StorMagic, a leading provider of enterprise-class software-defined storage for virtual server environments, today announced it has partnered with VMware to deliver a solution providing powerful server virtualization and software-only shared storage for remote office and branch office (ROBO) environments, using only a two-server configuration. VMware vSphere and StorMagic SvSAN will be combined to deliver high availability, high speed and uptime with the lowest possible total cost of ownership.

“IT administrators in remote and branch office environments have several pressing challenges today, including: ensuring availability and uptime, maximizing server and storage utilization, reducing cost and complexity, simplifying and centralizing management and minimizing deployment costs,” said Gaetan Castelein, senior director, Storage and Availability at VMware. “By combining VMware vSphere Remote Office Branch Office with StorMagic SvSAN, we anticipate a robust and highly available solution that addresses all these requirements using just two servers, thereby minimizing hardware costs in ROBO environments.”

"We’ve solved key business problems for a growing number of large retailers, government agencies and more, enabling high availability across their sites with less hardware and less operating expense than traditional and other competing virtual storage solutions,” said Hans O'Sullivan, CEO of StorMagic. "Now, with VMware, we are positioned to deliver the ultimate in value to a market that is growing rapidly – organizations looking for affordable alternatives to expensive SANs in virtual server environments."

vSphere Remote Office Branch Office is designed specifically for IT infrastructure located in remote, distributed sites and delivers improved service-levels, standardization, availability and compliance. vSphere Remote Office Branch Office edition enables rapid provisioning of servers through virtualization, minimization of host configuration drift and enhanced visibility into regulatory compliance, across multiple sites. In addition, with vSphere's business continuity features, customers can be assured of highly available IT infrastructure in their remote sites.

StorMagic SvSAN, a software solution that delivers a virtualized shared storage platform, enables enterprises to eliminate downtime and ensure high availability of business critical applications at the edge where disruptions directly equate to losses in revenue and service. SvSAN enables high availability through synchronously mirrored virtualized shared storage that leverages the direct attached or internal, cost-effective server storage including solid-state disk and presenting it as a virtual SAN. As a result, SvSAN supports a wide range of organizations – from those with 10 edge sites to those with 10,000 or more – through minimal IT infrastructure.