As volumes of data stored by individuals organizations is increasing, the importance of advanced storage solutions is growing. To help users better organize, protect and share their data, Intel Corp. on Thursday revealed its new-generation Intel Atom processor-based storage solution (code-named "Milstead"). The new storage platform combines multimedia capabilities, energy efficiency and performance.

"Intel's Atom processor provides an ideal solution for powering intelligent storage system designs that will act as a personal cloud inside the office or home, and will deliver better ways to store and access data. With a range of systems designers on board, the Intel Atom processor-based storage solution raises the bar in how data is stored, managed and shared," said David Tuhy, general manager of Intel storage division.

According to a 2012 report by the Aberdeen Group, small business (SMB) storage volumes are increasing by 30% annually. Meanwhile, Gartner predicts that the average household will require at least 3.3TB of storage capacity to hold their content by 2016, compared with 464GB in 2011, a sevenfold increase.

The idea behind sophisticated storage solutions for small businesses and consumers is to enable decent feature-set and sufficient data protection amid relatively limited capacity; essentially, it could be a regular PC with loads of hard drives. Intel's Milstead platform for network area storage solutions is based on  Intel Atom D2550 (dual-core with Hyper-Threading, 1.86GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 10W) or D2500 (dual-core, 1.86GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 10W) as well as storage processors with RAID support, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, Ethernet connectivity and so on. Network area storage (NAS) products based on Milstead support RAID data protection for up to six Serial ATA hard drives, automatic backup, scalable I/O connectivity, support for multiple OSs, LAN support, up to 4 GB of main memory, integrated support for high-definition video playback and HDMI digital display output.

Businesses such as retailers, financial services firms, medical and legal offices require on-site solutions to store and access data locally, as well as the ability to access that data remotely. With Intel Milstead solution, businesses can provide their employees with a personal cloud storage experience so they can have fast, secure access to files from work, home or on the road from any connected device. This solution also supports multiple file transfer protocols so companies can share data and content regardless of the operating system.

Intel Milstead is supported by the McAfee AV SDK and VirusScan which will give small businesses a valuable tool for protection against data corruption and virus attacks. Centralized backup of all devices also assures businesses that their data is protected. Businesses with video surveillance systems can attach up to two monitors to a single platform-based storage device and view up to four camera feeds that feature HD-quality clarity.

Asustor, QNAP, and Thecus are launching storage solutions on this platform today, with other companies launching in the near future. The software ecosystem gets a boost with support from companies such as Mpstor and Dane-Elec that have developed an optimized storage stack for small-business customers.

Tags: Intel, Atom, Saltwell, 32nm, NAS, Asustor, QNAP, Thecus