Synchronous replication enables data to be stored on multiple StorTrends® storage appliances at multiple sites, for high availability and disaster recovery capability. Asynchronous replication bundles I/Os and sends them to the remote server after a small time lag, boosting network utilization efficiency and reducing bandwidth cost. Snap-assisted replication replicates delta snapshots from the primary system in chronological order to the secondary, so that in the event of a failover, the system will automatically recover to the latest available, consistent snapshot image.


Thin provisioning enables the administrator to create and manage storage volumes without restrictions. The provisioned volume size can be significantly larger than current physical storage capacity, so users can purchase additional StorTrends storage appliances as their needs grow.


High Availability grouping allows two StorTrends SAN heads to be grouped as highly available cluster nodes for Microsoft® initiators, for extreme fault tolerance and always-up availability. This technology provides protection against disk, path, and node failures with automatic, seamless failover.


StorTrends iTX 2.7 software also features an advanced snapshot capability utilizing Redirect-on-Write (ROW) technology. Administrators have the ability to schedule SAN and NAS snapshots, and to create and rollback to any snapshot in under a second. StorTrends iTX 2.7 supports SAN snapshots using Microsoft® VSS snapshot technology, or through agents specific for application servers like Microsoft® Exchange Server and Oracle®. SQL Server is also supported through VSS, and VSS-based snapshots support agent-less LAN-free backup. StorTrends iTX 2.7 also employs consistency groups to ensure application-aware snapshots.


Advanced caching improves read and write-back performance and efficient I/O scheduling, while I/O aggregation significantly improves snapshot performance.


Finally, integrated web-based management with AMI's ManageTrends® storage management interface provides a simple configuration wizard to manage volumes, snapshots, logical disks, quotas and alerts, and the power to control the discovery and management of multiple StorTrends appliances.


StorTrends iTX 2.7 and the the Intel® Storage System SSR212MC2