January 5, 2010
Storage Visions, Las Vegas, January 5th, 2010
Nethra Imaging, Inc. ("Nethra") announced today the release of a number of high-capacity high-bandwidth networking and storage products. The products launched include Nethra's FastPipe™ 10GbE transport adapter and Azores™ 100 2U solid state storage. The solutions leverage the ExpEther? technology proposed by NEC® Corporation ("NEC") in 2006 and are productized as integrated circuit devices jointly by Nethra and NEC. ExpEther offers seamless network and storage convergence across standard Ethernet Layer 2 switches.
ExpEther is a unique interconnection technology which uses standard Ethernet to enhance the scalability, reliability and virtualization capabilities of PCI Express, while still working as a PCI Express standard-compliant switch as specified by PCI-SIG. It seamlessly interconnects a range of PCI-express compliant I/O devices such as SATA, USB, FC, graphics adapters and more.
"The leveraging of ExpEther technology enables end-users to avoid the cost and complexity of FCoE switches while retaining the benefits of Fibre Channel storage and combining it with a faster and cheaper Ethernet infrastructure" said Dr. Takashi Yoshikawa, Research Manager of System Platforms Research Laboratories, NEC.
The FastPipe transport adapter enables PCIe bus extension over 10GbE Layer 2 fiber moving PCIe switching functions into the cloud. This proprietary adapter ensures highly reliable data transport delivered with low-latency, low CPU overhead, high throughput, and extended operational flexibility due to IO virtualization. Former multi-hop, backplane configurations become single-hop cloud-based transactions with negligible latency.
Utilizing the FastPipe adapter, the Azores-100 solid state storage solution enables low-latency, high-bandwidth, remotely attached bulk storage to perform as though locally attached. In doing so, it leverages the built-in capabilities of ExpEther in low-latency, high bandwidth data transfer coupled with network convergence around Layer 2 Ethernet infrastructure. The Azores-100 series delivers up to 3.2 GigaBytes per second read bandwidth, in a 2U high rack-mounted unit, consuming less than 250 Watts.
"The Azores platform provides immediate, fast, scalable and manageable storage to high performance computing and server-storage needs. It is optimally used where bandwidth is a key requirement" said Manu Pillai, VP Business Development, Nethra.
The FastPipe adapter when used in advanced storage solution enables multiple storage protocols including Fibre Channel SAN storage to be moved onto a unified Layer 2 Ethernet interconnect using standard off-the-shelf Ethernet switch technology. "The ability to converge multiple protocols onto Layer 2 Ethernet with the FastPipe adapter, combined with the availability of value-priced 10G switches from multiple vendors is a key operating cost attribute in diverse data centers, delivering value directly to the bottom line of end-users" said Dr. Frederic "Rick" Carlson, CTO of Nethra.
The Azores platform with FastPipe adapter integration, is being demonstrated at the Nethra booth at Storage Visions 2010, with the Azores platform now available for sale to the OEM and SI channels.
"Nethra's introduction of products using NEC's ExpEther technology enabling fast networked storage throughput using conventional Ethernet technology will enable the next generation of stereoscopic, high resolution content creation and distribution," said Tom Coughlin, president of Coughlin Associates and Chairman of the annual Storage Visions Conference January 5 & 6, 2010 at the Riviera Hotel Convention Center in Las Vegas (www.storagevisions.com). He continued, "Storage Visions is honored to have Nethra and NEC reveal this game-changing technology at the 2010 Storage Visions Conference."
About Nethra
Nethra Imaging is a fabless semiconductor company focused on delivering imaging and video solutions for a wide range of applications in the broadcast, medical, and surveillance markets. The company uses proprietary algorithms to build flexible, fully programmable image processors and related products. Located in Santa Clara, California, Nethra is privately-held and since its inception in 2003, has developed scalable image processing solutions for a variety of video and multimedia applications. As a member of the ExpEther consortium, Nethra continues to develop and enhance the ExpEther technology, resulting in new functions and higher performance, and to promote the technology's widespread adoption towards becoming a global standard.
For more information, visit www.nethra.us.com.
About the ExpEther Consortium
The ExpEther Consortium is an organization which promotes next-generation interconnection technologies that are used in a variety of systems, including servers, PCs, network equipment, embedded systems and others. Members of the consortium represent a wide range of industries and academic institutions, such as FPGA/PLD vendors, SOC/ASSP vendors, ASIC/FPGA/PLD design and IP suppliers, system/board developers, as well as hardware and software researchers. For additional information, please visit the website at: www.expether.org.
Nethra® is a registered trademark of Nethra Imaging Inc. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. © Nethra Imaging Inc. 2010.
References
ExpEther Technology Announcement: http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/0702/0801.html
ExpEther Consortium Announcement: http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/0811/1202.html
ExpEther's LSI Development by Nethra: http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/0906/0901.html
Nethra Contact:
Thanh Nguyen
408.200.1770
marcom@nethra.us.com