McDATA and IBM Announce Availability of FICON Management Server
Software Delivers Unrivaled Storage Network Management Capabilities For Customers Migrating from ESCON to FICON
BROOMFIELD, Colo., Nov. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- McDATA® Corporation (Nasdaq: MCDTA - news, MCDT - news), the worldwide leader in open storage networking solutions, and IBM Corporation announced today the availability of FICON Management Server. FICON Management Server is a comprehensive and easy-to-use software product that allows automated control of both FICON and ESCON storage networks from a single interface.
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McDATA delivered the first ESCON Director to IBM in 1994. Since that time, more than 1 million ESCON ports have been shipped to IBM mainframe customers. As those customers migrate from IBM's original protocol, ESCON, to FICON, IBM's next-generation storage networking technology, FICON Management Server provides those customers with the unrivaled management capabilities of McDATA's Enterprise Fabric Connectivity Manager (EFCM), but does so in-band, retaining the same look and feel of IBM's System Automation for OS/390.
``McDATA has a long and established S/390 ESCON Director lineage, and now supporting IBM's S/390 (zSeries) FICON switching requirements is a logical extension to its existing SAN capabilities,'' said Carl Greiner, vice president and director, Enterprise Data Center Strategies for the META Group.
Customers will see a dramatic simplification of their fabric due to the transition from multiple ESCON channels onto a single FICON channel. FICON also enhances network performance over long distance connections. Where ESCON performance significantly decreases over a distance of nine kilometers, FICON channel performance degradation does not occur until 100 kilometers. This gives the customer the benefit of extended distance from a FICON channel.
IBM mainframe customers with McDATA's Galaxy-class 6000 Series Directors at the core of their SANs now have a single point of control and centralized and proactive management capabilities -- all in an established ESCON/FICON environment.
``By making FICON Management Server available, IBM and McDATA are providing customers with an industry-leading storage network management software product,'' said Barry Rudolph, IBM vice president, disk storage systems and software. ``Additionally, customers have asked for a streamlined process to order 24 x 7, three-year warranty service from IBM for McDATA products. We are pleased to be able to provide this capability.''
IBM and McDATA also are bolstering the warranty service for McDATA's 6000 Series Directors, 3000 Series Fabric Switches and 1000 Series Loop Switches. The hardware warranty on these products will now be 24 hours per day/7 days per week, same day service warranty for 13 months from the date of shipment. These enhanced base warranties are being offered with no purchase price increase. Through IBM, McDATA is now also offering a two-year extended warranty option on its products that would match the warranty on IBM's Enterprise Storage Server (Shark).
``McDATA recognizes an enormous market opportunity as customers migrate from ESCON to FICON. McDATA has owned the ESCON market, from the first port shipped to the one millionth,'' said John Kelley, COO and President of McDATA. ``With that kind of unparalleled market leadership, only McDATA has the experience to rely on as customers take advantage of the benefits of IBM's next-generation FICON protocol. Along with IBM, we are also providing our customers the peace of mind that comes with the industry's most comprehensive warranty plan.''
About McDATA ( www.mcdata.com )
McDATA (Nasdaq: MCDTA - news, MCDT - news) is the worldwide leader in open storage networking solutions and provides highly available, scalable and centrally managed storage area networks (SANs) that address enterprise-wide storage problems. McDATA's core-to-edge enterprise SAN solutions improve the reliability and availability of data to simplify SAN management and reduce the total cost of ownership. McDATA extensively pre-tests its solutions to provide IT organizations with the comprehensive tools, methodologies and support essential to robust SAN implementation. McDATA distributes its products through its OEMs, network of resellers and Elite Solution Partners. McDATA and the McDATA logo are registered trademarks of McDATA Corporation.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements about expected future events that are forward-looking and subject to risks and uncertainties. Readers are urged to consider statements that include the terms ``believes'', ``belief'', ``expects'', ``plans'', ``objectives'', ``estimates'', ``anticipates'', ``intends'', ``targets'', or the like to be uncertain and forward-looking. Factors that could cause actual results to differ and vary materially from expectations include, but are not limited to, our ability to quickly integrate SANavigator and ramp sales, our relationship with EMC Corporation and IBM and the level of their orders, the impact of the general economic slowdown and the recent terrorist attacks on purchasing decisions by customers and capital spending, our ability to complete the manufacturing review plan and the successful implementation (which will require contract modifications with our contract manufacturer) of an ``outsourcing-focused'' manufacturing model, our ability to expand sales into higher margin channels through system integrators and distributors, our ability to secure one additional OEM channel in 2001, a loss of any of our key customers (or our OEMs' key customers), distributors, resellers or our contract manufacturer, our ability to expand our product offerings and any transition to new products, component quality and availability, the impact and uncertainty of typically having most of the sales volume occur in the last month and a significant amount in the last two weeks of the fiscal quarter, the development of the storage area network and switch markets, competition in the storage area network and switch markets, one-time events and other important risk factors disclosed previously and from time to time in our filings at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These cautionary statements by us should not be construed as exhaustive or as any admission regarding the adequacy of disclosures made by us. We cannot always predict or determine after the fact what factors would cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements or other statements. All cautionary statements should be read as being applicable to all forward-looking statements wherever they appear. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
For further information, please contact: media, Kathleen Sullivan, +1-303-460-4435, or cell +1-720-480-5501, kathleen.sullivan@mcdata.com, or Ryan Batty, +1-720-566-3934, ryan.batty@mcdata.com, or investors, Linda Dellett, +1-303-460-4474, investor_relations@mcdata.com.
SOURCE: McDATA Corporation |
