Press Release
Bus-Tech, Inc. Announces The Mainframe Appliance for Storage
New Product Leverages Open-System Disk Storage into Mainframe Environments
Burlington, MA - May 1, 2002 -- Bus-Tech™, Inc., a leading supplier of data center connectivity products, announced today the Mainframe Appliance for Storage, a virtual tape controller for System/390 mainframes. The Mainframe Appliance for Storage provides ESCON channel connectivity to the mainframe and SCSI or Fibre Channel connectivity to low-cost, open-system disk storage.
The Mainframe Appliance for Storage is a flexible, low cost solution for customers considering mainframe virtual tape solutions. With corporations that have or are considering Storage Area Networks, Bus-Tech, Inc.'s Mainframe Appliance for Storage allows consolidation of mainframe tape data into their overall SAN strategy.
"With the Mainframe Appliance for Storage we are realizing a 35% to 60% reduction in our batch processing windows." Stated Kevin Sweeney, Vice President of Operations for Data Distributors, Inc., a mainframe outsourcing company based in Methuen, MA. "This allows our operators to devote more time and effort toward customer service initiatives, and as a result, improved customer satisfaction and support."
The Mainframe Appliance for Storage (MAS) operates as a virtual tape sub-system for use with IBM System/390 or zSeries mainframes. The MAS connects directly to System/390 through an ESCON attachment and emulates multiple (up to 16) IBM 3480 tape drives. Applications running under z/OS, OS/390 or VSE can attach to one of these emulated drives and use it as they would a real tape drive. But instead of creating or reading real tape volumes the MAS stores these virtual tape files on SCSI or Fibre Channel attach standard disk. As an enterprise storage offering, the MAS platform consists of dual hot-swappable power supplies and fans in addition to extensive platform management capabilities.
"The Bus-Tech, Inc. Mainframe Appliance for Storage connects mainframe-based data with open systems SAN and NAS allowing users to tap into mainframe data stores," said John Webster, senior analyst and Founder of Data Mobility Group. "The relatively low cost of the MAS solution will make business continuance and disaster recovery implementations much more affordable to mid-range mainframe users, as well as making mainframe data securely available for a number of additional applications such as data mining and web-based content distribution."
Future releases of the product will include support for: Network Attached Storage (NAS), IBM's new FiCON channel technology, iSCSI for real-time remote data vaulting and SCSI DLT/LTO removable media. The product is available from Bus-Tech, Inc. and its authorized resellers in May 2002. Prices range from $27,500 to $45,000.
About Bus-Tech, Inc.
Bus-Tech, Inc., founded in 1987 is the industry's leading provider of state-of-the-art connectivity solutions for the data center to Original Equipment Manufacturers. The company's powerful suite of adapter and platform solutions satisfy even the most rugged demands of data processing professionals for high-bandwidth, high-availability and high-performance connectivity. With more than 15,000 installed sites worldwide, Bus-Tech, Inc. is a recognized leader in the data center interconnect market. Headquartered in Burlington, MA, the company is privately held with locations around the world. For more information about Bus-Tech, Inc. and its products, please visit the Bus-Tech, Inc. World Wide Web site at http://www.bustech.com, send e-mail to , or call 800-284-3172 or 781-272-8200.