ALISO VIEJO, Calif., May 11, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- QLogic Corp. (Nasdaq:QLGC), the company that powers storage area networks (SANs), today announced that its switch blades, management controllers and Fibre Down(tm) host bus adapters are shipping with the new IBM eServer BladeCenter JS20 server blade, the industry's first blade server based on the POWER Architecture and the new IBM eServer BladeCenter HS40 server blade, a 4-way Intel(r) processor-based server. QLogic has been shipping storage connectivity components for BladeCenter and BladeCenter T systems for more than a year, including six HS20 2-way Intel processor based models.
IBM BladeCenter and BladeCenter T Chassis
The flexible, innovative design of the BladeCenter and BladeCenter T chassis, which is designed to address the needs of the telecom industry, provides customer investment protection and helps reduce deployment costs by accepting both POWER Architecture-based servers like the eServer BladeCenter JS20 as well as Intel-based servers like the eServer BladeCenter HS20 and eServer BladeCenter HS40. Co-existence of any of these server blades with the SAN connectivity options powered by QLogic provides open-standard, high availability access to shared storage.
The IBM eServer BladeCenter JS20
The JS20 supports both SUSE LINUX and Turbolinux and additional support for Red Hat is expected in the second quarter of 2004. In the coming months, the AIX 5L operating system will be supported as well. The JS20 is helping to transform the economics of computing by offering a low-cost, high performance computing solution that utilizes the PowerPC 970 (PPC 970) processor, a processor derived from the same POWER Architecture currently used in IBM eServer pSeries and iSeries systems that support UNIX, Linux and OS/400 applications.
The IBM eServer BladeCenter HS40
The HS40, a modular 4-way blade server based on Intel Architecture, is an excellent platform for server consolidation where simplification and collapsing data center complexity are a priority. Whether connecting to an existing SAN or configuring a new SAN, the BladeCenter with its FC options delivers a high-performance and highly available storage area network. The HS40 server blade supports Microsoft Windows, Red Hat Linux and SUSE LINUX.
"The I/O architecture of the BladeCenter simplifies SAN connectivity with a very elegant, integrated approach," said Frank Berry, vice president of marketing, QLogic Corp. "IBM has transformed the industry by offering a flexible server platform that provides customers with a range of processor choices all supporting access to shared storage in a single, highly integrated chassis."
Blade Server Infrastructure Powered by QLogic
QLogic is the leading provider of single chip FC products that form a complete I/O infrastructure for dense blade servers. Single chip HBAs, switches and management controllers from QLogic provide fast, reliable and scalable storage expansion in an ultra-compact form-factor.
Powered by QLogic
Since 1993, over 50 million QLogic products have shipped inside servers, workstations, RAID subsystems, tape libraries, disk and tape drives. These products were delivered to small, medium and large enterprises around the world. Powering solutions from leading companies like Cisco, Dell, EMC, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Network Appliance, Quantum, StorageTek and Sun Microsystems, the broad line of QLogic controller chips, host bus adapters, network switches and management software move data from storage devices through the network fabric to servers. A member of the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100, QLogic was recently named to Fortune's 100 Fastest Growing Companies list for the fourth consecutive year and to Forbes' Best 200 Small Companies for the fifth consecutive year. In addition, QLogic was named to Business Week's list of 100 Hot Growth Companies for 2003. For more information visit www.qlogic.com.
Note: All QLogic-issued press releases appear on the Company's website (www.qlogic.com). Any announcement that does not appear on the QLogic website has not been issued by QLogic.
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 within 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 wishes to advise readers that these potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the volatility of the Company's stock price; fluctuations in operating results; the dependence on the storage area network market; the ability to maintain and gain market or industry acceptance of the Company's products; the dependence on a limited number of customers and fluctuations or cancellations in orders from customers; the ability to compete effectively with other companies; a reduction in sales efforts by current distributors; the dependence on relationships with certain silicon chip suppliers and other subcontractors; the complexity of the Company's products; terrorist activities and resulting military actions; international, economic, regulatory, political and other risks; changes in semiconductor foundry capacity; the ability to maintain or expand upon strategic alliances; the strain on resources caused by rapid growth and expansion; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; and the ability to protect proprietary rights or to satisfactorily resolve any infringement claims.
More detailed information on these and additional factors which could affect the Company's operating and financial results are described in the Company's Forms 10-K, 10-Q and other reports, filed or to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company urges all interested parties to read these reports to gain a better understanding of the many business and other risks that the Company faces. The forward looking statements contained in this press release are made only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
IBM, the e-business logo, eServer, pSeries, iSeries, JS20, Power Architecture, AIX 5L, POWER, POWER4, POWER4+, OS/400, PowerPC, BladeCenter, trademarks or registered trademarks of IBM Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other company/product names and service marks may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.