ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Feb. 20, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- QLogic (Nasdaq:QLGC), the industry leader in Fibre Channel adapters, today announced its award-winning QLogic® FlexSuiteTM technology supports NetApp's next-generation, storage arrays, providing exclusive multiprotocol connectivity for Gen 5 Fibre Channel and 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) for both block and file-based storage access. QLogic FlexSuite technology enables NetApp customers to select their storage protocol of choice through a simple field upgrade, and allows for future transitions to alternative I/O options. NetApp's new FAS8000 unified scale-out storage systems and second-generation Universal Target Adapters (UTA2) now support Fibre Channel, Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), iSCSI Network File System (NFS), and Common Internet File System (CIFS) on a single wire.
The QLogic technology deployed in the UTA2 provides NetApp customers with the versatility to handle any protocol while delivering significant performance advantages compared to previous-generation UTAs. The UTA2 provides expansion and upgrade paths for multiprotocol support across NetApp's new storage platforms.
For NetApp customers deploying MetroCluster software with FAS8000 arrays to provide long-distance Fibre Channel connectivity for replication and disaster recovery, the QLogic-designed UTA2 delivers improved performance and shorter replication and recovery windows. This results in improved overall application performance, and enables continuous availability and transparent recovery from failures, without data loss.
The new FAS8000 unified scale-out storage systems are powerful and feature-rich with superior I/O flexibility to simplify and eliminate complex upgrades as IT needs change. The FAS8000 is the first enterprise storage system to unify SAN, NAS and storage virtualization into a single hybrid array. It is also NetApp's first FAS platform designed specifically for scale-out storage environments built on clustered Data ONTAP.
"NetApp and QLogic have a long history of collaborating to drive greater efficiency in the data center through innovative storage and data management solutions," said Vikram Karvat, vice president of marketing, QLogic. "This announcement represents not only the continued acceleration of Gen 5 Fibre Channel technology in the market, but also marks a major expansion in our role as a core Ethernet technology provider to NetApp."
"QLogic FlexSuite technology provides NetApp with additional support for our new FAS8000 to continue delivering improved performance and increased availability for business-critical applications," said Mark Welke, senior director, product marketing, NetApp. "With our new storage systems, we will provide our customers with the flexibility and efficiency to easily respond to changing IT environments."
Why QLogic?
The most advanced networks demand sophisticated capabilities, and for 20 years QLogic has consistently delivered performance, innovation, flexibility, reliability and control for these environments. Breakthrough application performance gives customers faster time-to-data. Innovation delivers new capabilities, greater efficiency and maximum performance. Unprecedented flexibility connects mission-critical applications to any storage network. Reliability is backed by the highest mean-time-between-failure and the industry's only five-year warranties, and robust infrastructure management capabilities put network controls in the hands of customers.
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QLogic – the Ultimate in Performance
QLogic (Nasdaq:QLGC) is a global leader and technology innovator in high performance server and storage networking connectivity products. Leading OEMs and channel partners worldwide rely on QLogic for their server and storage networking solutions. For more information, visit www.qlogic.com.
Disclaimer – Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements relating to future results of the company (including certain beliefs and projections regarding business and market trends) that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the forward-looking statements. The company advises readers that these potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: unfavorable economic conditions; potential fluctuations in operating results; gross margins that may vary over time; the stock price of the company may be volatile; the company's dependence on the networking markets served; the ability to maintain and gain market or industry acceptance of the company's products; the company's dependence on a small number of customers; the company's ability to compete effectively with other companies; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; the complexity of the company's products; declining average unit sales prices of comparable products; the company's dependence on sole source and limited source suppliers; the company's dependence on relationships with certain third-party subcontractors and contract manufacturers; sales fluctuations arising from customer transitions to new products; seasonal fluctuations and uneven sales patterns in orders from customers; a reduction in sales efforts by current distributors; changes in the company's tax provisions or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of its income tax returns; international economic, currency, regulatory, political and other risks; facilities of the company and its suppliers and customers are located in areas subject to natural disasters; the ability to protect proprietary rights; the ability to satisfactorily resolve any infringement claims; uncertain benefits from strategic business combinations, acquisitions and divestitures; declines in the market value of the company's marketable securities; changes in and compliance with regulations; difficulties in transitioning to smaller geometry process technologies; the use of "open source" software in the company's products; system security risks, data protection breaches and cyber-attacks; and the company's ability to borrow under its credit agreement is subject to certain covenants.
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