Storage Area Networks: Designing and Implementing a Mass Storage System

Hewlett-Packard s stock has done very well in recent months. To what extent do HP s mass storage products (and Storage Area Network products in particular) contribute to the company s success?

Hewlett-Packard is one of the leading storage vendors in the world, and HP has identified storage as a strategic growth area for the company. Storage is a multibillion dollar business for HP, and is therefore expected to significantly contribute to the company s success. HP has demonstrated its belief and commitment to storage networking by offering a broad portfolio of Storage Area Network (SAN), Network Attached Storage (NAS), and storage management software products and solutions.

You must see HP as a leader in the development of Storage Area Network technology. For example, HP is a member of the Fibre Channel Industry Association and a joint developer of Linear Tape- Open technology. What is HP doing to maintain its lead in SAN products?

HP intends to maintain its leadership position by staying close to customers, to provide solutions to today s problems and tomorrow s opportunities. HP has a product and solution investment strategy that aligns with this objective. As a leader in open systems, HP has the experience and capability to continue to deliver leading SAN products and solutions.

HP has introduced a number of products that work well in SANs, in particular the XP256 disk array and the 20/700 tape library. In general, what HP products will be launched to meet the future needs of the SAN customer?

In May 1999, HP made a bold statement to the market regarding its view of the future. HP announced the HP Equation Architecture: the vision of an open pool of storage, safely and efficiently providing 100% data availability and infinite scalability. Since that time, HP has regularly announced new products, solutions, and services that support this vision. These include multiple operating system support for products, storage management software for SANs, and storage consolidation solutions across the SAN for Windows NT environments. Customers rely on HP to continue to drive toward open SANs, and HP will continue to deliver.

HP s vision is to be an enabler of e-business by providing e-commerce solutions. Where does the Storage Area Network fit in your vision of HP s leadership in e-commerce?

HP has been a leading driver of the next chapter of the Internet. This is a world where the Internet works for you in ways that were unimaginable only a short time ago. The Internet, e-business, e-commerce, and the new world of e-services is a networked world. Storage will become even more crucial as online data becomes commonplace. Storage Area Networks fit into that vision very well, because SANs provide the networked storage environment that provides the performance, availability, connectivity, scalability, and security that is required.

InfoStor magazine predicts that the year 2000 will be the Year of the SAN. Will HP be the leader in SAN development? If so, how?

HP intends to lead the storage industry into the next generation of Web-enabled storage network solutions. This includes both NAS and SANs. While HP does not discuss unreleased products, the company has a proven track record of leading in SANs and expects to continue to do so through the ongoing development and introduction of new products, solutions, and services.