Storage vendors ease resource mgmt.

Cisco, Network Appliance and Microsoft are among those expected this week to unveil new storage hardware and software that makes it easier to manage, secure and protect data resources on storage-area networks and network-attached storage.

Among the announcements expected at StorageDecisions 2004 in Chicago are:

• Cisco will announce a new version of its SAN operating system that not only supports IPSec data security but also expands the ability to compress and send data over distance for disaster-recovery purposes. The company also will introduce two storage modules for its MDS 9000 switches that support Fibre Channel, iSCSI, Fibre Channel over IP and Gigabit Ethernet.

• Network Appliance is launching new software that helps users archive and retain data for regulatory compliance reasons and works with their existing file servers and NearStore appliance.

• Microsoft is expected to announce the Data Protection Server, a disk-based approach to backing up data, which lets users retrieve data themselves based on disk drives and file names rather than storage volumes or tape locations; the company will also announce a storage community, which helps users address their storage concerns.

• Overland Storage will introduce a back-up and recovery appliance aimed at small-to-midsize companies.

These new features are critical for allowing users to manage and protect their storage resources more efficiently, analysts say.

"Across the board, you can point to large companies and identify changes in corporate governance rules and oversight concerns about the recovery of data from disaster," says Rick Villars, vice president of storage systems at IDC.