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Thursday November 13, 8:01 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
QLogic Announces Fiber-Optic Fibre Channel Board
Supports cable lengths up to 500 meters
COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 1997--QLogic Corp.
(NASDAQ:QLGC - news) 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
[NYSE:DEC - news].'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. [Nasdaq:ANCR - news] 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.
About QLogic
QLogic is a leading designer and supplier of semiconductor and
board-level I/O products. The company's products provide
high-performance interface connections for computer systems and their
attached data storage peripherals, such as hard disk and tape drives,
CD-ROM drives and RAID subsystems. QLogic provides I/O technology
solutions by designing and marketing single-chip controller and adapter
board products for both sides of the computer/peripheral device
interlink, or ''bus.''
Historically, the company has targeted the high-performance sector of
the I/O market, focusing primarily on the SCSI standard. The company is
utilizing its I/O expertise to develop products for emerging I/O
standards such as Fibre Channel, which is experiencing early industry
acceptance as a higher performance solution that maintains signal
integrity while allowing for increased connectivity between a computer
system and its data storage peripherals.
Forward-looking statements contained in this document may involve risks
and uncertainties. The company wishes to advise readers that a number of
important risk factors could cause actual results to differ materially
from those in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include new
and changing technologies; a change in semiconductor foundry conditions;
fluctuations or cancellations in orders from customers; and the
company's ability to compete effectively with other companies.
These and other factors which could cause actual results to differ
materially are also discussed in the company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including its recent filings on Form
S-3, Form 10-K, and Form 10-Q.
For more information about QLogic and its product lines, contact QLogic
Corp., 3545 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; telephone: 800/662-4471
(sales); 714/438-2200 (corporate); fax: 714/668-5008; home page
qlc.com .
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