Novacoast, an IT professional services firm and developer of Rapid Deployment methodologies, announced StorageManagerRD, the rapid deployment of Novell's Storage Manager 2.

StorageManagerRD is the full implementation of Storage Manager 2, Novell's policy-driven storage management solution. IT managers use policies to set the business rules for user disk space: how much space per user, the life cycle of that space, and what kind of storage users can have.

"We are delighted to see another RD from Novacoast," said Steve Erdman, vice president and general manager of Channels and Alliances at Novell. "StorageManagerRD is the complete services complement to Novell Storage Manager 2. Storage Manager 2 is the only enterprise-class storage solution that is policy-driven. Innovative practices such as Rapid Deployment methodologies deliver value to customers and are just one of the reasons Novacoast has been recognized with Novell's Technical Service Excellence Award."

Storage Manager 2 (formerly File System Factory) is a significant new release, making it the industry's only policy-driven storage management technology, and is now available across platforms. It supports Novell eDirectory, Microsoft's Active Directory, and Novell's Open Enterprise Server.

"StorageManagerRD is another example of Novacoast engineers creating high value packages. Clients and potential clients can now benefit from the latest and most advanced technologies without the risk that is often associated with those technologies," says Paul Anderson, Novacoast CEO.

In Storage Manager 2 policies are tied to events in the directory service and are based on a user's identity. When a user is created in Novell eDirectory or Microsoft's Active Directory, the policy will create the appropriate disk space at the appropriate location based on the identity attributes stored in the directory. Correspondingly, when users are removed from the directory storage is either deleted or archived.

Novacoast is the originator and primary provider of Rapid Deployments. RDs are the rapid deployment of complex technologies for a fixed fee. RDs are methodologies combined with software content -- either code or configuration -- which is customized to meet client needs. RD clients participate in site-specific planning sessions, then work with Novacoast engineers in the RD methodology. Customers end up with a value-add full implementation for a predetermined price.

StorageManagerRD implement's Novell's Storage Manager 2 in a phase one approach. StorageManagerRD adds specific value by implementing storage policies that automate user access and user modification. StorageManagerRD also customizes user and collaborative templates that have been carefully developed and field-tested.