More: 3Com, Legato Systems, and MTI Technology Announce Integration
Alliance to Provide Pre-Tested, Interoperable Storage Area Network
(SAN) Solutions
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- 3Com Corporation
(Nasdaq: COMS), a leading global networking company; Legato
Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: LGTO), a leader in the enterprise storage
management software market; and MTI Technology Corp. (Nasdaq:
MTIC), a leading supplier of enterprise storage solutions, today
announced that they have formed an integration alliance to deliver
tested, interoperable SAN storage management and online storage
solutions. By collaborating to pre-test "virtual solutions" for SANs, the
three vendors plan to deliver to end-users the benefits of storage area
networking in a market where solutions are not yet 'plug-and-play'.
"With the explosive growth in mission-critical data, IT managers are
increasingly faced with two key challenges. First, how to build
scalable, highly-available storage solutions to accommodate the rapid
growth in high- speed data access, and second, how to effectively and
efficiently manage and protect this mission-critical data," said Doug
Spreng, senior vice president of 3Com's Client Access Business Unit.
"3Com, Legato and MTI, are addressing these challenges by bringing
together our collective expertise and best in class products to deliver,
tested, proven turn-key backup and high- availability online storage
solutions based on Storage Area Networking."
SANs are creating a convergence of traditional storage subsystems,
storage management software, and networking components to provide
flexible, high- performance, highly available storage architectures.
SANs move storage devices, such as tape libraries and online disk,
from the legacy SCSI direct- connect architecture to a Fibre Channel
network using hubs and switches. These Fibre Channel-based storage
area networks provide enhanced performance, higher data availability,
faster backup, and improved device sharing, all resulting in increased
productivity and reduced total cost of ownership (TCO).
Fibre Channel and SAN technologies are in their infancy and,
consequently, there are few proven interoperable solutions in today's
marketplace. 3Com, Legato, and MTI are addressing this issue with the
introduction of tested, interoperable SAN Solutions as part of the 3Com
StorageConnect(TM) Compatibility Program. The SAN solutions
approved by the 3Com StorageConnect Compatibility Program allow
customers to employ the benefits of storage area networking while
reducing the risks associated with acquiring new products in the early
stages of the SAN market.
The combination of 3Com's StorageConnect Fibre Channel networking
components, Legato Systems' enterprise storage management software,
and MTI's Infinity tape libraries and Gladiator Fibre Channel disk
arrays, will enable customers to take full advantage of both data
protection and online storage applications utilizing the connectivity and
performance of Fibre Channel-based SANs.
MTI will also serve as the solution integrator for customers, enabling
end-users to quickly deploy and achieve the benefits of these solutions,
without the traditional obstacles associated with implementing new
technology. MTI believes it is well positioned to bring these Certified
SAN Solutions to market due to its consultative direct sales force, its
company-owned customer service organization, and its experience in
bringing complex enterprise storage solutions to market on a worldwide
basis.
"Dataquest research indicates that data reliability, availability, and
backup/restore are the most demanded storage functions," stated
Thomas Lahive, senior analyst with Dataquest Server Storage and
RAID Program. "A Storage Area Network infrastructure, consisting of
Fibre Channel switches and hubs, backup/restore software, RAID, and
tape libraries, will revolutionize data protection. According to published
Dataquest research, each of the companies in this announcement is a
leading market share provider in their respective segments. This is the
first announcement of three market share leaders working together to
solve one of the leading storage problems, and demonstrating the value
of a SAN."
The 3Com, Legato and MTI Integration Alliance has focused on two
initial offerings for SAN data protection and online storage solutions.
Pre-tested SAN Data Protection Solutions for "LAN free backup" for
Windows NT and UNIX
Data Protection is one of the key drivers of SAN adoption, and
Legato's Enterprise Storage Management Architecture (ESMA) enables
customers to take advantage of the benefits offered by SAN topologies.
Legato NetWorker Storage Nodes enable large, business-critical
servers to be backed up directly to tape, under the control of a central
Legato NetWorker server. This results in the ability to off-load backup
traffic from the local area network and move it to the SAN, taking
advantage of the bandwidth offered by 3Com's Fibre Channel
networking hardware. Also, the immediate save and restore technology
of Legato NetWorker Power Edition enables customers to take
maximum advantage of Fibre Channel performance capabilities.
Customers will also benefit from an increased return on investment
through the sharing of tape resources. The any-to-any connectivity of
SANs enables tape libraries to be connected to multiple servers and
Legato SmartMedia manages the sharing of media and devices between
them. Legato SmartMedia enables drive and library sharing, managing
application requests for media from a central location. This centralized
management of distributed libraries results in improved manageability
and reduced operating costs.
Legato's powerful enterprise-wide data protection software will be
offered with MTI's Infinity line of automated DLT tape libraries,
ranging in capacity from a few hundred gigabytes to almost 100
terabytes. These high-performance tape libraries have been specifically
designed to meet the backup, restore and archival storage needs of
businesses running centralized backups, or those implementing
distributed departmental or remote office backup strategies. 3Com, in
turn, will provide the networking hardware that will enable the libraries
to be used on Fibre Channel-based storage area networks.
"SANs hold tremendous potential for optimizing storage management
processes, and the 3Com, Legato, and MTI Integration Alliance will
provide customers with tested, interoperable solutions," said Nora M.
Denzel, senior vice president of Legato Systems, Inc. "This is
extremely important for customers interested in deploying SAN
topologies, who want the assurance that the necessary storage
management infrastructure will be available." Interoperable SAN Online
Solutions
The pre-tested SAN Online Solutions will offer both MTI's Gladiator
RAID and StorageWare non-RAID disk storage systems in SAN
configurations using the 3Com StorageConnect family of Host Bus
Adapters (HBAs), hubs, and switches. This combination will offer
users modular, high-performance, highly available and scalable data
storage solutions that traditional direct-connect SCSI storage
subsystems are unable to provide.
MTI's Gladiator family of RAID arrays scale from several hundred
gigabyte departmental storage solutions to over a terabyte of enterprise
data center storage. Fibre Channel connectivity, coupled with
cross-platform compatibility with Windows NT and popular
UNIX-based servers, provides flexibility and investment protection as
storage needs and/or server environments change over time.
Interoperable Solutions from a Single Business Partner
In addition to the benefit of being pre-tested, these solutions are offered
with a complete set of professional services including architectural
consulting, network design, installation, training, service, and support.
Users can purchase the pre-tested SAN Solutions from MTI -- a
recognized leader in the enterprise storage management market -- with
the confidence that they have been certified by 3Com, Legato, and
MTI. Additional offerings are currently planned to address specific
customer storage management needs.
"The market demand for enterprise storage area networks has grown
significantly over the past several quarters," said Kevin J. Liebl, vice
president of marketing for MTI. "However, users are asking for more
than just point-products. They are asking for solutions that include
'certified' configurations backed by market leaders as well as up-front
consulting, installation, customer service, and training. The
combination of these three companies' products gives us an exceptional
opportunity to provide comprehensive solutions to the market."
Availability
The first MTI and Legato SAN solutions available through the 3Com
StorageConnect Compatibility Program are scheduled to be available in
the first quarter of 1999. The individual components of these solutions
will be priced separately. About 3Com Corporation
3Com Corporation enables individuals and organizations worldwide to
stay more connected by communicating and sharing information and
resources anytime, anywhere. As one of the world's preeminent
suppliers of data, voice, and video communications technology, 3Com
has delivered networking solutions to nearly 200 million customers
worldwide. The company provides large enterprise, small and medium
enterprise, carriers and network service providers, and consumers with
comprehensive, innovative information access products and system
solutions for building intelligent, reliable, and high- performance local
and wide area networks. For further information, visit 3Com's World
Wide Web site at 3com.com. About Legato Systems
Legato Systems, Inc. develops, markets, and supports an integrated set
of enterprise storage management software products for heterogeneous
client/server computing environments. Large customers around the
world select the Company's solution because of its reliability, platform
independence, and unique ability to seamlessly integrate with existing
and future computing environments. Legato's storage management
software has become the recognized de facto standard with the largest
installed base, representing over 37,000 customers, protecting more
than 4,000,000 systems. Twenty-four of the world's largest system
and applications vendors have chosen Legato's software as their
preferred storage management solution for their customers, including
Banyan, BMC Software, Compaq/Digital, Compaq/Tandem, Data
General, Fujitsu/Amdahl, Fujitsu/ICL, Groupe Bull, Hewlett-Packard,
Hitachi, Informix, NEC, Netscape, Network Appliance,
Nihon-Unisys, Oracle, Siemens Nixdorf, Silicon Graphics, Sony and
Sun Microsystems. The company's NetWorker, BusinesSuite,
SmartMedia, and GEMS products are also licensed, resold, or
endorsed by other major vendors, including Computer Associates;
Tivoli, an IBM company; Microsoft Corporation; MTI Technology;
Novell; and, SAP. Legato's home page address on the World Wide
Web is legato.com. About MTI
MTI's mission is to be the premier provider of high-performance,
cross- platform data storage management solutions for the enterprise.
MTI integrates distributed data management software, a hierarchy of
modular storage systems and on-site services to meet the mass storage
needs of its customers. Headquartered in Anaheim, Calif., the company
offers services and support from more than 40 offices in the U.S. and
Europe. MTI may be reached by phone: 800-999-9MTI or
714-970-0300; fax: 714-693-2256; or e-mail: info@mti.com.
Information can also be accessed via MTI Online, the company's World
Wide Web server on the Internet, at: mti.com.
This press release includes forward-looking statement, including
statements regarding the companies' product development and
marketing plans, which are subject to change. The actual results may
differ materially from those described in any forward-looking
statement. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ are
set forth in the companies' periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Legato NetWorker and Legato SmartMedia are registered trademarks,
and NetWorker Archive, NetWorker HSM, ClientPak, SmartClient,
StorSuite, BusinesSuite, Power Edition, Legato GEMS, and OpenTape
are trademarks of Legato Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other
countries. MTI is a registered trademark and Gladiator is a trademark of
MTI Technology Corporation. All other product, trademark, company,
or service names mentioned herein are the property of their respective
owners.
/CONTACT: Cindy Cooper, Public Relations Manager of 3Com Corp.,
408-326-1742, cindy_cooper@3com.com; Susan Woods, Director of
Marketing of Legato Systems, Inc., 650-812-6112,
swoods@legato.com; or Kevin J. Liebl, Vice President of Marketing of
MTI Technology Corp., 714-693-2740, kliebl@ccmgate.mti.com/ |
