CentricStor FS enables consolidation of file services: an efficient and reliable new approach to the increasing problem of dealing with unabated data growth. CentricStor FS provides nearly unlimited scalability, and in addition to extremely rapid response times and enormous throughput capabilities, features the highest levels of system availability. At launch, Fujitsu Siemens Computers is introducing five models, delivering storage capacities of between 14.4 Terabytes and 384 Terabytes. CentricStor FS products are available from September 26th and will establish a new value price point in this emerging category.

CentricStor FS configurations are clustered and provide virtually infinite scalability in terms of capacity and data throughput, combined with rapid response times: should more storage resources or greater performance be required, this can easily be added. CentricStor FS is designed to simultaneously serve many different clients, and standard features include load balancing for automatic client access and capacity.

Regardless of the system size, CentricStor FS administrators need only deal with the management of one file system, via centralized, browser-based administration. Introducing additional storage components is simple: new hardware is automatically recognized and the system will automatically configure itself for the optimal exploitation of available bandwidth and system capacity. Because of this simplicity, even the largest-capacity CentricStor FS systems can be set up and on-line in a day.

Dr. Helmut Beck, Vice President Storage Business at Fujitsu Siemens Computers, stated: "Many companies are fighting against the massive growth of unstructured data - with the lion's share coming from Office files and e-mail attachments. Coping with this unstructured data efficiently and inexpensively has become a major challenge. With the introduction of CentricStor FS, we are providing a cost-effective and easy-to-manage solution that can be easily expanded to meet changing data storage needs. Due to its largely automated management and virtualized file serving capabilities, CentricStor FS is a central element in our DynamicDataCenter strategy."

Carl Greiner, Senior Vice-President, Infrastructure, at independent analyst firm Ovum, stated: "Enterprises continue to be challenged by the flood of unstructured data and the need to be able to provide adaptable levels of performance, price and scale to each instance, depending on demand and dynamic business requirements. No longer can one size fit all, or can unstructured data be stored only on tape or disk. Today's solutions must be able to quickly respond to changing needs. With CentricStor FS, Fujitsu Siemens Computers is addressing this new era of required flexibility and management capability for network-attached storage."

CentricStor FS fully meets availability requirements for data centre systems. Built-in system monitoring provides early warning of potential problems, and should a component fail, then automatic failover and fallback procedures ensure that a CentricStor FS system continues to operate. In addition, Fujitsu Siemens Computers offers peace of mind through global 24x7 support, and remote access.

CentricStor FS is the industry's best value for money for any system addressing unstructured data storage. Its scalability means that companies can start with the smallest model and expand as their needs grow. CentricStor FS saves organisations money in two ways - firstly since it is a scale-out system, its high flexibility means that there is no need to pay for unused extra capacity, and secondly, its easy, largely automated system management reduces administrative time and effort.