Sun Updates Storage, Virtual Tape Library Products

Sun Microsystems on Monday introduced data deduplication technologies in its storage and virtual tape library product portfolio.

The new technologies have been added to the Sun StorageTek VTL Prime. According to Sun, data deduplication lowers the overall cost of physical storage by storing only unique data, thereby retaining just one copy of data at all times.

In addition, Sun introduced the StorageTek VTL Plus line, which the company says doubles the performance of its VTL Value line and delivers tighter integration with backup applications. The StorageTek VTL Plus line is available in capacities of 12, 24, 36, and 48 TBs.

The StorageTek VTL Prime can be used as a standalone VTL or implemented with the StorageTek VTL Plus for a "cost-effective, tiered data protection architecture," Sun said.

The prime model is meant to synchronize and consolidate the backup process for remote-office and large corporate environments. By replicating only unique data, the system significantly reduces the bandwidth requirements, Sun said. Pricing for the Sun Storage VTL Prime, which was unveiled at Storage Networking World in Orlando, Fla., starts at about $40,000. Sun's tape storage products were acquired back in 2005 in a $4.1 billion acquisition of StorageTek.

The new storage products also fall in line with Sun's recent database purchase. Sun in February announced the completion of its $1 billion acquisition of MySQL and the launch of a new software database group. The open source database is expected to open new markets to Sun.

MySQL is a Web-page-serving database that's used by Facebook, Google, and other large Web companies. Sun is counting on MySQL's continued growth in the $15 billion-a-year database industry to fuel additional software sales out of the Sun portfolio, although analysts put MySQL's share of that at somewhere less than $100 million a year in revenue.

Sun executives have said that Linux, not Sun's Solaris, would remain MySQL's primary operating system. MySQL runs on Linux as its most popular platform, with Windows second, and Solaris coming in a distant third.