Leading Energy Firm Implements Storage Tiering with Acopia ARX Systems and FreedomFabric OS Software.

Acopia Networks®, the leader in intelligent file virtualization, today announced that Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., a leading North American exploration and production independent, has deployed Acopia ARX(TM) systems, featuring FreedomFabric(TM) operating system (OS) software, to support its storage tiering efforts, intended to free-up expensive disk resources and reduce storage and backup costs.

The Acopia solution replaced a previously deployed stub-based system that Cabot found to be “messy.” Stub-based tiering systems leave behind small file headers (stubs) when migrating or moving files. When misaligned, stubs can cause data loss or corruption. The previous solution caused Cabot IT personnel to spend countless hours dealing with problems created by the stub technology. In looking for a replacement, Cabot needed a solution that could be deployed within its NetApp NAS environment non-disruptively. After careful consideration and testing, an Acopia solution was chosen.

“We found that Acopia was the only product that actually worked ‘as advertised,’” said Norbert Burch, technical manager, Cabot Oil & Gas. “We conducted a thorough evaluation prior to selection and found that it met and/or exceeded our expectations across the board in regards to its NetApp compatibility, features, functionality, scalability, and stability.”

Today, Acopia is supporting Cabot’s downstream applications (i.e., seismic and geophysical mapping) storage tiering initiatives. Cabot is utilizing Acopia to identify inactive files within more expensive NetApp FAS960 fibre-channel based systems, and move them transparently, automatically, and continuously to a much less expensive NetApp R200 Serial-ATA (SATA) platform.

Burch added, “We have over 30 terabytes of file data spanning eight volumes, and the amount of data is growing fast. We need a technology that will grow with us - Acopia has delivered that solution.”

“The Acopia automated tiering solution is helping Cabot Oil & Gas realize considerable savings - in CAPEX by freeing expensive storage, and in OPEX by reducing backup costs and management headaches,” said Kirby Wadsworth, senior vice president of marketing and business development, Acopia. “We are very proud that this leading oil and gas company has chosen to partner with Acopia. We look forward to our continued work together and the opportunity to help Cabot overcome additional IT challenges, as we move forward.”

Cabot’s future plans for Acopia include its use in conjunction with its Tier 0 high-performance application and its load balancing initiatives.

About Cabot Oil & Gas

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, headquartered in Houston, Texas is a leading North American exploration and production independent. The company’s reserves are focused in both conventional & unconventional basins including the East, the West (Rocky Mountain and Mid-Continent), the Gulf Coast (South and East Texas to North Louisiana) and in Canada. For further information regarding Cabot Oil & Gas, please visit: http://www.cabotog.com/.

About Acopia Networks

Acopia Networks is the leader in high-performance, intelligent file virtualization. Solutions based on Acopia’s FreedomFabric(TM) network operating system software help customers manage the growth, complexity, and cost of unstructured, globally distributed, file-based information. By providing automatic, policy-driven, data migration, tiering, load balancing, snapshots, and replication across multi-vendor storage environments, Acopia helps IT executives to reduce management overhead and accelerate business workflow. For further information about Acopia’s products and services, please visit its Website at www.acopia.com, call 978-513-2900 (US) / 49-89-944-90-165 (Europe) or email info@acopia.com.

© 2007 Acopia Networks, Inc. Acopia is a trademark of Acopia Networks. All other brands, products, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of the companies with which they are associated.

Contact:

Acopia Networks, Inc.
Nicole Gorman, 508-397-0131
ngorman@acopia.com

Source: Acopia Networks, Inc.