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STRING BEAN SOFTWARE ANNOUNCES WINTARGET UPGRADES, COMBINES iSCSI STORAGE AND DATA PROTECTION CONSOLIDATION FOR THE WINDOWS PLATFORM
Maryland-Based Company Inks Tier 1 OEM Agreement with Fujitsu Siemens Computers for WinTarget
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, MD. – October 19, 2004 – String Bean Software, Inc., a developer of Storage Area Network
(SAN) software solutions for the Windows platform, today announced the availability of powerful new WinTarget™ features
that extend Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) storage consolidation with integrated data protection.
WinTarget v1.2, optimized for the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 platform, provides affordable solutions to provisioning,
protection, and availability. Further, WinTarget v1.2 eliminates upgrade disruption, backup windows, and recovery
downtime, factors considered as major concerns to the Small- to Mid-Sized Business (SMB) and enterprise department.
“Traditionally, data protection has not been included as a function of the storage subsystem,” said Thieu Le,
President, String Bean Software. “Understanding the importance of this dual functionality, we provide this capability
in WinTarget v1.2 by utilizing the Windows Server 2003 platform as a bridge to translate between storage and data.
This feature is now conveniently integrated, enabling network-wide provisioning and protection.”
WinTarget v1.2 allows Microsoft Windows Server 2003 to share its disk resources with other Windows computers –
efficiently using the iSCSI protocol standard while the data is protected at source. Incorporating two new features
– Snapshot and Data View – WinTarget v1.2 provides increased protection and ultimately reduces network traffic.
These two new features allow backups to proceed at maximum speed and efficiency as data is copied from disk to tape
(or disk to disk), eliminating restore delays, as well as reducing Local Area Network (LAN) bandwidth constraints.
“Customers are telling us that they want the broadest choice of low-cost, dependable and easy to manage networked
storage solutions,” said Dr. Claude Lorenson, technical product manager, Storage Technologies, Windows Server
Division at Microsoft Corp. “WinTarget v1.2 takes advantage of the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator and storage innovations
in the Windows Server 2003 platform such as the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to drive storage area networking to
the mainstream for Windows customers.”
In addition to the Snapshot and Data View functions, WinTarget v1.2 offers:
- File-Based WinTarget Disk
File-based WinTarget Disks allow end users the flexibility to create virtual iSCSI hard disks within the existing
file system, removing the previous repartition requirement
- Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) Hardware Provider
Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) provides the infrastructure that enables IT professionals to implement
highly effective data protection and recovery solutions for large databases and other applications through
point-in-time snapshots. The WinTarget v1.2 VSS Hardware Provider allows the creation of a consistent snapshot
and offers the ability to transport these snapshots to a centralized backup server – enabling server-free and
LAN-free backup consolidation
- Network Security
WinTarget v1.2 supports Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) encryption for secure transactions
- Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Support
WinTarget v1.2 supports the IPv6 standard, which improves scalability and interoperability
Fujitsu Siemens Computers Selects WinTarget to Add iSCSI to FibreCAT® NAS Systems
In a subsequent announcement, String Bean Software has partnered with Fujitsu Siemens Computers to develop the
iSCSI protocol for the new FibreCAT N20i and FibreCAT N40i entry-level Network Attached Storage (NAS) systems.
WinTarget technology was selected to integrate the NAS system with iSCSI SAN and bring these FibreCAT systems into
the Ethernet space. The solution minimizes integration costs as it comes fully tested and ready to use with no
Windows Client Access Licenses (CALs) required. The iSCSI controller allows flexible integration of internal or
external backup devices at no additional cost.
“Incorporating WinTarget v1.2 in our FibreCAT N20i and FibreCAT N40i NAS systems results in a very attractive and
complete storage solution that does not skimp on versatility. This boosts our entry-level storage offerings and
represents an outstanding value for the SMB market,” said Dr. Helmut Beck, Vice President, Storage, Fujitsu Siemens
Computers.
Pricing and Availability
WinTarget v1.2 is now generally available to OEMs, channel partners, and the end user community. Free evaluation
software can be accessed at www.stringbeansoftware.com. WinTarget v1.2 licenses start at $300 per server client with
an unlimited license, including Snapshot and Data View, at $3,000. WinTarget v1.2 also includes limited lifetime
support and maintenance.
About String Bean Software, Inc.
String Bean Software develops and markets storage
management software targeted at small and mid-sized
companies, as well as to individual departments within
larger enterprise organizations. The company is at the
forefront in the development of iSCSI solutions for the
Windows platform. String Bean Software is headquartered in
Montgomery Village, Maryland with additional facilities
located in the United Kingdom. For more information, visit
www.stringbeansoftware.com.
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Contact:
Adrienne Osterhuber
O’Keeffe & Company
(703) 883-9000 x131
aosterhuber@okco.com
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