Silver Peak Systems Launches New Software For WAN Op, Data Replication

The new Silver Peak VRX-2, VRX-4 and VRX-8 software products are based on the company's WAN-optimizing Virtual Acceleration Open Architecture (VXOA), and they can run on most standard hypervisors, including VMware's vSphere, Microsoft's Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer and KVM. Silver Peak also said the software is compatible with IP-based replication solutions from Dell, EMC, NetApp and others.

The VRX-2, VRX-4 and VRX-8 offerings, which can be downloaded from Silver Peak's virtual market website, are meant to help storage managers overcome the challenge of attempting to replicate data, particularly for disaster recovery purposes, over longer distances without running into network latency issues.

[Related: Silver Peak Accelerates Amazon Cloud Through Virtual WAN Optimization ]

Citing a Forrester study, Silver Peak said nearly 40 percent of all data today isn't being replicated because of slow WAN connections to offsite locations.

"Most storage professionals understand the importance of offsite data replication, but until now, have been handcuffed by the network when attempting to extend the distance of their replication apps," said Everett Dolgner, director of replication product management for Silver Peak, in a statement.

According to Silver Peak, the new VRX line, which is part of the company's Velocity suite of data replication solutions, can boost replication speeds by nearly 20 times while slashing organizations' disaster recovery by eliminating the need for dedicated replication networks or bandwidth upgrades.

The lower-end VRX-2 software has a replication capacity of up to 60 GB an hour, while the VRX-4 has a capacity of up to 300 GB an hour, and the VRX-8 touts a capacity of 1.5 TB an hour. Annual licenses for each cost $2,764, $8,297 and $38,731, respectively.

Tony Thompson, vice president, corporate communications at Silver Peak, said the new VRX line enables channel partners to offer bundled storage and networking solutions, when coupled with solutions from other storage vendors like Dell and EMC.

"The Silver Peak VRX software products are certified with and proven to interoperate with storage products from industry leaders Dell, EMC, HDS, NetApp and others," Thompson said in an emailed statement to CRN. "This means storage and networking resellers can sell a bundled solution that is already proven by the leaders in storage."

Silver Peak, which sells almost entirely through the channel, revamped its partner program in late 2011. Called Silver Peak Champions, the program offers gold and platinum partnership levels, both of which have access to field resources, sales enablement and marketing tools.

PUBLISHED, MARCH 28