LaCie's 12big Rack Network Brings iSCSI Storage For Enterprise Users

iSCSI used to be a term that was infrequently uttered in the storage community at large, but more and more it's being talked about alongside the traditional NAS. Drobo recently released a professional drive of its own that utilized iSCSI, and now LaCie is doing likewise with its all-new 12big Rack Network. As with all LaCie products, this one also looks pretty fantastic--even though it's likely to be hidden behind closed doors within an air conditioned server room for the better part of its useful life.


The device definitely isn't geared towards your average consumer. It's a 19", 2U-sized device that's aimed at rack-mount server platforms. It's powered by Windows Storage Server 2008 and comes stocked with enterprise-class hard drives and a hardware RAID controller. Needless to say, LaCie feels pretty confident that this thing will hum along 24/7 without giving you any fits, as it was engineered to withstand heavy demand, constant activity and all of the pressures of corporate life. You'll find a pair of 1GB Ethernet links and a quad-core Xeon processor within the rack, and support for RAID 0/1/10/5/50/6 is included.

So, just how much information can this beauty hold? Anywhere from 6TB to 48TB at present time, all of which is addressable as files or blocks. Of course, LaCie also throws in an internal backup engine, file deduplication, remote file replication, and global name space, but you'll be paying dearly for all of it. The device starts at $7999 (loaded with 6TB), while a 12TB unit is $9999 and a 24TB model is $13999. Time to pony up!

• 19" 2U rack-mounted NAS and iSCSI for SMB and branch offices
• Powered by Microsoft® Windows Storage Server 2008
• Server-class motherboard, Enterprise Class drives, and hardware RAID controller
• Data deduplication, file replication, data encryption, and built-in back up

To assure rock-solid reliability in demanding 24/7 corporate operating conditions, the 12big Rack Network is built on an Intel® server class motherboard that features two 1GB Ethernet links and a quad-core Xeon® processor. To assure superior performance over its lifetime, the 12big Rack Network is reinforced with a hardware RAID controller (RAIDs 0, 1, 10, 5, 50, and 6), redundant power supplies, and multiple hot-swappable cooling fans. In addition, the 12big Rack Network uses Enterprise Class hard disks, which means superior sustained performance and compliance with the highest quality standards.

Outfitting the Lacie 12big Rack Network with a hardware RAID engine means greater efficiencies in data management, bolstering its high reliability and profound scalability. While the quad-core Xeon processor is designed to successfully serve 500+ users' requests all the time, the hardware RAID controller XOR engine calculates the massive RAID parities protecting all critical data. With the XOR engine, you can scale the disk capacity upward by connecting an extra 12big Rack Serial through its expansion port without any impact on performance. Even more, the XOR engine strengthens the global system stability by reducing the rebuild time of RAID protected data disk arrays in the unlikely event of a disk failure.

Out of the box, the 12big Rack Network is pre-installed with Microsoft’s ready-to-configure Windows Storage Server 2008 Standard Edition. LaCie demonstrates its commitment to high-end server solutions by running Windows Storage Server from two RAID 1-protected internal 2.5" disks.