McDATA, QLogic Launch Joint Interoperability Program; Supported Solutions Deliver Flexibility and Lower Costs to Customers
BROOMFIELD, Colo. and ALISO VIEJO, Calif., March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- McDATA® Corp. (Nasdaq: MCDTA; MCDT), the worldwide leader in open storage networking solutions, and QLogic Corp. (Nasdaq: QLGC - news), the leader in edge-to-embedded fabric solutions, today announced a joint program for interoperability between the companies' switch products. This program builds on the successful FC-SW-2 switch compatibility already achieved by the two companies. The program sets a baseline for further enhanced interoperability features such as mixed fabric security functions and zoning through management applications such as McDATA's SANavigator(TM) software platform. Customers benefit from switch interoperability with improved investment protection and the flexibility to customize their SAN performance and functionality on an ongoing basis.
``It's clear the Fibre Channel business is finally maturing. We're seeing the two major issues with adoption finally being dealt with -- cost and complexity,'' said Steve Duplessie, founder and senior analyst, Enterprise Storage Group. ``This announcement is an example of how two powerhouses at each end of the spectrum are making sure their products work together seamlessly in a user's world, and that's exactly what the users want.''
Interoperability between McDATA and QLogic delivers the following customer benefits:
Greater flexibility and a wider range of product choices in an open, supported environment;
Investment protection through the ability to scale and transition SANs to high availability McDATA and QLogic infrastructures;
Lowers costs with less complex and easier-to-manage Director-class SAN backbones.
``Customers want, and need, interoperability among their storage networking components. McDATA recognizes that requirement and, along with QLogic, is working to provide interoperable solutions that deliver a solution that not only fulfills customers' needs today but into the future as they grow their storage infrastructures,'' said Doug Rainbolt, vice president of McDATA's switch product group.
``As far as the customer is concerned, interoperability is not optional. It's a must,'' said Frank Berry, vice president of marketing, QLogic Corp. ``It's absolutely vital that our industry simplify the storage networking experience for the IT community in order for SAN adoption to realize its full potential. The mission of the QLogic/McDATA interoperability program is to do just that by building on the success we've achieved and taking it to new levels that give customers choices without sacrifices in functionality and performance.''
McDATA and QLogic -- Core-to-Edge-to-Embedded
McDATA leads the industry in switched fabric solutions from the core of the data center to the edge with a full family of enterprise storage area network (SAN) products including the Intrepid(TM) 6000 Series Directors and the Sphereon(TM) 3000 Series Fabric Switches. QLogic leads the industry in edge-to-embedded fabric solutions with its family of SANbox(TM) and SANbox2 edge switch products and embedded fabric solutions that include SANblade(TM) host bus adapters (HBAs) and bladed switches that are designed directly into the industry's leading storage network subsystems.
McDATA and QLogic have a strong history of cooperating to improve multi-vendor switch interoperability, driving and adopting FC-SW-2, the open fabric standard for Fibre Channel switch-to-switch compatibility created by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). By using this standard, the two companies recently built a SAN fabric using McDATA's 16 and 32-port Sphereon(TM) 3000 Series Fabric Switches and the constant availability of McDATA's 64-port Intrepid(TM) 6000 Series Director with QLogic's SANbox2 switches.
Building on this groundwork, McDATA and QLogic have achieved higher levels of interoperability using McDATA's full family of core-to-edge enterprise solutions, and QLogic's family of edge fabric switches. McDATA and QLogic have successfully proven a wide range of zoning functions between their switch products using McDATA's SANavigator software. By the second half of next year, the two companies expect to introduce new security features that will be interoperable, based on T11 industry standards. All tested solutions will be fully supported by both McDATA and QLogic.
``Our collaboration is founded on addressing the fundamental needs of the customer, and their right to select and build multi-vendor SAN solutions that address the specific needs of their enterprise,'' said Robert Wright, Software General Manager and Vice President for McDATA. ``With SANavigator's ability to manage multi-protocol fabrics that include switches from multiple vendors, customers have at their fingertips a key tool to design, test, manage and scale heterogeneous SAN solutions while benefiting from simplified management and optimization of IT resources and investments.''
About McDATA ( www.mcdata.com )
McDATA (Nasdaq: MCDTA; MCDT) 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 QLogic ( www.qlogic.com )
QLogic Corporation (Nasdaq: QLGC - news) simplifies the process of networking storage for OEMs, resellers and system integrators with the only end-to-end infrastructure in the industry, consisting of award-winning controller chips, host bus adapters, network switches and management software to move data from the storage device through the fabric to the server. QLogic designs and produces solutions based on all storage network technologies including SCSI, iSCSI InfiniBand and Fibre Channel. A member of the S&P 500 Index, QLogic was recently ranked number 25 on Forbes' Best 200 Small Companies and number 20 on Fortune's 100 Fastest Growing Companies.
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 of an ``outsourcing-focused'' manufacturing model, our ability to expand sales into higher margin channels through system integrators and distributors, 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 (such as 2Gb 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.
SOURCE: McDATA Corp.; QLogic Corp. |
