BOSaNOVA Encryption Device Supports Multiple Tape Drives

November 13, 2007 Alex Woodie

Companies that use more than one tape drive to back up their servers only need to buy a single BOSaNOVA Q3 encryption appliance to secure their data now that the Q3 supports multiple tape drives, the company announced last week.

Q3 is a rack-mounted appliance that sits between the server being backed up and the tape drive or optical library performing the backups. The device, which BOSaNOVA obtained through an OEM deal with the English company DISUK, employs dual interlaced 3DES encryption engines, where the data is split into two streams and encrypted separately using 112-bit keys, boosting the security over using a single 3DES engine. The product has been sold in SCSI and Fibre Channel versions, and costs around $20,000.

As the result of a firmware update, a single Q3 appliance now can support up to four separate tape drives, which will be very handy for larger organizations that require multiple drives to back up their data. According to BOSaNOVA, Q3 allows each drive to be controlled independently, including whether or not encryption is turned on. Full status information for each drive can be displayed on the GUI supplied, the company says, and controls for robotics found in tape autoloaders or libraries can be supported with a fifth SCSI address or a LUN.

The enhancement is important for BOSaNOVA customers, says company president Martin Pladgeman. “The Q3 update to support multiple devices on a single Q3 unit follows our commitment to always remain up to date on the latest technology, while maintaining support for legacy systems,” he says.

BOSaNOVA also sells a version of the Q3, called the Q3i, which includes a built-in LTO-3 tape drive. For more information, see BOSaNOVA’s Q3 Web site at www.theq3.com.