ALISO VIEJO, Calif., March 8, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- QLogic Corp. (Nasdaq:QLGC), the company that powers storage area networks (SANs), today announced that its SANblade(r) QLA(r)4010, with complete TCP/IP and iSCSI protocol offload, has been qualified by EMC(r) as E-Lab(tm) Tested for use with the newest EMC CLARiiON(r) networked storage systems. The complete offload of all I/O protocol processing from the host system, combined with support for Windows, allows customers to better leverage high-performance and high-availability IP SANs with CLARiiON storage systems.
The QLogic SANblade HBA offload engine preserves server CPU cycles for business-critical applications. For customers who need the efficiency of standardizing on a single iSCSI HBA, SANblade management software and HBA device drivers are available to connect CLARiiON storage systems to servers running the Windows(r) operating system. New models that support the SANblade QLA4010 include the EMC CLARiiON AX100i, CX300i and CX500i. The SANblade QLA4010 has also been qualified with the EMC Symmetrix DMX series of networked storage systems and EMC Celerra network attached storage systems.
"EMC and QLogic have worked together to help customers build and deploy open-standard SAN solutions," said Tom Joyce, EMC's vice president of platforms marketing. "With the addition of the new EMC CLARiiON systems with iSCSI support, EMC is delivering the broadest set of storage networking solutions in the industry. The qualification of the SANblade QLA4010 as E-Lab Tested is part of our ongoing commitment to provide customers with pre-tested configurations that can form an infrastructure that enables information lifecycle management."
iSCSI -- Now Customers Have a Choice
Ethernet networks have been used as a highly efficient way to move file-oriented data. In the last decade, high-bandwidth SANs have evolved as the best way to move blocks of data to multiple users faster and more reliably using the SCSI protocol across Fibre Channel. iSCSI is a new protocol that enables block-oriented storage data to be carried by Ethernet networks. The promise of iSCSI is to simplify networking by merging IP and iSCSI traffic onto a single Ethernet infrastructure. With SANblade Fibre Channel and iSCSI HBAs from QLogic, customers now have a choice -- a Fibre Channel SAN, an iSCSI SAN, or a combination of both.
"EMC has long been a leader in information and storage management, and our long-standing relationship has allowed us to work together to deliver world-class Fibre Channel SAN solutions to market," said Frank Berry, vice president of corporate marketing, QLogic Corp. "Now with iSCSI solutions based on QLogic silicon, new EMC CLARiiON platforms that support iSCSI are optimized for performance and interoperability with QLogic iSCSI HBAs."
SANblade QLA4010 iSCSI Host Bus Adapters
The 1Gbps SANblade QLA4010 iSCSI-to-133MHz PCI-X HBA offers high performance, low CPU utilization, and server connectivity directly to iSCSI storage or to iSCSI storage through an Ethernet network. Key SANblade QLA4010 features and benefits include:
-- Offloading iSCSI + TCP/IP Processing -- The SANblade QLA4010
provides access to a high performance iSCSI SAN without
sacrificing server performance. Interrupts, CPU utilization,
memory bus utilization and host bus access associated with iSCSI
and TCP/IP are significantly reduced by offloading the tasks onto
the SANblade QLA4010 adapter. With iSCSI offload engines, fewer
servers are required to maintain application performance. Recent
testing by Network Computing's Storage Pipeline magazine shows
less than 3 percent CPU utilization by the SANblade QLA4010 HBAs.
-- Common iSCSI and Fibre Channel HBA Interface -- The most cost
effective and simple architecture for server connectivity to SANs
is to standardize on a single HBA interface. With a single
SANsurfer(r) management software interface for both iSCSI and
Fibre Channel host bus adapters, architecting a SAN with Qlogic
HBAs is extremely cost effective and simple.
-- Broad Platform Support -- Realizing the cost and ease-of-use
benefits of iSCSI HBA standardization requires drivers for
multiple operating systems. Drivers for popular operating systems
are available for the SANblade QLA4010 including Windows, Solaris
and Linux.
-- Boot from External Storage (SAN) -- Managing several operating
system "boot images" is a complex and time-consuming task for
system administrators. By consolidating operating systems on
external storage and booting servers from external storage --
changing, adding and removing servers is easier and faster. The
SANblade QLA4010 includes "boot-from-SAN" capability, enabling
this cost and time saving strategy.
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, NEC, 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 named to the following during fiscal year 2004: (i) Fortune's 100 Fastest Growing Companies list for the fourth consecutive year; (ii) Forbes' Best 200 Small Companies for the fifth consecutive year; and (iii) Business Week's list of 100 Hot Growth Companies. 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 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: 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; seasonal fluctuations and uneven sales patterns in orders from customers; the ability to compete effectively with other companies; declining average unit sales prices of comparable products; 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; sales fluctuations arising from customer transitions to new products; terrorist activities and resulting military actions; international, economic, regulatory, political and other risks; changes in semiconductor foundry capacity; uncertain benefits from strategic business combinations; 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; the ability to protect proprietary rights or to satisfactorily resolve any infringement claims; changes in tax laws or adverse audit results; decreasing effectiveness of equity compensation in employee retention; charter documents and stockholder rights plan that may discourage a business combination; and facilities located in areas subject to earthquakes.
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.
(c)2004-2005 QLogic Corporation. Specifications are subject to change without notice. All rights reserved worldwide. QLogic, the QLogic logo, the powered by QLogic logo and QLA are registered trademarks of QLogic Corporation. SANblade is a registered trademark in the United States. SANsurfer Management Suite is a trademark of QLogic Corporation and may be registered in some jurisdictions. All other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.