BlueArc and Ocarina Team Up to Reduce Customers' Data Footprint Without Sacrificing Performance and Manageability

LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwire - April 20, 2009) - BlueArc® Corporation, a leader in scalable, high-performance unified network storage, and Ocarina Networks today announced the Ocarina Optimizer for BlueArc, an unprecedented solution for storage optimization. The Ocarina device, available from BlueArc, seamlessly integrates Ocarina's signature content-aware data reduction technology with the company's award-winning Titan storage solutions, to address the challenge of archiving massive amounts of data cost-effectively without sacrificing performance or adding complexity.

"Our customers choose BlueArc solutions because high-performance storage makes a tangible difference in their business success," said Bridget Warwick, vice president, marketing for BlueArc. "A proofpoint of our commitment to help customers do more with their storage infrastructure and do so in a cost-effective way, the combination of Ocarina and BlueArc technology dramatically extends Titan's capacity and performance, and return on customers' storage investments."

File-based unstructured data continues to grow, and companies in sectors including oil and gas discovery, media and entertainment, life sciences, visual effects and Internet services must retain data longer than ever, for compliance or competitive advantage. While other solutions offer data reduction, only the Ocarina Optimizer for BlueArc offers the flexibility to take advantage of a true tiered storage strategy for exceptionally efficient archiving to the most cost-effective and optimal storage tier.

"The Ocarina and BlueArc technology is an elegant solution to managing unstructured, complex file types that are causing explosive storage growth in the media and entertainment industry," said Dave Withers, vice president of strategic markets and business development, Ocarina Networks. "Ocarina content-aware optimization applies file type-specific algorithms to optimize the storage of those files, for a reduced data footprint on a less expensive tier of disk."

The Ocarina Optimizer for BlueArc transparently integrates with BlueArc storage systems. Using BlueArc Data Migrator with External Cross Volume Links rules-based capabilities to automate data migration, customers can move large amounts of data from primary storage on Titan through the Ocarina solution, compressing and deduplicating files and archiving the data to the most suitable storage tier, based on accessibility and cost criteria. The partnership also leverages BlueArc's Dynamic Read Caching option, which can quickly pull archived data back into the read cache of primary storage, eliminating data latency as users access the data. BlueArc Titan 3000-series solutions scale up to four petabytes of storage, and the Ocarina data reduction technology can effectively boost Titan users' storage capacity up to ten times more than the nearest competing storage offering.

"We tested a number of solutions and the Ocarina Optimizer for BlueArc makes so much sense for us," said Ron Stinson, director of information technology & operations, Rainmaker. "We are constantly dealing with computer graphics and digital animation which produce large numbers of bulky files. These files are 'hot' while we are working on shots and animation segments, but once completed need to be easily archived yet accessible for possible future re-use.

"The BlueArc and Ocarina offering is perfect for helping us seamlessly move our files to an online archive storage tier and at the same time reduce our data footprint. It helps us use our storage assets and time so much more efficiently," Stinson added.

Availability

The Ocarina Optimizer for BlueArc is available from BlueArc beginning in mid-May.

About Ocarina

Ocarina is a leader in online storage optimization solutions. Organizations of all sizes use Ocarina's content-aware optimization technology to reduce their storage footprint and achieve a ten-fold capacity increase on their current storage systems. Based in San Jose, Calif., Ocarina is privately-held and financed by leading investors JAFCO Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Highland Capital Partners. For more information, visit www.ocarinanetworks.com

About Rainmaker Entertainment

Rainmaker Entertainment Inc., one of the most highly creative and prolific producers of CG animation, is based in Vancouver, Canada and has over 250 employees. Originally established in 1993 as Mainframe Entertainment, Rainmaker has produced over 30 feature-length films based on top international brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels, Spider-Man, Casper, Popeye, Tony Hawk, Stuart Little and Inspector Gadget and more than 290 half hours of CG animated television. Rainmaker's clients include: Sony, Mattel, Lionsgate Home Entertainment, The Weinstein Company, Electronic Arts and MTV. Rainmaker productions have generated more than $500 million in video sales. In addition to garnering many prestigious awards for their work, Rainmaker is currently developing a diverse slate of DVDs and feature films including a movie based on their classic series "ReBoot." Currently in production at Rainmaker: "Escape From Planet Earth," the company's first theatrical feature with The Weinstein Company; and recently completed productions include an animated sequel to "The Nutty Professor," and new installments in Mattel's Barbie and Max Steel franchises. www.rainmaker.com

About BlueArc

BlueArc partners with customers to solve their storage and data management-related business challenges. BlueArc offers best-of-breed, high performance, highly scalable and cost-effective storage solutions that help accelerate our customers' success. Information about BlueArc solutions and services can be found at http://www.bluearc.com/.

Contact Information: Media Contacts: Louis Gray BlueArc Corporation (408) 576-6684 lgray(at)bluearc(dot)com Jason Throckmorton or Melissa Biles LaunchSquad for Ocarina Networks (415) 625-8555 ocarina(at)launchsquad(dot)com