IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is rolling out a "turbo" option for its recently introduced midrange FastT 600 storage system, as Big Blue's partnership with LSI Logic Storage Systems Inc. -- which manufactures the FastT line of subsystems -- continues to yield dividends.
The turbo option, according to IBM, more than doubles the capacity of the current FastT 600 and boosts its speed between 40 and 70 percent, at a lower price than similarly configured products from other vendors. The enhanced system provides up to 16 Tbytes with 112 drives (compared with a previous maximum of 6 Tbytes with 42 drives) (see IBM Intros FastT Turbo Option).
As far as performance, IBM claims the turbo upgrade, which uses new controllers from LSI, improves out-of-cache performance from 45,500 I/O operations per second (IOPS) to 75,500 IOPS. IBM rolled out the FastT 600 in April as a replacement for its entry-level 200 system (see HP, IBM Muscle Up Midrange).
The FastT 600 turbo, slated to be generally available Sept. 12, will be priced starting at $26,570 for a customer-installable upgrade to an existing 600, and $36,569 for a fully configured system through an IBM reseller.
"You almost have enterprise-type performance in a subsystem that would normally be considered entry level," says Ron Johnson, senior partner at the Evaluator Group, a storage consulting firm. "IBM's done an excellent job with the FastT family."
