INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM, SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 17, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Emulex Corporation (NYSE:ELX), the market leader in Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs) and a leading supplier of intelligent building blocks for next generation storage networking systems, announced today a firmware upgrade for its large installed base of LightPulse(tm) Fibre Channel connectivity solutions -- that delivers up to 40 percent more performance to previously purchased Emulex HBAs.
Emulex HBAs and embedded I/O controllers feature a unique firmware-based architecture that enables customers to enjoy ongoing value-add and investment protection by enabling new features and capabilities to be downloaded to previously installed hardware. The Emulex LP9802 and LP10000 HBA product families can utilize this new high performance firmware, which is available for all supported operating system environments, including Windows, Linux and Solaris. The ability to upgrade full feature firmware is a by-product of Emulex's service level interface (SLI) architecture, which provides isolation between the software drivers and the firmware, using a consistent model that enables multiple product generations to benefit.
"Providing a 40 percent performance boost to previously purchased HBAs is a terrific example of our unique ability to provide increased value to our HBA and embedded I/O controller customers," said Mike Smith, executive vice president of worldwide marketing, Emulex Corp. "With more than one million field-deployed connectivity solutions, Emulex's flexible firmware-based architecture, which is exclusive to our LightPulse family of HBAs and I/O controllers, enables us to continue delivery of enhanced functionality and performance to our customers, while protecting their existing hardware and software investments."
"Intel and Emulex are working together on next-generation storage processors that for the first time integrate Serial ATA, Serial Attached SCSI and Fibre Channel interfaces within a single architecture," said Mike Wall, General Manager for Intel's Storage Components Division. "The Emulex firmware upgrade announced today and its SLI architecture are part of that development effort and will be used in a broad line of storage processors that are expected to deliver unprecedented performance and integration."
Emulex's new firmware is currently in OEM qualification, with general availability expected to begin next quarter for Thor- and Pegasus-based HBAs and I/O controllers. Emulex's market-leading family of HBAs offers the robust and reliable connectivity that the world's leading server and storage suppliers have come to rely on. Emulex connectivity solutions provide customers with simplified upgrade paths, a broad range of drivers and software solutions, reduced management complexity, which result in a lower total cost of ownership. In addition, its HBAs are compatible with drivers that incorporate Emulex's centralized HBA management suite, HBAnyware(tm). HBAnyware features driver-based technology that enables complete management of Emulex HBAs, including the ability to upgrade firmware for any Emulex HBA in the SAN from a single console.
"All Emulex customers may take advantage of the investment protection afforded by our unique firmware-based architecture," adds Smith. "For HBA customers utilizing our HBAnyware management suite, centrally controlled upgrades can be utilized for an unlimited number of HBAs without any interruption to server or storage system operation. Once again, this underscores the value proposition that only Emulex can deliver."
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 was named one of Forbes Magazine's 25 Fastest Growing Technology Companies, and ranked number 15 in Deloitte & Touche's 2003 Technology Fast 50.
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 InSpeedTM 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, Groupe 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.
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"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.
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