HP's RISS… Risk-free Storage
The first application of HP's StorageWorks grid architecture is an active-archiving solution that gives you unprecedented control of your data to help turn it into real information. It's called StorageWorks Reference Information Storage System (RISS) and it integrates all of the required hardware, software and services to deliver cost-effective, long-term storage of reference information. The architecture supports linear scalability without loss of performance by intelligently distributing terabytes of content across a grid of storage Smart Cells.

Smart Cells are one of the key innovations in the StorageWorks grid architecture. They are the modular building blocks that give you real-time provisioning, deployment and redeployment of new and existing information services.

Each Smart Cell contains its own front-end processors, optional cache, and storage devices such as disk or tape. You can designate a specific "personality" to each Smart Cell to provide specialized capabilities or information services, such as policy and reporting, block or file serving, archiving and retrieval, or auditing and anti-virus services. The cells can become NAS file systems, block-based systems, object-oriented archival systems, or even backup systems.

The true power of the StorageWorks grid architecture is that each cell is aware of the other and can collaborate in order to distribute loads, increase overall performance through parallel processing and even cache I/Os meant for another personality. You can load or unload software personalities dynamically, to reuse cells based on your business requirements. No matter how many Smart Cells you employ, you manage them as a single, highly-available system that can scale massively and dynamically.

The first release of Reference Information Storage System is focused on active archiving of e-mail and Microsoft Office documents. Later releases, including HP Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) integrations, will expand support to cover all forms of reference information.

Information retrieval is faster and more efficient because the grid storage network evenly distributes full-text indexes and original content across many storage Smart Cells. RISS transparently executes searches across all Smart Cells in parallel.

Your data is stored securely to mitigate risk, while also making sure you comply with retention regulations. It greatly reduces your total cost of ownership (TCO) with automation of data management while making it easier for your end users to get the information they need.