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At the heart of Vicom solutions is a scalable, clustered, fabric-based
appliance platform called the Vicom engine. Each engine is an autonomous
data mover, capable of moving data at "wirespeed," i.e.,
near-maximum FC line speed. As a fabric-based entity, the Vicom
Engine makes both systems and storage devices transparent to one
another by simultaneously providing host and storage virtualization.
No agents or software are required. Appliance-based management centralizes
administration and greatly simplifies management of multiple servers
and storage systems.
Unlike PC-based appliances, the Vicom platform is a tightly integrated
combination of real-time OS, optimized hardware, customized software
and drivers. The result :
enterprise-hardened SAN-level services including instant failover,
10-second re-boot, and instantaneous recovery from system and storage
outages. Unique engine attributes include :
| Integrated Appliance Design |
The Vicom engine is purpose-built to provide transparent,
high-speed SAN-level services. The engine is an independent
system containing its own RISC processor and real time operating
systems, making it an autonomous data mover that moves data
without affecting server or storage performance. A single
Model “I” engine can move data online without
affecting application performance or offline at 175 MB/second.
A simple two-engine cluster can migrate up to 1.3 terabytes
per hour.
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| All Vicom-design |
Providing SAN-wide interoperability requires application knowledge
on subtle differences in communication protocols, timing and
device behavior of many different vendors, which is one of
the reasons nearly all SANs are single-vendor. For example,
instantaneous failover among many types of systems is frequently
prevented by “deadlocking” between certain combinations
of hosts and storage systems. Resolution typically requires
changes to drivers and software, which is difficult to achieve
with third-party software. All software and drivers for the
Vicom engine have been developed by Vicom. The result
: SAN-wide compatibility and
the ability to maintain open-SAN compatibility, even as vendors
release new software and systems.
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| Built for the Enterprise |
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Clustering
and dual power supplies (Model I) provide high availability
with no single point of failure. Should a power outage occur,
the Vicom engine re-boots in 10 seconds. For high availability,
up to 16 engines can be clustered for scalable performance
and enterprise SAN availability. The solidstate design of
the Vicom engine also means higher reliability because there
are no moving parts. Vicom appliances are available in two
models: Model P, an economical, 2U-high appliance with built-in
routing functionality; Model I, an enterprise-hardened, 1U-high
rackmount appliance that comes in single or dual engine (cluster)
configurations. |
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