Although the NAS Gateway 500 is designed to provide file serving capabilities for IBM eServer systems, IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server, and IBM TotalStorage FAStT products, agents shipped with the gateway also allow customers equipped with IBM TotalStorage SAN Volume Controller to connect non-IBM storage hardware.
Currently, these agents support three models of Hewlett-Packard's storage gear, and one from Hitachi. Others, said Vaughn, will be forthcoming.
The gateway can be managed using IBM Tivoli Storage Manager, Tivoli Storage Resource Manager, and Tivoli SAN Manager, and supports Unix, Linux, and Windows clients.
"Customers have told us they want an enterprise class gateway," said Vaughn in explaining IBM's shift to the higher end. But that's not the only reason. NAS and SAN, he said, have been on a path of convergence for some time.
"Enterprises don't want two different storage infrastructures," he said. "The first step toward [convergence] was the NAS gateway of three years ago. The next step? Integration with storage software technology to mix heterogeneous storage behind the gateway."