BANGALORE, INDIA: HP has introduced an easy-to-manage virtual storage disk array designed specifically for mid-size customers who need to reduce the costs and complexity of implementing a storage-area network (SAN).

The HP StorageWorks 4400 Enterprise Virtual Array (EVA4400) offers a combination of high-performance and availability features, virtualization capabilities and advanced provisioning software that makes it ideal for midsize businesses that want to cost-effectively manage large amounts of data in a SAN environment without investing in deep storage experience.

 "HP continues to invest in and expand its portfolio of entry-level storage solutions to address the specific customer business requirements of all market segments," said Manoj Suvarna, Country Manager, HP StorageWorks Division, Hewlett-Packard India. "Other SAN environments typically create significant management overhead, but the powerfully simple EVA4400 is the better solution for midsize businesses since it is easier to configure and automates storage provisioning to improve capacity utilization.

" Third-party testing has shown that IT managers spend up to 75 percent less time managing the EVA due to its superior ease of use when compared to competing arrays from EMC and NetApp.

1 Midsize customers who adopt server virtualization can further reduce their storage costs and simplify consolidation by using the EVA4400.

2 To validate how much better the user experience is for customers and partners using the EVA4400, HP held a challenge of array products comparing the EVA4400 and EMC's competing storage array.

3 In a recent survey of current and planned virtualization users by analyst firm Enterprise Strategy Group, 28 percent said they plan to implement server virtualization in the next six months and 42 percent plan to deploy within the next year.

"After working with both the EVA4400 and EMC products, I would definitely choose the EVA," said Buzz Kaaz, director of IT at Georgia-based Pattillo Construction, the largest private industrial developer in the southeastern United States.

"The interface was easy enough to use that I could do it myself and save the cost of hiring a consultant. With limited resources, Pattillo is forced to make every technology decision align with our business needs. The EVA aids this as a result of its unique virtualization capabilities, which eliminate management complexities. It allows us to aggregate and automate array tasks so we can manage more storage capacity with fewer people."

The EVA4400 has key virtualization features previously available only on high-end arrays, but now at a price designed for midsize businesses. Specifically, the EVA4400 features a dual-redundant hardware architecture that supports local and remote replication software. This eliminates single points of failure and helps ensure maximum uptime. Storage provisioning also is available with HP Storage Works EVA Dynamic Capacity Management (DCM) Software to help efficiently manage resources and improve overall productivity.