News

posted on 18 February 2008 13:44

LeftHand Networks, the provider of iSCSI storage area networks (SAN) software, is providing solution kits to protect VMware's ESX server against crashes.

LeftHand provides its SAN/iQ iSCSI SAN product in ready-made virtual machine form as its Virtual SAN Appliance (VSA). This forms the basis for its Virtualization Solution Kits and enables an ESX server to crash and be failed over to a second server with the storage facilities moving with it. The two servers run VMware High Availability and VSA, and the VSA is set up so that the ESX servers' local disks form the SAN.

These ESX server protection products are aimed at small and medium businesses on the one hand, and at departments and remote and branch offices (ROBO) on the other. They extend the usefulness of VMware's Acceleration Kits by adding VSA to provide the shared storage needed to implement VMware High availability, VMotion and Distributed Resource Scheduler.

There are four Virtualization Solution Kits and customers choose a specific kit based on VMware features, the number of VMware and VSA licenses, and the need for implementation assistance:-

A) Highly-available application and storage virtualisation kits

1) VMware Standard HA Acceleration Kit with Virtual SAN comprising two VI (VMware Infrastructure) Standard HA Licenses, VMware VirtualCenter Foundation, and two LeftHand Virtual SAN Appliances for $10,990 MSRP

2) VMware Midsize Acceleration Kit with Virtual SAN comprising three VI Standard HA Licenses, VMware VirtualCenter Foundation, 30 VMware Training & Consulting Credits, and three LeftHand Virtual SAN Appliances for $24,990 MSRP.

b) High Availability Application Virtualization Solution Kits

3) VMware Standard HA Acceleration Kit with Shared Storage comprising two VI Standard HA Licenses, VMware VirtualCenter Foundation and one LeftHand Virtual SAN Appliance for $6,990 MSRP.

4) VMware Midsize Acceleration Kit with Shared Storage comprising three VI Standard HA Licenses, VMware VirtualCenter Foundation, 30 VMware Training & Consulting Credits, and one LeftHand Virtual SAN Appliance for $15,990 MSRP.

The kits are available through LeftHand channel partners Alternative Technology and Avnet.

LeftHand's VSA is the first virtual storage appliance certified on the VMware ESX SAN/Storage HCL (Hardware Compatibility List).