SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 2, 1998--3Com
Corporation (NASDAQ:COMS) today announced its entry into the storage
area networking (SAN) market. The move is a strategic initiative for
3Com that introduces the StorageConnect(tm) Fibre Channel line of SAN
products, creates alliances with key storage equipment and application
vendors and launches hardware and software compatibility programs.
SAN: Explosive Growth Expected
Several factors, including explosive growth of enterprise data,
limitations in current storage architectures and escalating storage
management costs, are driving many organizations to evaluate more
flexible networked storage environments such as Fibre Channel storage
area networks.
"3Com has been instrumental in the development of the local area
networking (LAN) industry and has demonstrated the expertise and
leadership necessary to deliver interoperable network components in
early markets," said Doug Spreng, senior vice president of 3Com's
Client Access Business Unit. "As the first major networking company in
the storage area networks market, 3Com will help lead storage
networking through the early marketplace towards open, standards-based
interconnectivity where it is broadly available to the mainstream
customer."
A SAN is a dedicated network connecting servers and storage
peripherals that improves data availability, cost of ownership and
server performance. A SAN consists of server adapters, hubs and
switches, and network and storage management tools. SANs combine the
flexibility, manageability and scalability of networks with the high
bandwidth and reliability of storage I/O. The Fibre Channel SAN market
is expected to be a $1.5 billion (US) market by the year 2002,
according to 3Com internal analysis.
3Com Announces StorageConnect Product Plans
3Com's SAN products will be sold under a new brand, 3Com
StorageConnect. Initial products are expected to be available in early
1999. In order to encourage market adoption of Fibre Channel SANs,
3Com will deliver its StorageConnect products as part of pre-tested,
interoperable configurations that create SAN solutions satisfying
specific business needs.
Integration Alliances Drive Compatibility
As a first key step in delivering compatibility and developing
tested SAN solutions with the 3Com line of StorageConnect Fibre
Channel products, 3Com has forged integration alliances with three
storage industry leaders: the CLARiiON Advanced Storage Division of
Data General Corporation, Legato Systems, Inc, and MTI Technology
Corporation.
CLARiiON
3Com and CLARiiON are acting jointly to develop, test, and
qualify an interoperable, High Availability SAN solution that
addresses the pressing need for continuous access to mission critical
data. The 3Com and CLARiiON RAID solution will include a combination
of high-availability software and advanced management tools, as well
as highly-scalable RAID arrays.
The result will provide customers with a flexible storage
architecture that meets their immediate needs for continuous data
availability, and also scales easily for future growth. Key components
of this solution include highly-scalable CLARiiON(R) FC5000 Series
full Fibre Channel arrays, Navisphere(tm) Storage Management Software,
and Application Transparent Failover(tm) (ATF) high-availability
software.
Legato Systems and MTI
3Com, Legato Systems and MTI will address one of the biggest
challenges IT managers face today, backing-up mission-critical data
without affecting network traffic or access to resources. The three
vendors will produce an interoperable LAN-Free Backup solution using
SANs. 3Com will contribute StorageConnect Fibre Channel adapters, hubs
and network management tools. MTI provides industry-leading RAID
arrays and tape libraries. And Legato Systems delivers its advanced
data protection applications: Legato NetWorker and SmartMedia.
Additionally, 3Com and MTI will collaborate to deliver an
interoperable Data Consolidation SAN solution that includes MTI's
StorageWare JBOD and Gladiator RAID. The 3Com and MTI Data
Consolidation SAN solution will result in a modular, high-performance,
highly-available and scalable data storage solution, that allows safe
capacity sharing for multiple open system servers.
StorageConnect Compatibility and Solutions Programs
To support its solutions-based approach to the SAN market, 3Com
is formalizing two compatibility programs: the StorageConnect(tm)
Compatibility Program and the StorageConnect(tm) Solutions Program.
The StorageConnect Compatibility Program will assure customers of
robust hardware interoperability between 3Com StorageConnect products
and participants' storage products.
The StorageConnect Solutions Program addresses the need for the
integration of SAN topologies with SAN-enabling storage management
software. Under the StorageConnect Solutions Program, 3Com will work
with Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to integrate and test
solutions that address immediate customer problems. CLARiiON, Legato
Systems and MTI Technology are the first participants in the 3Com
StorageConnect Compatibility and Solutions Programs.
3Com's SAN Roadmap Addresses Shift in Customer Server and Storage
Architectures
To achieve SAN leadership, 3Com is embarking on a four-phase
strategy fostering migration to SAN architectures and integrating SANs
into enterprise network infrastructures. The 3Com SAN strategy
addresses the fundamental change in how server-attached storage
environments are viewed.
1. Infrastructure and Alliances - Phase one of 3Com's strategy is
the launch of its line of Fibre Channel networking products for
Microsoft NT, UNIX and Novell NetWare, including Fiber Channel
adapters, hubs and switches. In addition, 3Com is launching the
StorageConnect Compatibility Program and Solutions Program,
described above, in conjunction with industry-leading storage
equipment and application vendors. (See related Integrated
Alliance announcements made today with CLARiiON, Legato and MTI.)
2. Transcend(R) Tools for SAN - In phase two, 3Com will integrate
its 3Com Transcend(R) network management tools and techniques
into the 3Com StorageConnect line of Fibre Channel products
thereby enabling centralized, enterprise-wide management of both
LAN and SAN infrastructures and lowering administrative costs.
3. LAN/WAN/SAN Integration - Phase three scales SAN connectivity to
3Com WAN and LAN backbones, extending the benefits of Storage
Area Networks across campus distances and to remote sites for
applications such as disaster recovery.
4. Advanced SAN Services - Phase four brings policy-based networking
to storage systems in order to provide for services such as
security, traffic management and fault management in SANs. This
phase will also allow offloading the server from disk-intensive
traffic using intelligent SAN services.
About 3Com
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 on Storage Area
Networks, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at 3com.com.
3Com and Transcend are registered trademarks and StorageConnect
is a trademark of 3Com Corporation. All other trademarks are property
of their respective companies.
CONTACT: 3Com Corporation
Cindy Cooper, 408/326-1742
cindy_cooper@3com.com
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