Quantum expands disk storage line

Quantum released a new product Monday as part of an effort to break into a higher-priced section of the market for storage devices that connect to servers via ordinary computer networks. The Guardian 14000, which has Linux at its core, competes more with products from Network Appliance and EMC by adding features such as the ability to take "snapshots" of the file system. Snapshots can speed backup tasks and make it easier to recover from crashes or corrupted data.

The 5.25-inch-thick Guardian 14000 has a capacity of 1.4 terabytes and costs $24,900, the Milpitas, Calif.-based company said. It uses IDE hard drives, which cost less than SCSI drives but are slower.