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Company Press Release
SOURCE: McDATA Corporation
Fibre Channel Switch Developers Drive Interoperability;
Competitors Form Pact to Drive Open Standards
SAN JOSE, Calif., BROOMFIELD, Colo., MINNETONKA, Minn., and
BOTHELL,
Wash., July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Switch manufacturers Ancor Communications,
Inc., Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (BROCADE®), Gadzoox Networks,
Inc. (Gadzoox®), McDATA Corporation (McDATA®) and Vixel Corporation today
announced an Open Standards Fabric Initiative (OSFI) under which they have
agreed to work together to aggressively promote interoperability between Fibre
Channel switches. Fibre Channel switches are an integral part of
high-performing storage area networks (SANs). This is a collaborative
initiative formed to accelerate the normal standards adoption process by
agreeing upon the critical elements required for switch-to-switch
interoperability.
Key engineering representatives from each switch manufacturer held a face-to-face meeting on July 1st. They identified the elements
crucial to allowing data to pass among heterogeneous switches. By year-end, they agreed to define and draft the appropriate documents
for presentation to the National Committee for Information Technology Standards (NCITS) T11 working group for approval and release
for publication by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The T11 group is the governing body for the Fibre Channel
FC-SW-2 and FC-GS-3 standards.
The initiative is addressing specific customer problems by providing heterogeneous switching between multiple vendors, interoperable
standards and common manageability. Once the initiative has completed its objective, it will be dissolved.
''Interoperability between competing Fibre Channel fabric switches is mandatory for broad end-user acceptance of open SANs,'' said
Robert Gray, research director for storage systems at IDC. ''It is great to see these suppliers taking this head on. This initiative will add
momentum to Fibre Channel SAN adoption.''
''Interoperability is key to widespread SAN implementation,'' said Carla Kennedy, vice president of marketing, Ancor Communications.
''This is a step closer to the plug-and-play solution end-users demand.''
''The creation and support of true multi-vendor open standards is a cornerstone of Brocade's strategy for the SAN market,'' said Peter
Tarrant, vice president of marketing and business development at Brocade. ''Brocade is pleased to support this initiative in order to
accelerate the critical standards work.''
''This initiative serves as a platform on which the major switch manufacturers will reconcile differences to the benefit of the customer and
the Fibre Channel networking industry,'' stated Jeff Vogel, vice president of marketing at McDATA. ''McDATA is serious about
meeting the initiative's goal to present, by end-of-year, an agreed-upon set of standards to ANSI for rapid ratification.''
''The OSFI initiative addresses one of the primary issues voiced by our customers -- Fibre Channel interoperability. Vixel supports all
efforts to overcome and erase interoperability barriers and increase the overall adoption and manageability of Fibre Channel devices,''
said James M. McCluney, president and CEO, Vixel Corporation. ''This initiative underscores the Fibre Channel community's ability and
desire to respond to customer needs and requirements.''
About Ancor Communications
Ancor Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANCR - news) provides GigWorks(TM) high-performance Fibre Channel switches for storage
and data-intensive network solutions, including storage area networks (SANs). The company was the first to deliver a Fibre Channel
switch, and the first to top the one-gigabit performance level. Ancor is a member of the Fibre Channel Association, the Storage
Networking Industry Alliance, the Fibre Channel Community, the ANSI Standards Committee, and the University of New Hampshire
Fibre Channel Consortium to promote the advancement of Fibre Channel standards and interoperability. Information on Ancor is
available on the World Wide Web at ancor.com.
About Brocade Communications
BROCADE (Nasdaq: BRCD - news) is a leading supplier of open Fibre Channel Fabric solutions that provide the intelligent backbone
for Storage Area Networks (SANs). The BROCADE SilkWorm® family of Fibre Channel switches and SAN management software
are designed to optimize data availability in the storage enterprise. Using BROCADE solutions, companies can simplify the
implementation of Storage Area Networks, reduce the total cost of ownership of data storage environments, and improve network and
application efficiency and performance.
BROCADE is committed to maintaining open, standards-based solutions. Leading systems, applications, and storage vendors have
selected BROCADE as their Fibre Channel connectivity standard, including CNT, Compaq Computer, Dell Computer, Groupe Bull,
IBM, McDATA Corporation, Network Appliance, Sequent, Siemens Computer Systems, and StorageTek. In addition, BROCADE
counts industry leaders Emulex, Legato, QLogic, and VERITAS among its strategic partners. The company's headquarters is at 1901
Guadalupe Parkway, San Jose, CA 95131. Visit BROCADE at brocade.com, or contact the company at
info@brocade.com.
About Gadzoox Networks
Gadzoox Networks, Inc. is a leader in SAN (storage area network) products. The company provides networking solutions for enterprise
storage with scalable, managed SAN solutions based on Gadzoox' Fibre Channel hubs, switches and management products. Serving as
modular building blocks, Gadzoox' products are designed to address the growth in enterprise data through the evolving capabilities of
SANs. Headquartered in San Jose, CA, Gadzoox is an ISO 9001 certified company.
About McDATA Corporation
McDATA Corporation is the leading supplier of data center networking systems, including Director and switch products for use in
enterprise storage applications and services. McDATA offers enterprise-class solutions for open systems that include data center-centric,
enterprise-wide network management for the complete line. McDATA's end-to-end solutions provide IT organizations with the tools and
methodologies to implement robust storage area networks. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, McDATA has more than 330
employees worldwide. Information about McDATA can be found at www.mcdata.com.
About Vixel Corporation
Vixel Corporation is a leading provider of Storage Area Network (SAN) solutions. The company's comprehensive product portfolio of
switches, hubs and transceivers with a single management software application delivers a reliable, interoperable solution to its customers
and partners. Established in 1991, the company continues to develop innovative Fibre Channel products to optimize the deployment,
performance and management of SAN solutions. Vixel products are available through its network of value-added resellers, alliances and
OEMs.
For more information, visit Vixel's web site at www.vixel.com. Vixel Corporation is headquartered at 11911 North Creek Parkway
South, Bothell, Washington 98011 and can be contacted by phone at 425-806-5509 or e-mail at marketing@vixel.com.
SOURCE: McDATA Corporation
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