Burda Consolidates Data Storage With Exanet

Wherever printing is done, data has to be processed and stored. Where printing is done in extremely large quantities, the data emergence rate is immense. Delivering this flood of data to production in a well-organized and reliable fashion is critical for ensuring success. At Burda Druck in Offenburg, Germany, this situation is mastered with the help of the ExaStore™ storage system, distributed to the printing industry worldwide by Kodak Polychrome Graphics (KPG).

Since Rolf Arnold and his co-workers have the means to make real-life comparisons, the question arises regarding the differences between ExaStore and the Network Appliance systems. One of ExaStore's general advantages is the fact that the system relies on certified standard hardware and, unlike the Network Appliance systems, does not rely on proprietary components. Rolf Arnold points out another aspect: "A problem of the previous systems was the lack of capacity balance. For example, one system might be 98% or 100% full, while the other is only 40% full. In this situation, we have no way to balance between them. This represents an important point for the future, since we are not always able to foresee everything. In our plant, structures and processes are in perpetual change; within a few days, new magazines are created. ExaStore offers the functionality required for adapting the data storage to this flux."