COSTA MESA, Calif., Nov. 29, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Emulex Corporation (NYSE:ELX), the world leader in Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs) and embedded storage switches, today announced its new FibreSpy(tm) SOC 804 family of embedded storage switches. FibreSpy is a modular, speed-agile 4Gb/s embedded switch that provides storage OEMs with unprecedented design flexibility, and enables the deployment of a new breed of industry-first storage applications.
The FibreSpy SOC 804 switch-on-a-chip is available with two distinct applications: the SuperScalar Tiered Storage (804S) and the Integrated SAN Switch (804E) solutions. The 804S solution enables thousands of Fibre Channel disk drives with various capabilities to be interconnected within a tiered storage array, providing unmatched scalability and cost optimization. The 804E solution enables SAN switching to be integrated into the front-end of storage systems and server blades, providing the most cost-effective SAN switching available. Both FibreSpy solutions integrate seamlessly with Emulex's award-winning InSpeed(tm) technology to deliver fully switched storage systems with the highest possible performance and RAS (Reliability, Availability and Scalability) characteristics. Emulex has already secured its first design win for the FibreSpy SOC 804, and additional storage OEMs are currently evaluating FibreSpy technology.
"As a long-time InSpeed customer, Fujitsu acknowledges the benefits of integrating InSpeed embedded storage switches into its ETERNUS storage solutions for increased performance and reliability, availability and serviceability. We are pleased to see that Emulex has now taken embedded storage switching technology to the next level with FibreSpy, and we see a very high value in the new and powerful applications FibreSpy enables, especially when combined with InSpeed," said Mr. Koichi Ueda, General Manager, Storage Systems Division, Storage Systems Group, Fujitsu.
The FibreSpy SOC 804 switch-on-a-chip is the storage industry's most flexible silicon to date. It enables industry-first embedded storage solutions with four speed agile Fibre Channel ports (4 Gb/s, 2 Gb/s or 1 Gb/s) and a high-speed SPI-4.2 interface that serves as an inter-switch link to connect up to five FibreSpy SOC 804's as a single 20-port switch solution. Also included is a powerful ARM processor and memory that allow a variety of microcode images to deliver a vast number of application solutions to meet specific storage system OEM needs.
"As enterprises consolidate their storage assets to boost efficiency and business continuity, they are looking for tiered storage systems with modular form factors, higher levels of scalability, and the ability to support a wide range of hard disk drive options," said Richard Villars, Vice President of Storage Systems research at IDC. "Products like Emulex's new FibreSpy SOC 804 with integrated embedded switching technology offers a cost-effective solution for storage systems suppliers that want to address a broad range of applications ranging from blade servers and SMB solutions to high-end storage systems."
"Emulex's FibreSpy technology enables storage OEMs to dramatically improve the scalability of their systems, while enabling a lower cost storage architecture," said Mike Smith, executive vice president of worldwide marketing, Emulex Corp. "FibreSpy is a highly flexible and modular technology, enabling storage OEMs to combine high performance drives of various speeds along with emerging low-cost Fibre Channel disk drives for a tiered storage solution. Further, FibreSpy can be used to provide integrated SAN switching capabilities built right into the storage array."
The FibreSpy SOC 804S SuperScalar Tiered Storage Application Solution takes the large installed Fibre Channel infrastructure in place today forward by creating the ability to intermix a variety of Fibre Channel disk drive types in storage systems to create tiered storage environments. Moreover, the FibreSpy 804S is the first embedded storage technology to break the 126-device barrier to allow thousands of disk drives to be attached to storage controllers without introducing the complexities associated with fabric services. Previously, Fibre Channel back-end infrastructures were limited to 126 disk drives due to the limitation of the FC-AL protocol commonly used. By enabling thousands of drives with FibreSpy 804S, the cost of storage systems is reduced as the storage controller cost can now be spread across more drives than before.
"With InSpeed, Emulex changed the way the back-end of storage systems are designed. Within a short time they have become the standard for the industry and FibreSpy is creating another big wave. Breaking the 126-drive barrier, but doing so without making the drives come to their knees, is no easy task. Emulex has done it -- again," said Arun Taneja, founder and consulting analyst, Taneja Group.
The FibreSpy SOC 804E Integrated Switch Port Expansion Application Solution is used in storage systems and server blade environments to create switched front-end interfaces to dynamically connect multiple servers and other storage devices into. This is an also excellent solution for the SMB environment because it merges the capabilities of external SAN switches into storage and blade systems to lower cost and integrate the management right into their existing management tools for the ultimate in ease of use.
For more information on Emulex's new FibreSpy technology, please visit www.emulex.com.
About Emulex
Emulex Corporation is the world leader in Fibre Channel HBAs and delivers a broad range of intelligent building blocks for next generation storage networking systems. Emulex ranked number 16 in the Deloitte 2004 Technology Fast 50 and most recently received recognition as one of Forbes 200 Best Small Companies.
The world's leading server and storage providers rely on Emulex HBAs, embedded storage switching and I/O controller products to build reliable, scalable and high performance storage solutions. The Emulex award-winning product families, including its LightPulse(tm) HBAs and InSpeed(tm) embedded storage switching products, are based on internally developed ASIC, firmware and software technologies, and offer customers high performance, scalability, flexibility and reduced total cost of ownership. The company's products have been selected by the world's leading server and storage providers, including Dell, EMC, Fujitsu Ltd., Fujitsu Siemens, Bull, HP, Hitachi Data Systems, IBM, NEC, Network Appliance, Quantum Corp., StorageTek, Sun Microsystems, Unisys and Xyratex. In addition, Emulex includes industry leaders Brocade, Computer Associates, Intel, McDATA, Microsoft and VERITAS among its strategic partners. Corporate headquarters are located in Costa Mesa, California. News releases and other information about Emulex Corporation are available at http://www.emulex.com.
EMULEX -- We network storage
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: With the exception of historical information, the statements set forth above include forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. The company wishes to caution readers that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include the rapidly changing nature of technology, evolving industry standards and frequent introductions of new products and enhancements by competitors; fluctuation in the growth of Fibre Channel and IP markets; changes in economic conditions or changes in end-user demand for technology solutions; fluctuations or delays in customer orders; the highly competitive nature of the markets for Emulex's products; Emulex's ability to gain market acceptance for its products; the company's ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; the company's reliance on third-party suppliers. These and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are also discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its recent filings on Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q.