Stratus Prices 'Uptime Assurance' Virtualization Package for Remote and Branch Offices

MAYNARD, MA--(Marketwire - May 17, 2011) - Choosing which virtualization software to use for critical business applications may be the easiest decision data center management has to make when it comes to remote and branch office technology investment. The bigger question is how to manage this new technology, remote servers, and required storage area network without costly on-premise staff. Traditionally, remote sites have either survived on "good enough" availability or been over-provisioned for uptime, bringing additional licensing expense and complexity.

Stratus Technologies, the industry leader for uptime assurance, takes these concerns off the table with a specially priced ftServer 2600 fault tolerant server package for virtualization in remote and branch offices (ROBO). The entry-level ftServer 2600 ROBO package brings the industry's best availability to both VMware vSphere 4 and Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization software with no SAN requirement. As with all ftServer models, the 2600 is completely redundant, designed to prevent downtime and data loss, and ideally suited for lights-out remote 24/7 operation and management. Stratus servers are as simple to install and manage as a single commodity x86 server, while delivering availability that's far superior to clusters. The price of a comparably configured quad-core H-P system* is approximately 46 percent higher than the ftServer 2600 ROBO solution.

Stratus ftServer systems have two features no other server solution in the world has: an automated uptime software layer and proactive availability management and monitoring.

The automated uptime layer is embedded level-one managed service. The middleware constantly monitors more than 500 system components and sensors, and manages system resources to preemptively protect against downtime and data loss. It detects and isolates potential downtime-causing issues from the application and other system resources. From the user perspective, it's simple and automatic, requiring no human intervention.

The second unique dimension is proactive availability management. Stratus availability technicians can monitor the system and automated uptime layer over a secure global network. Technology experts are at the ready 24/7 to remotely diagnose and remediate more complex issues. Everything a service technician can do onsite, Stratus proactive availability management does remotely. The technology layer will capture the root cause of problems, and report the information to the uptime experts to make the fix and avoid a repeat. Applications continue to run throughout the process, and business continues to operate, with no intervention from IT or onsite staff. This eliminates situations requiring delays or waiting several hours for a repair technician to show up, hopefully with the correct part to get your business back online.

"True uptime assurance -- whether it's in a large datacenter or a 'glass closet,' physical computing or virtual -- requires a combination of resilient technologies, proactive management and monitoring, and best practices," said Roy Sanford, Stratus chief marketing officer. "Doing it correctly is more effective operationally and financially than conventional approaches, which are not focused on maximizing uptime."

Special prices for ftServer 2600 ROBO package are in effect through 2011.

*Microsoft Windows Hyper-V HA configuration with HP DL380 G6 servers:
Two servers EACH with one 2.00GHz quad-core CPU; 16GB memory; integrated RAID controller; two SAS HBAs; two 146GHB 15K rpm disks; redundant power & cooling; Microsoft 2008 Windows Enterprise Edition OS. Configuration also includes one HP P2000 array with dual cached controllers and ten 15K rpm disks.

*Stratus ftServer system configuration:
One fault tolerant ftServer 2600 system with 16GB memory; twelve 146GB 15K rpm disks; one Microsoft 2008 Windows Enterprise Edition OS

The H-P system is priced approximately 27 percent higher than the Stratus ftServer 2600 virtualization package. With the addition of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 to both configurations, the H-P system is priced approximately 46 percent higher than the ftServer 2600 package.

About Stratus Technologies
Stratus delivers uptime assurance for the applications its customers depend on most for their success. With its resilient software and hardware technologies, combined with proactive availability management, Stratus products help to save lives and to protect the business and reputations of companies, institutions, and governments the world over. To learn more about worry-free computing, visit www.stratus.com.

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