Adaptec, McDATA Collaborate to Extend Fibre Channel Sans Over IP Networks
McDATA to Incorporate Adaptec Storage Router Accelerator ASIC Into Core-to-Edge Enterprise Solutions
BROOMFIELD, Colo., and MILPITAS, Calif., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- McDATA® Corporation (Nasdaq: MCDTA - news, MCDT - news), the worldwide leader in open storage networking solutions, and Adaptec, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADPT - news), the global leader in data storage access solutions, today announced a strategic relationship that is expected to significantly extend the capabilities of iSCSI and Fibre Channel storage area networks (SANs). McDATA plans to integrate Adaptec's storage router accelerator (SRA) into its core-to-edge line of enterprise solutions products, extending Fibre Channel SANs over IP networks. This integration will enable customers to optimize their Fibre Channel SANs by providing reliable connections over long distances, and provides a complementary convergence between Fibre Channel and iSCSI protocols.
``Customers are looking for easy ways to connect Fibre Channel SAN islands using an IP infrastructure,'' said Steve Duplessie, senior analyst at The Enterprise Storage Group. ``This major collaboration with McDATA, the industry's leading provider of high availability Fibre Channel switches, validates Adaptec's strength in IP for Fibre Channel extension storage, and demonstrates its ability to win in new and fast-growing markets.''
Not only will Adaptec's SRA enable long distance support for Fibre Channel, it also is expected to support iSCSI-to-Fibre Channel conversion. So, as the iSCSI protocol continues to emerge as an edge router technology, this integration will afford better investment protection, by providing a high performance, highly reliable connection between iSCSI hosts and a customer's Fibre Channel SAN. Customers will also be able to better leverage the benefits of their storage networks by allowing more servers to connect to their Fibre Channel SANs.
``This strategic relationship with McDATA allows us to deliver a solution for customers who require storage access across a converged Ethernet and Fibre Channel infrastructure, over long distances,'' said Ram Jayam, vice president and general manager of Adaptec's Storage Networking Group. ``With this design win, Adaptec has extended its lead in providing IP Storage connectivity to leading switch vendors.''
Adaptec's SRA architecture is scalable to 10Gbit and enables Fibre Channel traffic to be converted to Gigabit Ethernet traffic using FCIP or FC-to-iSCSI protocols. Integrating Adaptec's SRA into McDATA's core-to-edge line of enterprise SAN products is an extension of McDATA's core-to-edge enterprise solutions philosophy, and provides customers with a standards-based, high performance and highly reliable connection between remote servers and the Fibre Channel storage network in the corporate data center or between geographically dispersed Fibre Channel SANs.
``Allowing for the extension and virtualization of the customer's SAN is an important end-user benefit. As a result of this relationship, customers will have the ability to extend the connectivity and manageability of their SANs over their IP networks,'' said Richard Search, vice president of marketing for McDATA. ``Critical applications such as business continuity and disaster recovery require geographically dispersed SANs to be interconnected. This solution protects our customers' investments in Fibre Channel while optimizing their Fibre Channel SAN resources. Once integration is complete and incorporated into our new products, customers will have a reliable and high performance solution for connecting to remote data centers or providing additional, long distance access for remote hosts into the corporate data center, using iSCSI and FCIP. This further leverages the benefits of the customer's Fibre Channel SANs.''
About McDATA (www.mcdata.com )
McDATA 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.
About Adaptec:
Adaptec Inc. provides highly available storage access solutions that reliably move, manage and protect critical data and digital content. Adaptec's storage solutions are found in high-performance networks, servers, workstations and desktops from the world's leading manufacturers, and are sold through OEMs and distribution channels to ISPs, enterprises, medium and small businesses and consumers. Adaptec is an S&P SmallCap 600 Index member. More information is available at www.adaptec.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements by McDATA 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.
This press release contains forward-looking statements by Adaptec regarding future events or the future performance of Adaptec including statements regarding market acceptance of and demand for the Company's products, the Company's anticipated revenues, costs and financial performance, and future market conditions. Actual events could, of course, differ materially as a result of many factors including the timing of product introductions by Adaptec and its competitors, the degree of market acceptance of Adaptec's products, the impact of component shortages on Adaptec's customers, changes in industry standards, changes in Adaptec's product mix, rapid or unexpected changes in customer requirements, purchasing decisions by key customers, competitive pricing pressures, integration of acquisitions, overall conditions in the high-performance PC, server and software markets, and general economic conditions. For more complete discussion of these and other factors, please refer to the section titled ``Certain Factors Bearing Risks on Future Operating Results'' in Part I, Item 2 of the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2001.
SOURCE: Adaptec, Inc. |
