Looks very positive. Microsoft Joins Storage Networking Industry Association
PR Newswire - October 18, 1999 16:04
Move Demonstrates Microsoft's Commitment to Advancing SANs in Data Centers And
Enterprises
REDMOND, Wash. and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp.
(Nasdaq: MSFT) and the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) today announced that
Microsoft has joined the SNIA as an associate member. The move signals Microsoft's
commitment to working with the industry to develop innovative, standards-based storage area
networks (SANs) and other reliable and scalable storage solutions for data centers, high-end
advanced servers and enterprise environments.
SANs are deployed to address issues around the use of traditional LAN infrastructures for
storage traffic. A major motivator is the offloading of storage traffic from LAN backup,
restoration or replication to a dedicated SAN. SANs enable centralized storage so external
storage can be migrated and balanced easily between servers or processes that need additional or
temporary resources.
"Microsoft has evidenced strong leadership by working cooperatively with the SNIA and our
members to promote efficient, interoperable storage network systems," said Robin Glasgow,
executive director of the SNIA. "Formally joining the SNIA is a natural next step in Microsoft's
participation. We welcome the company and applaud its commitment."
"We want to encourage standardization in the network storage business arena, and our growing
relationship with the SNIA is one of the best ways we can do that," said Carl Stork, general
manager of Hardware Strategy and Evangelism at Microsoft. "Working with the SNIA and its
members in the burgeoning area of SANs is also one of the best ways we can enhance the
capabilities of the Windows(R) operating system for enterprise environments."
Microsoft also chose to join the SNIA because of its key role as a board member of the Desktop
Management Task Force (DMTF), which has complementary interests in the area of SAN
management strategies. Participating in both groups will enable Microsoft to help the industry
develop consistent storage area networking standards. Microsoft has been a voting member of the
DMTF since its inception in 1992 and is an active participant in the DMTF's Web-based
enterprise management (WBEM) initiative. The SNIA's storage management work relies upon
WBEM technologies, making Windows, with its WMI-Windows Management Interface
implementation of WBEM capabilities, an excellent SAN management platform.
About the SNIA
The SNIA is an international, not-for-profit organization made up of more than 100 companies,
plus individuals, who include developers, integrators and IT professionals dedicated to bringing
reliable storage solutions to the marketplace. Its mission is to promote the use of highly evolved,
widely accepted storage network systems across the IT community. It serves as the central point
of contact for the industry, accelerates the development and evolution of standards, promotes the
acceptance of those standards among vendors and IT professionals and delivers education and
information.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The
company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each
designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of
the full power of personal computing every day.
NOTE: Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United
States and/or other countries. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of
their respective owners.
For online information:
Visit the Microsoft Web site at microsoft.com.
Visit the SNIA Web site at snia.org.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
/NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information
on Microsoft, check out the Microsoft(R) Web page at
microsoft.com on Microsoft's corporate information
pages./
/CONTACT: press only, Shannon Rudd, 425-637-9097, or shannonr@wagged.com,
or Rapid Response Team, 503-443-7000, or rrt@wagged.com, both of Waggener
Edstrom, for Microsoft; or Barbara Kline of Breakthru Communications,
408-777-9364, or bkline@breakthrucom.com, for SNIA/
/Web site: microsoft.com |
