IBM on Tuesday unveiled a midrange storage system that includes some added functionality that should put it right in the mix. The market, dominated for years by EMC Corp.'s Clariion system, is facing stiff competition from some major players, and that can only be good news for customers.

IBM TotalStorage FAStT600 is priced at just $14,995 and offers up to three times the performance and throughput of its predecessor, the FAStT200. IBM will offer small and midsize business customers extensive warranties that are usually reserved for its largest customers. Besides IBM's own AIX operating system, the FAStT600 will also support servers running HP-UX, Solaris, and Windows. Finally, Dynamic Capacity Addition could let customers bring unused storage online while the infrastructure remains up and running.

The vendor suggests that customers use the new system with new intelligent software. While capacity can grow up to 6 terabytes, customers can make the most efficient use of such capacity with Tivoli Storage Resource Manager. That software, expected in June, is designed to help customers predict user needs and mange the storage resource accordingly, combine historical analysis with forecasting, and install the software in minutes.

IDC analyst John McArthur says the new system that IBM gets through an original equipment manufacturer agreement with LSI Logic Corp. helps create a real market for midrange storage, the fastest-growing storage segment. "IBM is slugging it out with EMC; HP, which is shipping its MA1000 in buckets; and even Sun, which has finally woken up," he says. "It's a great time for being a midrange storage customer."