Sony Moves Into Networked Storage

Sony has its fingers in just about every technological pie and seems to pull out a plum more than every so often - most of which are purple. Today, the company let us know that it is entering the world of networked storage with a new set of products called the StorStation family. All versions of the StorStation are compatible with multiple OSs. The FSV-E1 StorStation entry-level file server is targeted at the small office/home office (SOHO) market. It has a capacity of 80GB in a small 1U-high form-factor. Sony says the FSV-E1 model is suited for sharing data, rich-media files, such as AV media streaming, and for storage in a small office, remote corporate office, or residential gateway environments, though the capacity of the device sounds a little puny. Usually networked storage devices can hold more than your typical (nowadays) hard drive. At the "mid-range level," Sony is putting forth the BSV-M1 model, a packaged network back-up server and AIT library that fits in a 3U rack space. The BSV-M1 system is a network-attached backup server, integrated with Sony's new rack-mountable AIT library LIB-162 and backup application software. The BSV-M1 unit gives you automated archiving with a secondary backup capacity of up to 2.08 TB (with average 2.6:1 compression) on the AIT library LIB-162. Targeted at the business sector, Sony is pushing the FSV-M1 StorStation file server. The FSV-M1 brings benefits to branch offices, corporate offices, and groups with multiple workstations that share files. Within a 1U-slim form-factor, the FSV-M1 unit includes up to 480 GB of native capacity provided by four 120 GB hard drives that can be set up in RAID 0, 1 or 5 configurations for added data security. The FSV-M1 StorStation file server is also gigabit Ethernet-ready. The FSV-E1 model will begin shipping at an estimated retail price of $1,300 in October. The FSV-M1 and the BSV-M1 are expected to ship later this year. Sony's offering a three-year limited warranty and optional onsite service support and enhancement programs with all of its branded storage solutions. Just for the record, it seems more honest to adverstise storage capacities without assuming a certain compression scheme. If you buy a 20GB hard drive for your computer, no one tells you that it has a 52 GB capacity (with 2.6:1 compression).