Little 17-month old Los Gatos-based start-up Pacstor Inc, a lot of whose funding comes from Key Tronics Corp, the Spokane keyboard people, has announced its PC-based external high capacity fault-tolerant multi-host data storage subsystems. The new top-of-the line Integra III, supporting 16 hosts, offers capacities of up to 1.2Gbytes of memory using 12 100Mb Conner Peripherals Inc 3.5 Winchesters, and is intended to provide the continuous access to data required in high-speed workstation control and communications applications. Pacstor says that by distributing the data across multiple drives it can guarantee it will never be lost. If a drive fails, it can be replaced by untrained personnel while the system is still running and the data will be automatically regenerated from the active drives via an error correction technique called striping. Pacstor also announced a mid-range model, the Integra II, supporting eight MS DOS boxes and storing either 120Mb or 600Mb of data. It is designed for high-volume transaction-oriented applications and high-speed access to large databases. The Integra II, though available with a fault-tolerant option, is basically a fault resistant system, meaning that if a drive should fail, the data is reloaded from a high capacity tape cartridge and backup rtestore utility, a more time-consuming method than available with the fault-tolerant versions. Both subsystems incorporate either an 80386 or 80286 processor to prevent simultaneous access of the same files and ensure equal priority access to all hosts. A high-speed cache memory of up to 8Mb capacity speeds operations in a multi-host environment. Data is passed between the sub system and host via a standard Small Computer Systems Interface SCSI – connection, so it’s pretty much a turnkey unit. Overlapped seeks can reduce subsystem access time to as low as 4mS. Key Tronics will be making the products, which are due for first delivery next quarter. However, Pacstor, which is headed by John Kevill, founder of the 8 Winchester house Data Peripherals Inc, has retained manufacturing rights so it can provide for a second source. Integra III, priced at $9,000 in 750-unit orders, works with ATs, PS/2s, network file servers and Unix-based machines. The Integra II, designe to support XTs, ATs and PS/2s, will go for $4,760 in the same quantities.
