Announced at the HP Asia Pacific StorageWorks Conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the offerings include enhancements to the HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array, the first embedded switch from Cisco for HP BladeSystem, a new NAS (network-attached storage) gateway and advanced encryption for HP Data Protector Software.

Each product helps address the increased need for unifying and managing direct-attach, NAS and SAN (storage-area network) resources that accompany the significant growth in corporate data servers, said Harry Baeverstad, general manager of NAS in Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP's StorageWorks Division.

Resource Library:

"We have moved over to AMD's 64-bit, dual-core Opteron chips in our storage servers," Baeverstad said. "It's brought a marked performance upgrade ... we're very happy with the results."

HP StorageWorks EVA File Services allow customers to consolidate their storage with an integrated, virtualized solution that serves both application (block) and file data concurrently, Baeverstad said. The new package adds file services to any new EVA4000, EVA6000 or EVA8000 in Windows or Linux environments.

For customers that require high availability and scalable performance, EVA-File Services provides a single, shared pool of storage with no single point of failure and aggregate performance far in excess of traditional NAS appliances or file servers, Baeverstad said. It also offers a single point of control that can be centrally managed and backed up.

Designed for network storage environments, the HP ProLiant DL585 G2 Storage Server is a plug-and-play NAS gateway that provides high-performance, multi-protocol file and print serving and iSCSI connectivity for both enterprise and workgroup SAN environments.

By using the Microsoft Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003 operating system, the storage server offers customers the ability to consolidate resources and create a unified solution that combines file and print serving with application storage, Baeverstad said.

HP also is delivering embedded 4-gigabit Fibre Channel performance with the new Cisco MDS 9124e Fabric Switch for HP c-Class BladeSystem. The integrated design frees up rack space, reduces components and uses shared power and cooling within the enclosure, Baeverstad said.

This offering, the first Cisco embedded fabric switch for HP BladeSystem, allows customers to consolidate SAN environments with a Fibre Channel switch that improves utilization of existing storage and BladeSystem assets, Baeverstad said.

Sodexho, a leading provider of food and facilities management services, was a beta customer for the Cisco MDS 9124e Fabric Switch.

"At Sodexho, we are implementing a plan to consolidate using HP BladeSystem c-Class and virtualization to cut data center costs while streamlining our operation," said lead network analyst Christopher Riccio.

Click here to read more about HP's BladeSystem platform.

"Since all 32 blade servers will be connected to the SAN, the Cisco MDS 9124e Fabric Switch for HP c-Class BladeSystem is key to savings in cables as well as space."

Secure backup plays a key role in meeting the business continuity needs of consolidated storage environments, and HP is enhancing its HP Data Protector Software 6.0 to provide 256-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption.

AES helps to protect data from unauthorized access and allows backups to meet all compliance and regulatory requirements for government agencies and financial institutions.

Designed for businesses where network backup is not secure or the cost of a dedicated encryption appliance is too high, HP Data Protector Software completes backup encryption on the client level, so data is secure during transmission and at rest, Baeverstad said.

Pricing and availability

The StorageWorks EVA File Services will start at an estimated U.S list price of $90,000 for two nodes. They become available on March 1. The ProLiant DL585 G2 Storage Server will have an estimated U.S. list price for the DL585 G2 Storage Server of $18,687 and will become available on Feb. 12.

The Cisco MDS 9124e Fabric Switch for HP c-Class BladeSystem has an estimated U.S. list price of $5,999 for the 12-port model and $9,500 for the 24-port model. They both become available on March 1. Data Protector Software has an estimated U.S. list price of $490 per client (or $2,950 for a 10-client license) and will become available in February.

Check out eWEEK.com's for the latest news, reviews and analysis on enterprise and small business storage hardware and software.