Sun to take prerelease storage API to market

摘要

San francisco - Sun Microsystems Inc. will introduce updated storage-management software next month that it claims supports the Storage Management Interface, even though SMI is not expected to emerge as a standard application programming interface until July. The move comes at a time when management applications are seen as a high-value ingredient for storage networks. Many storage vendors eager to capitalize on the application have been rolling out or beefing up support for their proprietary platforms and APIs. As a result, the emerging market is being fragmented. Sun, a relatively new player in this arena, would like to see the industry quickly coalesce around SMI, which is being developed by the ad hoc Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). Other vendors say they will also support SMI starting later this year, but some will continue to offer new and unique features on their own proprietary APIs and platforms while SMI matures.