A few weeks ago, Apple decided that it was no longer cost effective to continue to manufacture its own storage hardware. Instead, it has opted for an OEM agreement with storage vendor Promise Technology. Apple isn’t leaving the storage world completely, though. It will continue to supply a SAN file system known as Xsan 2. […]
A few weeks ago, Apple decided that it was no longer cost effective to continue to manufacture its own storage hardware. Instead, it has opted for an OEM agreement with storage vendor Promise Technology.
Apple isn’t leaving the storage world completely, though. It will continue to supply a SAN file system known as Xsan 2. This software will be used on a Promise disk array platform from now on.
Specifically, the Promise VTrak E-Class RAID Storage Subsystem has been approved by Apple as the only qualified storage solution for the Xsan 2 and Apple’s dominant video editing software, Final Cut Studio 2. These Promise-based RAID units are not available broadly, however. They can be obtained available only through the Apple Online store or through Apple authorized resellers.
“The Promise VTrak E-Class subsystem is one of our many enterprise class RAID storage solutions,” said Mike Joyce, senior director of marketing at Promise Technology Inc. of Milpitas, CA. “The subsystem supports fully redundant and hot swappable Active/Active RAID controllers.”
Promise has gone to great lengths to make sure its initial offering won’t disappoint Apple’s demanding user base. It has designed the product with plenty of features to ensure high availability and reliability. Redundant fans and power supplies, for instance, ensure there is no single point of failure. System administrators receive instantaneous user notification in the event of a fault. Further, the subsystem has dual RAID controllers, each with two front end, 4Gb Fibre Channel interfaces. According to Joyce, this provides high performance in either a direct attach or SAN environment.
Promise is gearing up to deal with Apple users with a hefty storage capacity appetite and the requirement of high bandwidth. Apple is big, for example, in the entertainment and graphic design sectors. Such users have zero tolerance for slowdowns as they handle high-quality video, audio and other large files.
As a result, plenty of additional storage capacity is provided. Promise makes this available through dual SAS I/O modules to the VTrak 16 bay expansion chassis. These dual 4x SAS I/O modules provide redundant connectivity and 12Gb/s of total available bandwidth. The VTrak expansion chassis offers the same redundancy and high availability features as the E-Class RAID subsystem. Each 3U 19′ rackmount system can support 16 SAS or SATA drives and is available in a choice of drive configurations.
“Particularly appealing to the Apple customer is our intuitive Universal Management Interface,” said Joyce. “This is a powerful tool that allows IT personnel to easily manage all of their Promise storage on a network from any connected client.”
VTrak is a custom version of the Promise storage subsystem that Apple and its dealer network exclusively sells. It comes with specific firmware that has been created especially for Apple customers. While Promise does offer a similar platform for other operating systems, only the Apple qualified version is supported under Mac OS X. Apple will continue to work with Promise to ensure the latest versions of its operating systems and SAN file systems integrate well with VTrak hardware.
Promise doesn’t just sell to Apple users. Its VTrak E-Class family of dual controller, SAS/SATA based storage arrays function with other operating systems, too. Lower end and midrange storage units are also on tap.
“Promise Technology makes a wide range of products for a multitude of applications and can be found anywhere from the desktop to the data center,” said Joyce.
But the Apple agreement could represent an upswing in company fortunes. Joyce isn’t saying how much market share in the Apple side that Promise currently possesses. But there is no doubt that the company has cornered a niche within the storage world through this Apple deal. He sees this segment as being one that will experience significant growth in the next few years.
“Apple users are extremely sophisticated and will continue to demand faster access to more storage and uninterrupted availability,” said Joyce. “The Promise solution provides best in class performance and ease of use today.”
He indicates, too, that this isn’t a one off. He sees this as a long-term partnership which will produce many more products into the future.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Apple to provide the high quality products that their customers demand,” said Joyce. “Users can be confident that we will continue to work with Apple to meet their evolving needs in the future.”
This article was first published on EnterpriseITPlanet.com.
Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Driving Greater Equality
FEATURE | By James Maguire,
December 16, 2020
AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
December 11, 2020
Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
December 04, 2020
Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 18, 2020
Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA
FEATURE | By Guest Author,
November 10, 2020
FEATURE | By Samuel Greengard,
November 05, 2020
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 02, 2020
How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 29, 2020
Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 23, 2020
The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
October 16, 2020
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
October 07, 2020
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
October 05, 2020
CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science
FEATURE | By Guest Author,
September 25, 2020
Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 25, 2020
Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2021
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
September 22, 2020
NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
September 18, 2020
Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 14, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 13, 2020
IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 11, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality
FEATURE | By James Maguire,
September 09, 2020
Drew Robb is a contributing writer for Datamation, Enterprise Storage Forum, eSecurity Planet, Channel Insider, and eWeek. He has been reporting on all areas of IT for more than 25 years. He has a degree from the University of Strathclyde UK (USUK), and lives in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.
Datamation is the leading industry resource for B2B data professionals and technology buyers. Datamation's focus is on providing insight into the latest trends and innovation in AI, data security, big data, and more, along with in-depth product recommendations and comparisons. More than 1.7M users gain insight and guidance from Datamation every year.
Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved
Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.
