HP Does SMB Storage For Smart Office Initiative

The products are part of the company's Smart Office initiative, an SMB program unveiled last fall, said Frank Harbist, vice president and general manager of the Storage Software Division in HP's Network Storage Solutions Group.

The first product line is an extension of HP's entry-level MSA storage array family that will include low-cost Serial ATA hard drives, Harbist said. He didn't specify the actual SKUs that will be offered but said such arrays are expected to be introduced in the second quarter.

HP also unveiled a line of low-cost Fibre Channel switches. Made by Brocade Communications Systems under an OEM arrangement, the switches come in eight- and 16-port versions. Software for the switches has been simplified to improve ease-of-use for smaller companies, he said. The eight-port switch is priced at $5,000, nearly 22 percent lower than HP's previous switches. The 16-port switch price was cut 15 percent to $12,500.

Also new from HP is the StorageWorks DAT-72 autoloader with space for six 72-Gbyte cartridges. It replaces the previous autoloader, which could handle 40-Gbyte cartridges, Harbist said. The internal version is priced at $2,799, and the external version costs $2,999.