Storage Toughens Up

6:00 PM -- Could storage save your life? Well, it's unlikely that a storage array will take a bullet for you, but more and more vendors are looking to "ruggedize" their technology for military and heavy-duty enterprise use. (See Olixir Gets Tough on Tape.)

Removable disk vendors Olixir Technologies and ProStor Systems, for example, are pushing specially toughened kit, which they claim can withstand all manner of shock. For Olixir, this involves a top secret material encasing the drive, whereas ProStor has opted to toughen the exterior of its cartridge.

For some time now, storage vendors have been coming under pressure to make their gear more robust. Lt. Col. Karlton Johnson, a U.S. Air Force technology guru, for example, recently warned storage vendors to battle-harden their equipment for deployment in hot-spots such as Iraq and Afghanistan. (See USAF Issues Storage Challenge, USAF Collaborates With Sun, and Lockheed Soars on Air Force SAN Deal.)

James Rogers, Senior Editor Byte and Switch