The UDS family of products from Fujitsu are storage appliances that offer both block (via iSCSI) and file (via SMB/CIFS, NFS) level data access capabilities. The appliances attach to the network via Ethernet and are targeted primarily to small to mid-sized Enterprise deployments.

Self-contained rack-mountable appliances including both disk arrays and the storage servers to drive them, the UDS gear is itself built from the combination of other Fujitsu technologies. Specifically, the disk arrays come from the vendor's ETERNUS storage line; while the servers come from the vendor's PRIMERGY camp. Driving the combination is Windows Unified Data Storage Server (WUDSS), which is then managed via MMC. Listed WUDSS features include single-instance storage, index-based full text search capabilities, and support for remote, Web-based administration (via ActiveX or Java RDPs).

Differences between the two UDS models now available are primarily founded in redundancy and capacity. The UDS 1000 includes a single PRIMERGY server, while the UDS 2000 includes dual redundant PRIMERGY servers in a clustered configuration with failover. Also, the UDS supports up to 24 drives (24 TB of raw capacity), while the UDS 2000 supports up to 72 SAS disks (up to 72 TB raw) in the user's choice of 15k or 7200 RPM flavors. The UDS 2000 additionally boasts dual redundant power supplies in its servers, dual controllers in the storage arrays, and support for RAID levels 0, 1, 1+0, and 5.

The UDS appliances are available now; with pricing starting at $10,000 for a 4.5 TB UDS 1000.

Contact Fujitsu for further information.