The high-end storage market is shrinking, thanks to the growth of modular storage, networked storage, and storage appliances. But EMC Corp., the storage market leader at the high end, isn't sitting still. While it's making inroads in the lower end with its Clariion product line, it's also enhancing its high-end Symmetrix product.

EMC unveiled the latest Symmetrix storage server Wednesday. The Symmetrix DMX3000 can store up to 84 terabytes of data, twice as much as the current system; can access and retrieve data in half the time of the current system that came out just six months ago; has iSCSI compatibility for integration between Fibre Channel-based networks and IP-based networks; and includes replication software that is easier to use and works over greater distances than earlier versions. It will be available in September at prices that start at $1.7 million.

EMC's high-end upgrade is a response to steady pressure from rival Hitachi Data Systems, says one analyst. "The bigger news is in software anyway, with EMC's Enginuity OS booting up without impacting server hosts, unless they're Windows-based," says David Freund at Illuminata. "Add the acquisitions EMC has made, and it's turned a big ship very quickly."