Network Appliance Endorses iSCSI Technology
biz.yahoo.com
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 2001--Network Appliance, Inc. (Nasdaq:NTAP - news), the leading provider of network-attached data access and content delivery solutions, announced today that it is officially endorsing iSCSI technology. This endorsement will make iSCSI yet another protocol option in the company's enterprise storage solutions portfolio. It also validates the company's multiprotocol product development strategy with solutions for TCP/IP and Fibre Channel networks, support for NFS and CIFS protocols, and developments on the horizon for iSCSI, VI, DAFS, and Infiniband deployments.
Network Appliance pioneered and is the largest supplier of TCP/IP-based storage networking and has a long history of advancing network-centric storage architectures. As the leading network-centric enterprise storage company, NetApp has offered customers a variety of protocol choices to extend the life of their legacy investments while simultaneously offering new solutions that anticipate tomorrow's business opportunities. NetApp's endorsement of iSCSI technology will help customers:
maximize durable ROI from their existing storage and network infrastructures
realize the benefits of both NAS and SAN topologies in a new network-centric storage paradigm (open storage networking) that eschews traditional NAS/SAN distinctions
breathe new life into applications previously untapped by network-centric storage offerings
As company co-founder and Executive Vice President of engineering Dave Hitz explained, ``We aim to be the preferred global storage supplier for today's enterprises. We are achieving that goal by offering customers a variety of implementation options that utilize open standards, protect their legacy investments, and offer better approaches to existing and anticipated business opportunities resulting in better data availability and lower TCO. For years, we've said that TCP/IP is a powerful option for storage networking, and we pioneered the NAS approach to network-centric storage, making the most of customers' TCP/IP investments and expertise. iSCSI promises to bring the `best of both worlds' -- SAN and NAS -- to our customers by leveraging their existing technology investments and giving them new life in a network-centric storage universe.''
Network Appliance has already contributed expertise and resources to iSCSI development through the IETF. The company's official endorsement of the technology comes with increased development support for the protocol and more industry-wide collaboration to bring iSCSI to market.
As Hitz continued, ``Network Appliance believes that the best way to add value to information is to distribute and share it throughout the enterprise -- whether over TCP/IP, Fibre Channel, iSCSI, or InfiniBand protocols. TCP/IP networks combine great performance with a long history of enterprise familiarity and trust, and we've offered TCP/IP-based, network-centric storage solutions in mission-critical enterprise environments longer than anyone. The real news today isn't that NetApp is endorsing iSCSI, but rather that everyone else is finally realizing our approach to storage networking has been a compelling one all along.''
Network Appliance expects products incorporating iSCSI to be available in calendar year 2002, after the protocol specification has been completed.
About Network Appliance
Network Appliance, Inc., a veteran in network file storage and content delivery, has been providing data access solutions since 1992, and is a member of both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 index. Major corporations and service providers, including Lycos, Yahoo!, Citicorp Securities, Siemens, Lockheed, Cisco, Motorola, and Texas Instruments have deployed NetApp® solutions.
The company pioneered the concept of the ``network appliance,'' an extension of the industry trend toward dedicated, specialized products that perform a single function. NetApp storage and content delivery platforms (filers and NetCache(TM) appliances) are coupled with powerful content distribution and reporting software. This center-to-edge(TM) solution offers seamless data management from the back-end data center to the edge of the network quickly, simply, and reliably. The Network Appliance(TM) product portfolio utilizes the company's innovative data access software, known as the Data ONTAP(TM) operating system, as well as standards-compliant hardware. It also offers multiprotocol support and transparent integration for UNIX® and Windows® environments.
Note to Editors: NetApp is a registered trademark and Network Appliance, NetCache, center to edge, and Data ONTAP are trademarks of Network Appliance, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Windows NT is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Limited. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.
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Contact:
Network Appliance, Inc.
Eric Brown, 408/822-3463
ebrown@netapp.com
Jaime Jinks, 408/822-3761
jjinks@netapp.com |
