LAS VEGAS, May 19, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- EMC World -- Emulex Corporation (NYSE:ELX) today announced that its LightPulse(r) Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) were selected as the storage area network (SAN) connectivity solution of choice in two end users' server virtualization projects that utilize EMC networked storage systems. Home Interiors & Gifts, Inc. and Molex Incorporated selected Emulex HBAs based on ease of administration, reliability and customer confidence in support for future evolution of the SAN architecture.
"With the high correlation between server virtualization and networked storage, Emulex continues to provide end users with the connectivity tools and technology they require to efficiently and effectively manage their virtualized server environments," said Mike Smith, executive vice president of worldwide marketing, Emulex. "As companies embark on server virtualization projects, SAN administrators must examine their infrastructure and Emulex has demonstrated its leadership in supporting virtualized server environments."
In Carrolton, Texas, Home Interiors & Gifts is transitioning its Windows server data center to a virtualized environment. While meeting the initial management goals of cost savings through consolidation, the IT group found that deployment flexibility, dynamic allocation of resources and business continuity efficiencies are a major part of the payback equation for the project. As applications are migrated from standalone systems onto VMware ESX servers, the need for external storage can increase dramatically. With migration of applications to Fibre Channel SAN-connected VMware ESX servers, the data was moved to EMC(r) CLARiiON(r) storage arrays in the enterprise SAN. As the virtualization implementation progressed, Home Interiors chose Emulex LightPulse HBAs to leverage the technology's native VMware support and robust management tools.
"We looked at the capability of the Emulex Fibre Channel HBAs and management tools and saw features that were not available from other suppliers," said Steven Ham, Senior Windows System Administrator at Home Interiors & Gifts. "On the hardware side, there is the native support of VMware. Fibre Channel should just work, and that's what we see with Emulex HBAs. With the HBA management tools, we get discovery and dynamic configuration capabilities that would otherwise require additional investment in tools running on other SAN components."
Molex Incorporated, a leading provider of interconnect products headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, is addressing the challenges of fulfilling service requirements, while meeting corporate goals for environmental responsibility with a multi-year server virtualization project. As part of the project, Molex evaluated its SAN connectivity requirements and asked Emulex to demonstrate its capabilities in VMware ESX server environments linked via a SAN to EMC storage systems. The company had a goal of transitioning at least half of its systems onto virtual platforms.
"We appreciated the comprehensive and automated HBA management tools provided by Emulex in the native Windows environment and wanted to see if we could count on the same capability within a virtualized server environment," said Andrew Houlne, Infrastructure Project Leader, Molex Americas. "Overall, we were very happy with what we saw. The out-of-the-box performance is solid, and the new capabilities that Emulex is delivering around virtualization are very interesting."
"EMC networked storage paired with Emulex HBAs forms an excellent solution for SAN connectivity in virtualization environments," said Deirdre Wassell, director, storage product marketing, EMC. "We've made a strong commitment to help customers implement VMware infrastructures. Our extensive work with Emulex helps us deliver end-to-end solutions that enable our customers to get the most value from their IT investments."
To learn more about Emulex's LightPulse Fibre Channel HBAs, visit http://www.emulex.com/products/hba/index.jsp. Complete case studies on both of these virtualization projects can be found at: http://www.emulex.com/casestudy/hba/HomeInteriors.pdf http://www.emulex.com/casestudy/hba/MolexAmericas.pdf
About Emulex
Emulex Corporation creates enterprise-class products that intelligently connect storage, servers and networks. The world's leading server and storage providers rely on Emulex award-winning HBAs, intelligent storage platforms and embedded storage products, including switches, bridges, routers and I/O controllers, to build reliable, scalable and high performance storage and server solutions. Emulex is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:ELX) and 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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Emulex Safe Harbor Statement
"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. All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies.