Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Son of SAN - Storage Networking Technologies -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nine_USA who wrote (93)	11/13/1997 8:23:00 AM
From: Nine_USA	Respond to of 4808

QLogic Announces Fiber-Optic Fibre Channel Board; Supports cable lengths up to 500 meters Business Wire - November 13, 1997 08:01 COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 1997--QLogic Corp. (NASDAQ:QLGC) announced today that it has begun sampling its QLA2100F PCI-to-Fibre Channel host adapter board for fiber-optic cable media -- a move which brings the advantages of fiber-optic cabling to the mass market of system storage and clustering applications. The high-performance, cost-effective QLA2100F incorporates a 64-bit PCI host interface, on-board RISC processor and fiber-optic Fibre Channel interface, and supports Fibre Channel cable lengths up to 500 meters. According to Alan Holbrook, product manager for Digital Equipment Corp.'s Computer Special Systems Division (CSS), "Our customers require both copper and fiber-optic connections for Fibre Channel storage subsystems. Working with QLogic, first with the QLA2100 and now the new QLA2100F, gives Digital CSS the flexibility to address our customer's needs now and in the future." Unmatched Performance Specially targeted at SCSI storage and server clustering applications, the QLA2100F is based on QLogic's ISP2100 PCI-to-Fibre Channel processor, which combines a 64-bit PCI host interface (fully backward-compatible with 32-bit PCI systems), RISC processor, Fibre Channel protocol engine, dedicated transmit and receive frame buffers, and 100 Mbytes/sec Fibre Channel serial transceivers into a single chip. Three independent on-chip DMA channels enable commands and data to be processed simultaneously, while the dedicated frame buffers optimize PCI bus utilization and enable continuous streaming of data during transfer operations. Simultaneous SCSI I/O commands are completely executed without host-system intervention (no more than one system interrupt is generated per SCSI I/O), substantially reducing host-CPU utilization. The 64-bit PCI interface sustains data transfer rates of up to 264 Mbytes/sec and supports 64-bit host memory addressing (dual-address cycle), yet is fully backward-compatible with the 32-bit PCI expansion slots commonly found in desktop PCs, technical workstations and servers. Cable Lengths Up To 500 Meters The QLA2100F supports shortwave, multimode optical transceivers which directly interface to fiber-optic cabling via an external SC duplex connector. Cable lengths as long as 500 meters are supported, with additional cable lengths possible through use of Fibre Channel hubs, switches or fiber-optic repeaters. Compatibility with Fibre Channel Switches The QLA2100F is fully compatible with Fibre Channel switches provided by such suppliers as Ancor Communications Inc. and Arcxel Technologies Inc. Both local and remote Fibre Channel devices can be accessed through a Fibre Channel switched fabric, enabling seamless integration of storage devices, subsystems and server platforms located at multiple physical sites. Supports I2O Standard, Retains Parallel SCSI Host Software Investment A message-style host-software interface enables the QLA2100F to operate as an independent storage controller, in a manner quite similar to the recently developed I2O subsystem interface specification. The QLA2100F is fully I2O-ready, and at COMDEX/Fall 1997, QLogic's QLA2100 (the copper-media equivalent to the QLA2100F) will be demonstrating I2O operation in a Windows NT operating environment. QLogic will also demonstrate two QLA2100s operating in a Microsoft Wolfpack clustering application. Native QLA2100F software-driver support is also available for all major operating systems. The QLA2100F host-software interface is also quite similar to QLogic's ISP parallel SCSI products, and enables nearly complete host-software compatibility between QLogic Fibre Channel and parallel SCSI applications. This unique and important feature is not offered by any other Fibre Channel or parallel SCSI supplier and enables QLogic customers to retain their host-software investment while migrating to future interface technologies. Small Form Factor, Flexible Features The highly integrated ISP2100 chip minimizes board component count and enables the QLA2100F to provide a powerful array of features while conforming to an extremely efficient PCI half-card form factor. The QLA2100F also supports connector tabs for configuration in either a 32-bit or 64-bit PCI local-bus connector; a field-upgradeable flash ROM which contains Basic Input/Output Software (BIOS) required to support boot devices on Intel/ Microsoft-based systems; a field-upgradeable, non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) memory, which stores a variety of PCI configuration parameters and address information; and an external SC duplex connector for direct connection to Fibre Channel shortwave, multimode optical cabling. Availability QLA2100F sample boards are available now. Production boards will ship in January 1998.

To: Nine_USA who wrote (93)	11/13/1997 8:25:00 AM
From: Nine_USA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4808

Box Hill and Adaptec Introduce First Complete Gigabit Fibre Channel Raid Storage System for Windows NT Business Wire - November 13, 1997 08:01 NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 1997-- Comprehensive Storage System has Fibre Channel Interfaces on Host CPU and Disk Drives with Embedded X/OR RAID Fault Tolerance Box Hill Systems Corp. (NYSE:BXH) today announced the availability of a comprehensive Fibre Channel RAID storage system that features Box Hill's Fibre Box(R) and is optimized by the Adaptec (NASDAQ:ADPT) AHA-F940 PCI-Fibre Channel host adapter. By combining Adaptec's PCI-Fibre Channel host adapter with Box Hill's Fibre Box -- both of which have Fibre Channel interfaces -- this new storage system offers users of the Windows NT computing environment an all-inclusive, turnkey Fibre Channel RAID storage solution with proven interoperability. Additionally, because the Fibre Box is now equipped with Box Hill's newly developed proprietary X/ORaid(TM) Module, it enables major RAID functions to be efficiently performed on Fibre Channel disk drives -- a revolutionary development that eliminates the need for burdensome CPU processing of software RAID or an external hardware RAID controller, while ensuring high availability and fault-tolerance. Combined, the AHA-F940 and the Fibre Box deliver one of the fastest, most complete NT-based Fibre Channel RAID storage systems available today. Comments from Management of Adaptec Inc. and Box Hill Systems Corp. "Box Hill's complete NT-based Fibre Channel RAID storage system is bringing the reality of standards-based Fibre Channel products to market," said Dick Clayton, vice president of Adaptec's Mission Critical Systems business unit. "As a leading Fibre Channel storage systems vendor, Box Hill is well positioned to drive the acceptance of Fibre Channel as an important ingredient in high-performance enterprise I/O subsystems solutions." "Adaptec and Box Hill have integrated the highest performance Fibre Channel host adapter and the most comprehensive Fibre Channel RAID storage system," said Philip Black, CEO of Box Hill Systems Corp. "Together, we distinguish ourselves in the Fibre Channel storage market by providing the only pure Fibre Channel embedded RAID storage system that features Fibre Channel interfaces on both the host CPU and disk drives. This allows us to play an important role in the further development of high performance, high-availability storage standards for NT servers." About the System Adaptec's high speed AHA-F940 PCI-Fibre Channel host adapter, which manages the I/O for the Fibre Box, has demonstrated industry leading performance. Box Hill's Fibre Box is a high-performance, hot-swappable, dual Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) storage system with capacities up to 72 GB per enclosure (1.1 TB total per loop) using 4 GB or 9 GB Fibre Channel disk drives. Included in this system is Box Hill's X/ORaid Module, which activates the X/OR RAID Processors embedded in Fibre Channel disk drives and provides three application-specific RAID implementations for video, multimedia and transaction processing environments. The comprehensive Fibre Channel RAID storage system also includes Box Hill's X/ORaid Module and Fibre Box Array Explorer(TM) monitoring software, as well as cables, installation manuals and full documentation. About Fibre Channel The Fibre Channel standard supports up to 126 peripheral device connections on the Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) and can support those connections up to 10 kilometers with fiber optic cabling. Fibre Channel is capable of moving data between computer systems and storage systems at speeds of up to 100 MB per second (200 MB per second with dual loops). These speeds allow external storage systems to send and store data faster, to keep pace with a wide variety of complex computing applications such as transaction intensive databases, video and multimedia programming applications. In addition to longer cable lengths and greatly increased peripheral device connections, Fibre Channel introduces a new RAID paradigm: X/OR RAID Processors are now embedded in the Fibre Channel disk drives themselves, giving them RAID fault-tolerance. Availability of Fibre Channel RAID Storage System The Fibre Channel RAID storage system is available immediately for Windows NT 4.0, with additional operating systems to follow. Requests for systems can be directed to Matthew Lewis at Box Hill at 212/989-4455 (800/727-3863), or via Email: info@boxhill.com . A live demonstration of the Fibre Channel RAID storage system can be seen at Comdex Fall, Nov. 17-21, at the Las Vegas Convention Center (Adaptec booth No. L5202 and Fibre Channel Loop Community (FCLC) booth No. N250). About Adaptec Adaptec provides bandwidth management technologies for organizations building the global information infrastructure. Its high performance I/O, connectivity, and network products are incorporated into the systems and products of major computer and peripheral manufacturers. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., Adaptec (NASDAQ:ADPT) employs 3500 people worldwide in design, manufacturing, sales, service and distribution. Adaptec's home page is www.adaptec.com . About Box Hill Box Hill Systems Corp. (NYSE:BXH) is the leading, full-service provider of high-availability, mission-critical storage and backup solutions that are bigger, faster and smarter than industry competition. Box Hill is recognized worldwide by a customer base that includes many of the largest financial, telecommunications, government and university research institutions in the world. Box Hill's home page is www.boxhill.com .