STK's new FC storage lib. 4th Q GA, (Colo. company working with Sun)
Is Sun on schedule as well? I don't see why not.
Thursday September 30, 3:23 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
StorageTek Ships New Fibre Channel Storage Libraries,
Offerings Expanded to Support Open SANs
Industry Heavyweights Tap StorageTek to Build Open Storage Area
Networks
LOUISVILLE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 1999-- StorageTek(TM) (Storage Technology Corp., NYSE: STK) today
announced its new Aegis tape libraries that enable both traditional organizations and e-businesses to gain a competitive edge by
providing advanced ways of managing information from multiple environments.
The libraries are based on StorageTek's new, flexible architecture and will be the industry's first family of all-native Fibre Channel
libraries when combined with StorageTek's forthcoming 9840 Fibre Channel tape drive, available in the fourth quarter of 1999. This
powerful pairing expands tape's role from direct-attached to scalable storage area network (SAN) environments. In addition, the
acceptance of the library family is expected to be record setting due to strong endorsements from the IT industry's leaders through
strategic OEM partnerships and reseller agreements (see quote sheet below).
``As part of last month's announcement regarding our joint OEM agreement, Sun and StorageTek are working closely together to
enhance accessibility to networked storage solutions,' said Jeff Allen, vice president of marketing, Sun Microsystems Network
Storage. ``StorageTek's announcement of the L700 tape library represents a significant step forward in delivering on our shared
commitment to develop scalable, networked storage solutions that will enable our customers to remain competitive in the next
millennium.'
Fibre Channel SANs are accelerating the position of data storage as an e-business solution and driving demand for the new libraries.
The Internet has become the central engine for e-commerce, and users are depending on networks to run 24x7, mission-critical
applications and manage floods of digital text and images.
StorageTek's network-aware, intelligent libraries are designed to work in a SAN environment, connected by high-speed Fibre
Channel instead of traditional SCSI links. This enables organizations to manage and share data faster, over large distances. As a
one-stop-shop for SANs, StorageTek is extending its product line with these libraries to streamline storage management and
optimize storage space to boost e-business performance.
``HP is pleased to support StorageTek's commitment to delivering leading high-availability storage for customers moving to Fibre
Channel and storage area networking,' said David Scott, Hewlett Packard's general manager for Extended Platform Storage
Operation.
``This announcement is targeted at the SAN opportunity,' said Bob Amatruda, senior analyst, Tape and Removable Storage at
International Data Corp. (IDC). StorageTek's Aegis family will provide a scalable tape storage solution independent of tape
technology. Additionally, Fibre Channel connectivity will facilitate network management of the tape automation process.``
Intelligent software ``agents' in StorageTek's new family of libraries collect performance statistics and other vital information that can
be easily accessed and monitored remotely by an Internet browser, such as Netscape Navigator. As of today, StorageTek provides
the first and only tape libraries to be certified with systems management frameworks. Already certified with Computer Associates'
Unicenter TNG and HP's OpenView, StorageTek is in the certification process with Tivoli NetView. StorageTek's libraries are
uniquely capable of communicating management information over corporate networks. This allows customers to reduce storage
management costs by simplifying and centralizing SAN administration. With the worldwide shortage of IT resources, the flexibility to
work with multiple software applications can eliminate this constraint and allow companies to power their business through
technology rather than permitting technology to hinder growth.
StorageTek Fuels the Changing Role of Storage Libraries
Traditionally, customers have archived data onto libraries for disaster recovery and stored mission-critical information on disk
subsystems. StorageTek's years of innovations in automation and robotics, breakthrough tape drive technologies and high-speed
Fibre Channel connectivity have driven the market to accept tape libraries as a primary data storage site to further control spiraling
storage costs. This transforms tape from an auxiliary storage device into a mission-critical tool for holding digital text, video clips,
X-rays, check images, e-business data and other critical, frequently accessed information.
The Aegis-based library family will support the highly anticipated Fibre Channel version of StorageTek's breakthrough 9840 tape
drive. Spanning the desktop to the enterprise, 9840 technology shrinks the price/performance gap between disk and tape for
demanding, access-intensive environments. The Fibre Channel 9840 drive is currently in beta testing and, with general availability
expected in the fourth quarter of 1999, will be a key component of the industry's first and only full-Fibre Channel libraries. End-
to-end Fibre Channel tape solutions deliver exciting new capabilities to customers, such as distance extension and drive sharing
across many UNIX and Microsoft Windows NT servers.
In addition to offering high performance and automation, the new libraries support mixed media, including StorageTek's
breakthrough 9840 tape drive, Quantum's Digital Linear Tape (DLT/SuperDLT) and Ultrium (LTO) formats. The system allows
``hot swaps' so that customers can continue to operate the library even as drives, fans or power supplies are replaced, supporting
round-the-clock operations. The libraries' advanced robotics provides more tape cartridge exchanges per hour without requiring
routine maintenance. This increases library availability and boosts continuous data access.
``StorageTek has raised the bar on pre-existing SAN standards,' said Joan Wrabetz, StorageTek vice president and general
manager of SAN Operations. ``These Fibre Channel-enabled libraries symbolize StorageTek's leadership in the SAN market.
Endorsements from our OEM partners like Sun and HP underscore this reality as they see StorageTek as a primary source for SAN
building blocks to support their customers' e-business initiatives.'
Pricing and Availability
StorageTek's first Aegis-based offering, the L700 tape library, provides capacity of up to 27.6 terabytes (TB) and is targeted at the
UNIX and Windows NT marketplace for large, distributed open systems implementations. It supports up to 12 9840 drives or 20
DLT/SuperDLT drives and is ready to support up to 20 Ultrium drives. StorageTek's Aegis libraries support mixed media, including
any combination of these drive technologies to meet the varied needs of multiple application environments. The L700 library is
available immediately in the United States and Europe, with other geographies to follow, through StorageTek and StorageTek
channels. Pricing starts at US$77,100 for an entry-level library.
About StorageTek
StorageTek is the preeminent provider of network storage. The company's strategy is to provide ``Open, Intelligent and
Integrated'(TM) solutions that combine storage products, storage management software and storage services. StorageTek solutions
help customers collect, move, store, share and protect all types of digital content on platforms ranging from laptops to enterprise
servers. The company, with headquarters in Louisville, Colo., reported revenue of $2.3 billion in 1998. Information on StorageTek is
available on the World Wide Web at www.storagetek.com or phone 1-800-786-7835.
TRADEMARKS: StorageTek and ``Open, Intelligent and Integrated' are trademarks of Storage Technology Corp. All other
products or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
StorageTek Aegis Libraries Partner Quote Sheet
ADIC
``With the value of data increasing as fast as its volume, IT managers need innovative tools to help them organize and access
information,' said Paul Rutherford, ADIC vice-president, technology and software development. ``We believe that these enterprise
storage demands will drive the use of automated tape libraries far beyond backup. Key to that development is the combination of
new tape libraries like the StorageTek L700 and storage management software like ADIC's AMASS software, which makes data in
automated libraries as easy to access as data on magnetic disk.'
Dot Hill Systems
``As a leading provider of carrier-class storage systems, Dot Hill is on the front lines of delivering working SANs that support
Internet applications,' said Ken Pitz, Dot Hill senior vice president of marketing and product management. ``StorageTek's new
library family fits well into the SAN environment to meet the access and reliability demands of our traditional customers and
fast-growing, hot startups.'
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s OpenView Software Unit
``HP OpenView OmniBack II is a leading provider of enterprise-strength backup and restore management capabilities for
heterogeneous environments. Supporting high-end libraries such as StorageTek's new L700 is critical in enabling us to meet our
customers' enterprise storage needs,' said Ottmar Schneider, general manager for HP OpenView Storage Management Products.
``HP OpenView has worked closely with StorageTek to ensure that together our products deliver added value through our
integrated solutions, such as mixed tape support within a library.'
Legato Systems Inc.
``As a leader in SAN data protection, Legato welcomes the introduction of StorageTek's Aegis-based Fibre Channel libraries,' said
Scott McIntyre, Legato business line manager of storage networking. ``In concert with Legato's Celestra serverless backup
technology, the Aegis-based libraries will give enterprise customers a powerful tool that further leverages their investment in highly
available SAN infrastructures.'
SCH Technologies
``We are pleased to provide the most advanced SAN-aware software solution certified to work with the StorageTek L700 library,'
said Denise Reier, SCH Technologies vice president of marketing. The powerful combination of StorageTek's REEL family of
high-performance storage management software with the native Fibre Channel L700 gives our customers significant new benefits.
They can achieve higher levels of data throughput, while maximizing storage resources, by pooling the L700's 9840 and DLT drives
across the enterprise with REEL's SAN resource management capabilities.``
Silicon Graphics Inc.
``SGI is pleased to be on the forefront in supporting StorageTek's new L700 series of libraries,' said Ben Passarelli, SGI director of
product marketing, Computer Systems Business Unit. ``With multiple and mixed media support, the L700 is an excellent addition to
StorageTek's robust libraries currently supported by SGI. The L700 and the forthcoming StorageTek 9840 Fibre Channel tape
drive technologies will accelerate customer migration to SAN and all the capability and flexibility that it offers. The L700 fits perfectly
into SGI's SAN implementation strategy.'
VERITAS Software Corp.
``With the introduction of the L700 Library, StorageTek is helping customers manage and share data faster, over larger distances,'
said Steve Colman, VERITAS Software vice president of worldwide OEM operations. ``Together, VERITAS NetBackup and
StorageTek's L700 library streamline storage management and optimize storage space to boost performance for our joint customers,
and deliver business without interruption for mission-critical applications like e-business.'
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