Weiss Group Selects Xiotech

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Xiotech Corporation today announced that Jupiter, Fla.-based Weiss Group Inc. purchased Xiotech's newMagnitude(R) 750 storage system. Leveraging Xiotech's new ICON Manager software, the iSCSI-based Magnitude 750 provides the financial and investment services organization with cost effective, easy-to-manage storage.

ICON Manager was a key driver in Weiss' selection process. The software allows storage to be managed in the context of servers and applications, allowing consolidation and simplification of provisioning and management tasks from a single console. It supports several operating systems, including Weiss' Linux-based system, as well as Microsoft Windows 2003, Novell NetWare and VMware ESX Server.

"We looked at several SAN management interfaces and the Magnitude 750's ICON Manager stood out above the rest," said James Santillo, systems administrator, Weiss Group. "The interface works with our Linux based system and simplifies the process for provisioning and expanding storage to servers as needed, greatly reducing the administrative time spent moving data around as storage demands change."

Operating a five-year-old storage system that only supported Fibre Channel, Weiss Group determined it needed a new storage system that would allow it to use more familiar technologies like iSCSI to simplify storage administration and minimize costs. After evaluating a number of vendor offerings, Weiss Group selected the Xiotech(R) Magnitude 750 system.

"With the advancements in iSCSI technology, Magnitude 750 will provide us with high data availability and business continuity," added Santillo."Because our prior data storage system was Fibre Channel it was more expensive to buy and offered functionality and capacity that we were paying for, but not using. With Xiotech, we have the technology our business demands today at a better initial price point. When we need to add more storage capacity in the future, we will be able to add another Magnitude 750 system, ensuring our investment today is better protected."Xiotech Corp.