Speaking of Tier I OEM's: Sun Announces Unparalleled Customer Demand for Its High Performance, Fibre Channel A5000 Raid Storage Array
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 1998-
Two Months After Introduction, Sun Books Nearly 200 Terabytes of
A5000 Storage
Further increasing its leadership position within the fibre channel development arena, Sun Microsystems Inc., today announced that nearly 200 terabytes (TB) of Sun(TM) Enterprise Network Array(TM) A5000 storage subsystems have been ordered within two months of the product's release. As a result of such strong customer demand, the A5000 has become the industry's fastest selling Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FCAL) storage array. It took Data General Clariion 13 months to sell 200 TB of their Fibre Channel array. By contrast, Sun, the industry's number one UNIX RAID vendor, has booked nearly 200 TB of its FCAL A5000 within just two months of the product's release.
"The demand for Sun's A5000 Fibre Channel disk array is a strong signal that Fibre Channel technology is ready for rapid user adoption," said Robert Gray, research manager, storage subsystems with International Data Corporation. "Businesses with mission-critical applications are recognizing the high-availability benefits of the redundancy in dual-loop Fibre Channel configurations."
The A5000 array performs exceptionally, with large configurations capable of scaling to more than one GB/sec. A building block component for networked storage, the A5000 is gaining momentum over competitors with those customers interested in creating high-performance storage network architectures. The ability to create such a network enables customers to have much faster reaction times to shortened planning cycles, as well as investment protection, since new components can be added on an as needed basis. Some of Sun's A5000 customers include: Browning-Ferris Industries, a world leader in waste collection, disposal and recycling services; NTT Mobile Communications Network, Inc., Japan's leading mobile communications operator; Forschungszentrum Julich, one of the largest research institutions in Europe; and Telekurs Payserv, the service center for all banks in Switzerland.
"Sun's early leadership in Fibre Channel technology is winning new customers who want the same availability, scalability, and performance advantages that Sun customers have been getting from our Fibre Channel arrays for years," said Robin Harris, senior product manager for the Sun A5000. "By leveraging Sun's FCAL storage arrays, as well as their tight integration with Sun's industry-leading Sun(TM) Enterprise(TM) server line, customers are voting for proven, high performance technology rather than relying on unproven technology from other vendors." Sun's Fibre Channel Leadership
Sun began working with Fibre Channel standards in 1989 and in 1993 co-founded the Fibre Channel Systems Initiative (FCSI) in conjunction with Hewlett-Packard and IBM. Sun began shipping its first Fibre Channel product, the SPARCstorage Array, in 1994 and since that time has shipped more than 3000 terabytes of Fibre Channel storage while garnering support from many industry-leading vendors. As other storage vendors aspire to bring their first Fibre Channel products to market, Sun has now made available its second-generation product, putting Sun a full generation ahead of other storage vendors. About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer(TM)," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNW), to its position as a leading provider of hardware, software and services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than $8.5 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the WorldWide Web at sun.com. -0- Note to Editors: Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Sun Enterprise Network Array, Sun Enterprise and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Press announcements and other information about Sun Microsystems are available on the Internet via the World Wide Web using a tool such as Netscape Navigator or Sun's HotJava. Type sun.com at the URL prompt.
CONTACT:
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Maria Villarino, 650/786-3205
maria.villarino@sun.com
or
Burson-Marsteller
Angela Hesse, 650/287-4018
angela-hesse@bm.com |
