Procom's netforce 100 - Procom Technology, Inc

procom's netforce 100

synopsis: Procoms's Netforce 100 is a milestone in the ongoing development of network-attached storage. It introduces a serious, network-ready server at a price point that makes the unit far more attractive to a wider range of users. Procom has hit the nail on the head by delivering a similar feature set at a significantly lower price than the high-end "filers." The redundant power supplies, abundant cooling devices, and instantaneous setup shows that Procom did their homework. Other than the lack of integration with UNIX or NetWare security schemas, the system is a giant step towards perfecting the art. Administrators looking for Web server storage or other small group resource will find the NetForce 100 an ideal solution.

the network-attached storage (NAS) industry has blossomed from a read-only market to include read/write solutions as well. And one-time CD-only NAS solution provider Procom Technology has jumped into the fray with a killer RAID system tailored for the midrange--the NetForce 100. In comparison with other NAS players, the NetForce 100 is a serious contender for middleweight champion, offering high-end features for a middle-range price. While Meridian Data's SnapServer weighs in at under $1,500 for 18GB of storage, and the Network Appliance F720 offers 100GB at under $150,000, the NetForce 100 provides a 65GB system for $11,000.

It is the NetForce's combination of performance with high reliabilnetforce features that made us take note of the system. Procom has come through with improved NAS I/O speed with the kind of data protection previously only available at the high end--redundant components, full RAID 5 support, and effective remote management. All this in a spiffy decorator black cabinet--no more office gray.

a gift to be simple

Procom claims a setup time of under five minutes for the NetForce, and the claim proved true in our installation. Procom has done a wonderful job of simplifying its install process compared with the older CD-ROM tower we reviewed a year ago. The NetForce 100 gave us absolutely no trouble at all in getting up and running and recognized by client workstations. (We've had NT servers that were harder to find with Network Neighborhood.) The install would have gone even faster had we had a DHCP server on our network, as many sites do, to eliminate the need to define an IP address. Since we didn't, this stage proved a two-step process.

The first was at the unit itself, where we typed in the IP address for the unit using arrow keys. We then moved to a workstation and ran the remaining setup step on a browser. This included volume, password, time/date, and identification configuration. (The NetForce requires Netscape Navigator v4.06 or IE 4.0 or higher.) One item we noted: the quick setup page using the browser runs under several earlier versions of Netscape, but the management console will not.

When we finished, the system was running and available to users with 65GB of online storage--from box to business in half an hour. We had a few questions about the displays in the management console so we contacted Procom tech support. The call was answered almost immediately (it was mid-afternoon, the busiest time for most tech support centers). We did not identify ourselves as press, so we received no preferential treatment. Even so, the live technician online immediately understood our questions and resolved them within a couple of minutes with no hassle.

thin it to win it

In various ways, the NetForce engine works like most NAS/thin server engines. It delivers enhanced storage performance compared with the traditional multitasked network server, and thus improves data access. It requires no additional licensing, which makes it less costly than an additional NT server. It runs independent of the network server, which keeps it available even if the server itself goes down. It supports standard Windows 95/98 tools, such as Explorer, thus requiring no additional user training. Finally, it supports both 10BaseT and 100BaseT networks, thus protecting the investment after upgrading to the faster network.

One enhancement that Procom should implement in the future is Gigabit Ethernet support, which would put NAS closer in performance to SANs running on FibreChannel (such as 50MB/sec throughput vs. 5-10MB/sec.) Procom says they are closely watching the market to determine if they should include this option in the future.

We found that the unit's dedicated I/O processor and firmware did respond well to our small group testing. With up to five workstations, our benchmarking showed that the system could deliver better performance than our entry-level NT server (one with a 266MHz processor and 64MB RAM, no RAID on an ATA hard disk). We were not able to test the unit to a larger group, but we feel that the demonstrated performance should meet the demands of the NetForce target workgroup audience or as a modest Web site resource.

high availability

Storage capacity and data retrieval speeds represent two of our primary criteria for NAS. A third is high availability--keeping the system running despite a single component failure. Procom has thoroughly covered its bases here. Both hard drives and power supplies are hot-swappable with no special tools. There's a hot spare drive option for sites requiring this, albeit with reduced overall system capacity. Four fans provide abundant cooling for the drives and motherboard.

Next, we were impressed with the system's remote notification capability, particularly in the user-configurable levels of notices. (These include Critical, General, and Diagnostic levels.) It only supports a single email address,unfortunately. We would like to have a list of possible users with varying levels of notification.

Finally, the EZ-Serv Web-enabled management console is a solid, cutting-edge tool. It is exactly the type of universal administrative control we want to see in NT or NetWare, but isn't available with either. [Yes, both have remote management capabilities. They require a separate software installation on the remote workstation, however, which doesn't fit our definition of "universal.")

Although the HTML/Java screens of necessity have to be fairly basic in design, they provide abundant and comprehensive information about current system status, configuration, and statistics. In particular, the Hardware Status screen seems an especially useful feature (with its CPU Temperature readout)--if only we had had that feature in the management tool for our test server when its CPU fan failed...

security by procom

The onboard security schema provided in NetForce 100 offers three levels: Share, User, and Pass-Through. The first two use the internal 0S for access control. The third looks to an existing NT domain controller for authentication and secure access. (This also means that should that NT service go down, users won't be able to access data on the NetForce until it is reconfigured to use the internal OS for access.)

Share-Level is the default, and sets a single password for each volume or directory on the NetForce 100. User-Level sets a password for each user allowed to connect with the system. We consider this multilevel security schema a nice balance between the needs of the workgroup and the needs of corporate MIS.

recommended use

The need for immediate, easy-to-install RAID is increasing by leaps and bounds. In particular, the NetForce 100 seems tailored for the job of protecting data from Y2K. With its 30 to 80GB capacity, it offers significant storage for graphics or medical data. Finally, with HTTP support, it could serve well as a resource for a Web site. (It cannot, of course, run applications--SQL, Exchange, or Apache--so it is strictly online storage.)

Enterprise users will find the NetForce 100's Pass-Through security appealing to MIS, since the unit can be controlled using their existing NT domain services. However, enterprise sites may prefer the integration of Procom's NetForce 2000 series with both NT and UNIX industry-standard security schemas rather than the NT-only NetForce 100.

Another feature of the NetForce 100 is its support for tape backup as a built-in option. The unit includes an Ultra SCSI connection at the rear of the tower and support in its EZ-Serv console for tape management. The system can use any locally attached DLT or AlT solution.

NAS' "net" big thing?

Procom's NetForce 100 is a milestone in the ongoing development of network-attached storage. It introduces a serious, network-ready server at a price point that makes the unit far more attractive to a wider range of users. Procom has hit the nail on the head by delivering a similar feature set at a significantly lower price than the high-end "filers." The redundant power supplies, abundant cooling devices, and instantaneous setup show that Procom did their homework. Other than the lack of integration with UNIX or NetWare security schemas, the system is a giant step towards perfecting the art. Administrators looking for Web server storage or other small group resources will find the NetForce 100 an ideal solution.

Web Server Status

Statistics Since: SAT FEB 27 19:59:20 1999

Request Statistics

Bytes Sent                      173109
Bytes Received                   27628
Requests Serviced                   88

Connection Statistics

Persistent Connection Reused        30
Aborted Connection                  11
Aborted Socket                       0
Aborted Receive Timeout             10
Server Closes Last Minute            4
Max. Server Closes Per Minute        9

The EZ-Serv Web-enabled management console is a solid, cutting-edge tool. It is exactly the type of universal administrative control we want to see in NT or NetWare, but isn't available with either.

RELATED ARTICLE: The NetForce 2000: is it what you really want?

The NetForce 100 may work effectively in an environment where the proprietary/NT-only security schema is manageable. Others looking to standardize on the Unix-based NIS or NIS+ directory and naming services may want to look towards Procom's next-generation platform: the NetForce 2000. Not only does this series support a greater number of discs (the high-end NetForce 2200 accommodates up to 900GB) but it also fully supports both NT and UNIX authentication.

This places the NetForce 2000 squarely in the mid-range market, comparable to network support in competing products. It eliminates the dependence on a separate, secondary schema using an internal operating system as with the NetForce 100. This should make the box much more attractive to mainstream network data storage.

Like the NetForce 100, however, it won't support Fibre Channel or Gigabit Ethernet in the near future. So the NetForce 2000 will not be the SAN-killer now being discussed in administrator circles.

The NetForce 2000 series does have several more enhancements over its sibling. The 2000 supports both NFS (UNIX's Network File System) and CIFS (Microsoft's proposed Common Internet File System) in addition to the SMB support in the NetForce 100. Again, this broadens the types of networks that run the box to include a mixed UNIX/NT environment. However, we should note that NFS support is not unique to the NetForce, as the SnapServer from Meridian Data supports all three of the common protocols: Novell's NCP, Microsoft's SMB, and UNIX's NFS simultaneously.

Finally, the NetForce 2000 offers a journaling file system and an upgrade path to DMP-compliant backup software from Intelliguard or Veritas. Both are characteristic of a true enterprise network storage system and take the NetForce 2000 out of the simple appliance arena. At a price point a third to half of that of competing products from Network Appliance or EMC, these features form compelling reasons to choose Procom's offering.

for more information, contact:

Procom Technology, Inc., 1821 East Dyer Road, Santa Ana, CA 92705; 800/800-8600, 949/852-1000; Fax 949/261-7380; http://www.procom.com; INFOLINK #416

NETWORK OBSERVER columnist David Doering (dave@techvoice.com), an EMedia Professional contributing editor, is also senior analyst with TechVoice Inc.. an Orem, Utah-based consultancy.

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