Quantum Corp., the manufacturer of digital linear tape systems and a leading maker of hard drives, is forging ahead into the network-attached storage market.

Quantum's Network Storage Group will unveil the Guardian 14000 NAS server this week. Available this summer, the Linux-based appliance is geared toward the midrange market. "The Guardian 14000 makes me more productive with my time," says Bill Fisk, network manager at Maxis Inc., a Walnut Creek, Calif., subsidiary of Electronic Arts Inc., which makes computer games. Fisk has been testing the Guardian 14000 as a single source to store data from both Windows and Macintosh systems as artists and engineers collaborate on projects.

The product comes with RAID levels 0, 1, and 5, so customers can spread data across multiple drives. It also includes Gigabit Ethernet ports with hot-swappable redundant drives, power supplies, and cooling fans that all fit in about a three-inch space in a standard 19-inch data-center rack. It also lets customers copy files while the system is up and running.

The Guardian 14000 will be priced at $24,900 for 1.4 terabytes of capacity. Built-in security features include Kerberos version 5 authentication in Microsoft's Advanced Data Server and support for Secure Sockets Layer version 3.0. However, Quantum could see sluggish sales because of positioning. On the low end, the Guardian has more than customers need and is too expensive. On the high end, Quantum will have to compete with EMC Corp. and Network Appliance Inc.

Quantum's move to the midrange market, dominated by Microsoft software running on Compaq, Dell, and IBM hardware, will be challenging, says Brad Nisbet, an International Data Corp. analyst. But the vendor appears to be poised to succeed, particularly because of its reliance on open-source computing. "Quantum is in full control of its own systems, so it can take its products in whatever direction necessary because it bases the products on Linux," Nisbet says.

Quantum isn't planning on stopping at the midrange market. Steve Rogers, VP of marketing at Quantum's network storage group, is looking forward to the competitive market for the Guardian line and says, "It's inevitable."