EMC Updates Centera

July 17, 2007: EMC has introduced its latest Centera content addressed storage (CAS) system claiming that it now uses 67 percent less power while storing 50 percent more data than ever before.

Using a combination of new hardware design and new software features, EMC claims that the new kit can significantly reduce power and cooling costs, plus further improve security and availability of online digital content such as archived e-mails, electronic documents and medical images.

The company claims that its Centera Generation 4 LP (low power) node features a new energy-efficient design that includes high efficiency processors, chipsets and power supply along with adaptive cooling and improved component integration. The new generation also supports 750 GB SATA disk drives, which increase system capacity by 50 percent.

This combination of less power-intensive infrastructure and higher capacity drives results in an overall reduction in energy consumption by 67 percent according to the storage heavyweight, and despite these advances in technology the solutions can still be incorporated into existing Centera clusters.

Next to the hardware, EMC has also introduced new management capabilities in its CentraStar software, including enhanced disk management and an enhanced system clean-up feature that it claims provides faster self-healing and reclamation of disk space as content is deleted.

“More than 3,500 customers have chosen EMC Centera because it provides fast, easy online access with assured content authenticity; scalability that's measured in petabytes and integration with the world's leading applications,” said David Donatelli, EMC's Executive Vice President of Storage Product Operations. “Our competitors are not able to match the rich functionality of EMC Centera.”

Overall, the company claims that this new Centera is more cost-effective than tape, optical or traditional disk-based alternatives. “EMC continues to innovate and develop leading CAS capabilities while helping customers reduce energy costs and ensure that the investment that they have already made in Centera is protected,” added Donatelli.

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