During the Q&A after the keynote, several questions came up on the vendors lack of a strategy for storage virtualization -- the ability to pool different types and brands of storage devices regardless of operating system or network infrastructure (see Virtual Reality?). Canepa told the audience to stay tuned.
Sources at the show say Sun plans to introduce a new product, dubbed the 6900, which will be a version of its high-end StorEdge T3 disk array. This system will run virtualization and policy-based management software from Vicom Systems Inc. The sources say Sun is expected to launch this product at its analysts' event in February next year and will market the technology for use in SANs.
Sun officials had no comment, but its clear something is afoot. At this time, Sun is not commenting on any pending network storage announcements," a spokesperson said. "But, given Sun's high level of investment in this critical area, it's not a surprise that we will have new and significantly enhanced products in 2002. We are not providing any specific details regarding what those might include."
Sun is among the only system vendors that have taken such a decisive stance against IP storage. Competitor Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HWP), in contrast, has officially supported the technique (see HP and Adaptec Bond Over iSCSI ).
Jo Maitland, Senior Editor, Byte and Switch
http://www.byteandswitch.com