe 2009

Join Europe's largest virtualization community from 24-26 February at The Palais des Festivals, Cannes, as VMware hosts VMworld Europe 2009. For more information, visit www.vmworld.com/europe.

About DataCore Software

DataCore Software, the leading provider of storage virtualization SAN software, fundamentally changes the economics of managing storage with innovative software that combines advanced functions and services with the agility and savings of hardware independence. DataCore lowers the cost and complexity of IT by making storage efficient, fast, flexible, fail-safe and virtual. DataCore's portable storage server software simplifies and automates capacity expansion and centralizes storage management for Windows, UNIX, Linux, MacOS and NetWare operating systems as well as hypervisors from VMware, Citrix, Microsoft and other suppliers. DataCore is privately held and its corporate headquarters are in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. For more information, call (877) 780-5111 or visit www.datacore.com.

DataCore and the DataCore logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of DataCore Software Corporation. Other DataCore product or service names or logos referenced herein are trademarks of DataCore Software Corporation. All other products, services and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Corporate Contacts:
DataCore Software
Bettye Grant
Tel: 954-377-6000
publicrelations@datacore.com

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Red Nine PR
Stuart Smith
336-896-1874
ssmith@redninePR.com