SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 5, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- LinuxWorld Conference & Expo -- QLogic Corp. (Nasdaq:QLGC), a leading supplier of high performance network infrastructure solutions, today announced certification of its 8000 Series 10GbE Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) converged network adapters (CNAs) on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.7, which now offers enhancements for virtualization, encryption, security, performance tuning and debugging. After going through extensive certification testing, QLogic 8000 Series FCoE adapters are fully compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.7 which simplifies the process of deploying converged networks. Now customers can deploy QLogic 8000 Series FCoE converged network adapters that are fine-tuned and ready to run on their Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.7 platforms.
FCoE is the standard for transporting Fibre Channel frames over Ethernet. With this technology the dream of a unified fabric for the data center is on the road to becoming a reality. No longer will servers require different or even separate interfaces for networking and storage. IT professionals can increase functionality while reducing cost and complexity by using a single set of cables and switches. QLogic 8000 Series CNAs enable consolidation of data and storage networking into a single adapter which reduces total-cost-of-ownership while providing superior performance at 10Gb Ethernet speeds and full FCoE offload.
"In collaboration with the Linux community, QLogic has developed innovative solutions to deliver the numerous benefits of converged storage and networking solutions to enterprise Linux customers today," said Amit Vashi, vice president of marketing, QLogic Host Solutions Group. "With QLogic now shipping 8000 series converged network adapters for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, customers can begin to implement FCoE while preserving existing Fibre Channel investments and delivering superior performance."
"We see significant market potential for FCoE as businesses begin to move to 10Gb Enhanced Ethernet networks, which should be synergistic with the continued growth of open source Linux deployments," said Dennis Martin, founder and president of computer industry analyst firm Demartek. "Based on the vendor testing that we've observed the QLogic hardware approach to running FCoE has several advantages compared to a software/NIC model. Unlike 10GbE NICs that use software initiators and rely on the server CPU to handle the entire FCoE stack, QLogic is shipping a full-offload, hardware adapter solution that can process 10GbE speeds, which can be highly advantageous in virtualized environments."
For additional details about Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.7, visit www.press.redhat.com/2008/07/24/red-hat-enterprise-linux-47-released-today/#more-438.
QLogic 8000 Series CNAs -- Make Your Network Fly
The QLogic 8000 Series is a family of converged network adapters designed for next-generation, virtualized and unified data centers with powerful multi-processor, multi-core servers. QLogic 8000 Series CNAs are optimized for both data and storage (FCoE) networking virtualization with fierce 10GbE performance to handle large numbers of virtual machines. QLogic 8000 Series CNAs also reduce data center total cost of ownership (TCO) by enabling consolidation of data and storage networking onto a single adapter to reduce cabling, power and cooling. By using the same industry-standard storage area network (SAN) services and QLogic driver architecture already deployed with the largest installed base of Fibre Channel HBAs in the world, the QLogic 8000 Series CNAs completely protect customer investments in their existing Fibre Channel SANs.
About QLogic
QLogic is a leading supplier of high performance network infrastructure solutions, which include the controller chips, host adapters and fabric switches that are the backbone of storage networks for most Global 2000 corporations. The company delivers a broad and diverse portfolio of products that includes Fibre Channel adapters, blade server embedded Fibre Channel switches, Fibre Channel stackable switches, iSCSI adapters and iSCSI routers. The company is also a leading supplier of InfiniBand switches and InfiniBand host channel adapters for the emerging high performance computing market. QLogic products are delivered to small-to-medium businesses and large enterprises around the world via its channel partner community. QLogic products are also powering solutions from leading companies such as Cisco, Dell, EMC, Hitachi Data Systems, HP, IBM, NetApp and Sun Microsystems. QLogic is a member of the S&P 500 Index.
Disclaimer -- Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements relating to future results of the company (including certain beliefs and projections regarding business 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: potential fluctuations in operating results; gross margins that may vary over time; revenues may be affected by changes in IT spending levels; the stock price of the company may be volatile; the company's dependence on the storage area network market; potential adverse effects of server virtualization technology on the company's business; potential adverse effects of increased market acceptance of blade servers; the ability to maintain and gain market or industry acceptance of the company's products; the company's dependence on a limited number of customers; seasonal fluctuations and uneven sales patterns in orders from customers; the company's ability to compete effectively with other companies; declining average unit sales prices of comparable products; a reduction in sales efforts by current distributors; dependence on sole source and limited source suppliers; the company's dependence on relationships with certain silicon chip suppliers; declines in the market value of the company's marketable securities; the complexity of the company's products; sales fluctuations arising from customer transitions to new products; environmental compliance costs; international economic, regulatory, political and other risks; uncertain benefits from strategic business combinations; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; difficulties in transitioning to smaller geometry process technologies; the ability to protect proprietary rights; the ability to satisfactorily resolve any infringement claims; reliance on third party technology; the use of "open source" software in the company's products; changes in the company's tax provisions or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of its income tax returns; computer viruses and other tampering with the company's computer systems; and facilities of the company and its suppliers and customers are located in areas subject to natural disasters.
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