Cygnet Sets The Benchmark for A Network-Attached Dvd-RAM Jukebox

BOSTON, Feb 7, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- InfiniNET and InfiniRAID Are Perfect Companions to InfiniDISC

     Cygnet Storage Solutions, Inc., a privately held company, announces the industry's first fully integrated RAID and Networked DVD-RAM Jukebox.

      Cygnet, an ISO9001 certified manufacturer, has taken its superior InfiniDISC(TM) robotic management system that controls multiple drives to read from and write to hundreds of DVDs within the same enclosure and adds two integrated components called InfiniNET(TM) Network Attached Storage and InfiniRAID(TM) Accelerated Throughput Storage modules.

      InfiniNET allows the InfiniDISC jukebox to directly connect to a network via a standard Ethernet connection and access over 1,000 GB of data. No longer is it necessary to bring down the entire network to install your storage device, upset proprietary network system settings or utilize valuable network server resources to manage the network's storage requirements. Using the integrated InfiniNET module, the InfiniDISC jukebox can be located where there is an available network connection. InfiniNET includes an independent server configured with jukebox and data management software to allow any user on the network to store or retrieve data housed on DVD-RAM media. There are no network or user license fees.

      InfiniNET shares data among different networks and different computer platforms to provide Windows, Novell, Apple, and Unix clients direct access to data in a transparent way. Just click on the jukebox disc icon and gain access to data. If your data files are not properly managed and data access is slow across your network, InfiniNET also allows you a complement of HSM Level-1 or Hierarchical Storage Management features.

      HSM provides a way to store data that needs to be immediately accessible into an on-line storage area (or onto Cygnet's InfiniRAID module) and migrate that data when it is less-frequently used. HSM also allows data to be directly written to DVD-RAM media. If location is a problem, InfiniNET also has a web-enabled or HTML interface to provide instant control of any feature or function of the InfiniNET module or InfiniDISC jukebox.

      InfiniRAID provides the best way to utilize HSM and InfiniDISC. For computing environments that require greater speed of accessing data along with additional security of a fault-tolerant buffer, InfiniRAID is seamlessly integrated into the InfiniDISC enclosure. Using RAID Level-5, data is written across multiple media on multiple hard disk drives. This technique minimizes the chance of a catastrophic error on any media or drive and allows high-speed read transfer rates since each media and drive is accessed independently of another. Similar to InfiniNET, InfiniRAID also includes a web-enabled or HTML interface for control of its setup or configuration options.

      "The combination of InfiniNET, InfiniRAID, and InfiniDISC provides a powerful and fully-integrated, storage appliance for applications and computing environments requiring on-line, near-line, and off-line storage," says Wayne Augsburger, Cygnet's V.P. of Sales and Marketing. "Cygnet has taken the complexity out of selecting, integrating, and testing off-the-shelf hardware and software components to offer a simple to use yet powerful storage appliance."

      There is no longer a requirement to maintain an expensive staff to engineer the perfect storage solution for your network. Whether you are storing Digital Assets, Medical Images, Legal Depositions, or Internet email and software downloads, Cygnet's InfiniDISC with rapid access InfiniRAID and direct network connection InfiniNET can be used seamlessly without any disruption to your network server or the network itself.

      InfiniDISC pricing starts at $15,350.00US for a 250-disc and 2 DVD-RAM drive configuration and is sold by authorized Cygnet Resellers. All InfiniDISC hardware products, offered by Cygnet, come with an on-site service contract as well as product warranty. We welcome resellers, who are interested in becoming part of our Team, to contact us at sales@cygnet.com We also encourage software vendors to find out more about our InfiniPartner Progrm by contacting us via partner@cygnet.com