SAN FRANCISCOIntel Corp. is pushing some of its latest Atom processors for use in network-attached storage (NAS) devices that deliver "personal cloud" storage to small businesses and consumers.

Intel Thursday (Oct. 4) launched an Atom-based storage platform combining multimedia capabilities, energy efficiency and performance for NAS devices. The platform, based on the Atom D2550 or Atom D2500, is billed as a solution for small businesses and consumers grappling with exploding storage needs in a secure, accessible way.

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"With the huge number of devices coming out, from traditional laptopswhich have been with us for decadesto tablets to smartphones, the opportunities for consuming data are huge," said David Tuhy, general manager of Intel's storage division, at a briefing here Thursday.

There are already NAS devices using previous generations of Atom on the market. But with the launch of its Atom-based storage platform Thursday, Intel trotted out new NAS systems using it made by customers Asustor, QNAP and Thecus. More firms are expected to launch systems based on the platform in the near future, Intel said.

Source: Intel

Intel markets its higher-end Xeon processors for bigger data storage applications like servers. But, for NAS devices, which typically have two or four hard drives, Atom offers sufficient capability, Tuhy said.

"We think we have a really compelling price point solution with Atom in this category," Tuhy said.

The market for NAS devices is expected to be worth more than $6 billion by 2014, according to IDC.

Intel said its Atom-based storage solution features built-in hardware acceleration for HD content (video surveillance and playback as well as media playback), support for multiple operating sytems, including Microsoft Windows and Linux, and support for software-based RAID data safeguards so that files are recoverable even if a hard-drive fails. The solution also offers scalable I/O connectivity to support four to six SATA drives with hot-plug capability of up to 14 USB ports and integrated support for digital display and dual display, as well as up to 4 GB of main memory.

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Intel pushes Atom for 'personal cloud'