Sun teams up with StorageTek on San policy

StorageTek and Sun Microsystems have joined forces to resell a range of each other's products as part of their storage area network (San) strategies.

Sun will supply StorageTek's enterprise tape automation systems under its own brand name while StorageTek will do the same with disk technology from Sun. There will also be marketing and services links to help customers using Sun, Unix and Windows NT platforms.

Both companies claimed the move will help in the development of an open standard for Sans. Sun and StorageTek are members of the Storage Network Industry Association (SNIA), which is helping to develop the Jiro platform.

Jiro will use Java and Jini technologies to create an interoperable infrastructure.

Janpieter Schreerder, president of the network storage division at Sun, said: "The alliance is founded on our shared commitment to drive industry standards and develop open storage networking."

However, observers questioned the commitment that both companies have to providing an open standard for Sans.

Claus Egge, storage analyst at IDC, said: "Sun has identified EMC and IBM as its main competitors and this will help it to compete, but it will not necessarily lead to a truly open standard. The Jiro platform is only one of many. This move may be beneficial for Sun and StorageTek customers, but not necessarily for the whole industry."

Sun's OEM products will be based on the 9840 tape drives from StorageTek, which will be available later in the year. StorageTek will have access to Sun's modular disk technology which it will integrate into its own products, and which will be released early next year.