Subj: INRANGE Technologies Adds Dynamic New Fibre Channel...
Date: 10/05/1998 6:23:03 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: AOL News
INRANGE Technologies Adds Dynamic New Fibre Channel Converter/SCSI Extender
SHELTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 1998--
Agreement with Crossroads Systems Means Protection for SCSI
Legacy Investments, Path to New High-Speed Topology
INRANGE(TM) Technologies Corporation (formerly General Signal Networks), a worldwide provider of data center networking technology, today announced a partnership with Crossroads Systems Inc., a producer of solutions for the emerging Fibre Channel market infrastructure, to sell Crossroads' new combination SCSI extender and Fibre Channel converter.
INRANGE Technologies will market the product, called Fibre Channel SCSI eXchange (FSX) 9066-9067, as an integral part of its line of fiber optic infrastructure solutions.
The explosive growth of servers and attached devices in the enterprise has caused a dual problem: how to manage the volume of equipment, considering the SCSI interface limitation of 25 meters; and how best to address SCSI devices when migrating to Fibre Channel technology. The FSX/9066-9067 solves both sides of the problem with a single solution.
"This solution allows hardware managers to locate SCSI devices without concern for SCSI bus distance restrictions, and also offers investment protection as SCSI connectivity is migrated to Fibre Channel," said Don Silberbauer, solutions manager for INRANGE Technologies. "The FSX product is one physical product that can take on two personalities. As a 9066, it's a SCSI extender. As a 9067 it becomes a SCSI-to-Fibre Channel converter, simply by downloading of microcode. This allows the user to have legacy SCSI devices, either on the host or peripheral side, integrated into their Fibre Channel topology, instead of scrapping them."
"INRANGE Technologies is a great addition to our customer base," said Brian R. Smith, Crossroads' chief executive officer and chairman. "We have a tremendous opportunity in helping INRANGE deliver efficient Fibre Channel solutions to customers whose storage backup challenge has reached critical proportions. We look forward to working with INRANGE to put in place a storage network enterprise that will support businesses today and scale far into the future."
The FSX/9066-9067 joins other leading INRANGE products in supporting Fibre Channel technology. The Intelligent Fiber System 9000(TM), an open channel solution that meets the need for optical fiber management that's oriented to growth and change, does comprehensive tracking and reporting, and provides an array of interconnect components for ESCON(R), FDDI, ATM and new fiber cable styles. The CD/9000(TM) Channel Director, which manages ESCON enterprises with dynamic linking of hosts and peripherals, will add native Fibre Channel connectivity in 1999. The CD/9000 will then be able to concurrently operate existing ESCON, FICON(R) or DMIF ports with full-speed Fibre Channel ports (1 Gbps). And the MainGate 9000 family of products provides Fibre Channel to ESCON connectivity.
About Crossroads
Over the next five years, the integration of networks and storage will deliver startling advancements in the way data is stored, managed and accessed. Crossroads Systems Inc., the de facto standard in storage routing, is at the forefront of these efforts. Crossroads Systems is dedicated to delivering high-availability, system-independent storage networking solutions.
Founded in 1994 as a consulting company specializing in Fibre Channel technology, Crossroads Systems incorporated in 1996 to develop Fibre Channel storage routing solutions to enable Storage Area Networks. Corporate headquarters are in Austin, Texas. Information about Crossroads Systems is available on the World Wide Web at www.crossroads.com.
About INRANGE
INRANGE Technologies Corporation, which recently changed its name from General Signal Networks, manufactures and markets matrix switches for wide area networks; channel switches and channel extension products for copper- and ESCON-based mainframes and SCSI- and PCI-based servers; fiber management systems; and performance monitoring and test systems for digital and analog networks. Headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, INRANGE Technologies Corporation has approximately 1000 employees. For more information, see its website at www.inrange.com.
ESCON and FICON are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.
CONTACT:
INRANGE Technologies Corporation, Mount Laurel
Debbie McSperrin
203/925-7531
debbie.mcsperrin@inrange.com
or
Crossroads Systems, Inc., Austin
Sandy Helsel
512/794-2761
shelsel@crossroads.com |
