May 27, 2010 17:00 ET

PROMISE Enhances VessRAID™ Storage for the SMB Market

iSCSI and NAS Feature Solution in the Same Storage System

TAIPEI, TAIWAN and MILPITAS, CA--(Marketwire - May 27, 2010) -  PROMISE Technology, a leading supplier of sophisticated RAID storage solutions catering to customers from enterprise to consumer, today announced the roll out of a new functional upgrade for its VessRAID iSCSI series of storage subsystems, offering combined iSCSI and NAS features in the same storage box. Customers can refresh the controller firmware of their existing systems that run pure iSCSI protocol to activate the additional NAS features.

Customers can exercise both file- and block-based data transfer over the standard computer network, which greatly increases storage flexibility and usability across a multitude of network applications. This new enhancement is in the 3rd Service Release (SR3) in the VessRAID 1000i series, which will be globally available for download early next month. Users can update the firmware through the Web-based user interface WebPAM PROe or by simply using a USB stick and following the OPAS update guide to complete the task.

"By offering a more reliable and flexible way to enable data archiving, data retention, and data protection we're preparing the VessRAID product line and the company to respond to market demands and progress to the next level of technology innovation," said James Lee, president and CEO, PROMISE Technology. "Our strategy of ensuring business-critical data is securely protected at all times has always been and will continue to be our priority. No company wants access outages or data discontinuity and our newly enhanced VessRAID feature helps protect against this type of event. Not only are we delivering great functional improvements with this upgrade, we are also providing this to our customers at no additional cost, regardless of the PROMISE VessRAID products they have or will have in the future."

In a typical IP SAN deployment, accessing the file system and data backed-up into the storage requires host server connection, and the user has no data access without administrative setup on the host side. The advantage of IP SAN helps IT managers control and manage their distributed storage resource in a centralized manner and gains high interoperability with in-place network facilities and applications. NAS on the other hand, demonstrates a different nature of file sharing; users have instant data access on the storage to perform desired read or write actions to their files at all levels. This largely increases data operational convenience which makes the data storage available to the user via the network. 

In addition to the new NAS enablement, the SR3 also comes with additional feature upgrades:
• Data backup services like remote data sync and online volume copy which allow customers to exercise a system-to-system copy or perform disk volume copy from the clients to VessRAID unit.
• NAS Fusion features compatible data roaming from one storage subsystem to the other, making drive management easy for administrators to consolidate varied sources of disk drives into one box and resolve configuration conflicts from vendor arrays. 
• NTP addresses better troubleshooting process over interconnecting network devices by providing unanimous time table to do later event checking and background activities identification. 

For more information and details about the service release, please read our release notes.

About PROMISE Technology, Inc.
With a long history of innovation, PROMISE Technology develops and manufactures sophisticated RAID solutions recognized worldwide, ranging from a complete line of RAID controller cards to FC/iSCSI/SAS/SATA RAID subsystems. Catering to enterprise, mid-range, entry-level consumer data protection needs, PROMISE products are distinguished by their Unified Common RAID Core and management software and unparalleled support. Headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., PROMISE has operations throughout Asia and Europe. For more information, visit PROMISE Technology's website at www.PROMISE.com.

© 2010 PROMISE Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PROMISE, the PROMISE logo, VTrak, SmartStor, SuperTrak, FastTrak, VessRAID, Vess, PerfectPATH, PerfectRAID, SATA150, ULTRA133 and GreenRAID are registered or pending trademarks of PROMISE Technology, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Information regarding products, services and offerings may be superseded by subsequent documents and are subject to change without notice. For the latest information and specifications regarding PROMISE Technology, Inc. and any of its offerings or services, please contact your local PROMISE office or the corporate headquarters. Visit www.promise.com for more information on PROMISE products.