ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Aug. 5, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- QLogic Corp. (Nasdaq:QLGC), a leading supplier of high performance network infrastructure solutions, today announced a comprehensive initiative to accelerate the adoption of Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE). First, QLogic revealed it is now shipping the QLogic(r) 8000 Series converged network adapters (CNAs), marking the general availability of the world's first FCoE CNAs. Second, QLogic and Cisco are helping IT organizations to realize the business benefits of FCoE networks with evaluation packages consisting of Nexus 5000 Series switches and QLogic 8000 Series CNAs. Third, QLogic is launching the NETtrack(tm) FCoE interoperability program designed to produce data networking and storage networking solutions which are fully tested and supported by the vendor ecosystem. Building on the success of the FCoE Test Drive in San Diego, the QLogic NETtrack program will accelerate market acceptance of FCoE technology by building a portfolio of certified solutions with existing Fibre Channel storage systems in advance of the availability of native FCoE storage in 2009.
"Today's datacenter is a fast growing and increasingly critical corporate asset, so any solutions that can help IT executives reduce complexity while boosting responsiveness are critical," said Richard Villars, vice president of Storage Systems research at IDC. "Technologies like FCoE will allow companies to simplify their network infrastructure while boosting performance for both servers and storage, an important requirement in increasingly virtualized and scalable datacenters."
"Customers are enthusiastic about using FCoE to simplify their infrastructure and reduce costs," said Jackie Ross, vice president, Marketing, Server Access and Virtualization at Cisco. "Customer feedback from trials with the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series support the premise that FCoE is non-disruptive to existing storage and network architectures, and that IT organizations clearly recognize the benefits of a single, converged network."
"When considering the deployment of a converged network, we expect the priority of IT organizations using EMC technology will be to ensure compatibility with their existing Fibre Channel infrastructure," said Barbara Robidoux, vice president, Storage Product Marketing at EMC. "The early availability of CNAs from QLogic and collaboration with the EMC E-Lab to qualify interoperability with EMC's networked storage systems will help make it easier for SAN administrators to deploy FCoE when their needs dictate."
"IBM has been working closely with QLogic and others to define the standards that will transform FCoE technology into business solutions for the new enterprise datacenter," said Doug Balog, vice president of development for IBM BladeCenter and System x. "Clients count on open standards to enable innovation and ensure vendor interoperability. IBM BladeCenter Open Fabric Manager, the open approach to blade IO virtualization, will fully support FCoE adapters and allow clients to more easily transition to a unified fabric. We're pleased to work with industry partners like QLogic to accelerate the market acceptance of FCoE technology."
"FCoE is a logical progression of NetApp's unified storage approach of offering Fibre Channel, iSCSI and NAS in its enterprise storage systems," said Joel Reich, vice president and general manager of the SANiSAN Business Unit at NetApp. "The QLogic FCoE initiative is well designed to help NetApp customers migrate to native FCoE systems in the future."
"By delivering QLogic 8000 Series CNAs, based on our market-leading Fibre Channel adapter technology, and continuing to work closely with key vendors like Cisco and our NETtrack partners, we are laying the groundwork for converged networks," said Amit Vashi, vice president of marketing, QLogic Host Solutions Group. "Our Tier-1 OEMs and end-users are anticipating the ability to consolidate their data and storage networks on one platform."
Fibre Channel over Ethernet -- Unifying Data and Storage Networks
FCoE, the standard for transporting Fibre Channel frames over Ethernet, is designed to make converged networks possible for data centers. With converged networks now on the way to becoming a reality, servers will no longer require separate interfaces for data and storage networking. IT professionals can increase functionality while reducing cost and complexity by using a single set of cables and switches.
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 superior 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.
Two models of QLogic 8000 Series CNAs are available:
* QLE8042-CK PCI-E to FCoE Dual Port Converged Network Adapter
(Ships with no transceivers installed; intended for use with low
cost SFP+ Direct Attached SFP+ copper cabling.)
* QLE8042-SR-CK PCI-E to FCoE Dual Port Converged Network Adapter
(Ships with two optical transceivers installed.)
QLogic 8000 Series CNAs are currently available from the following
QLogic authorized distributors around the world:
Asia Pacific
* ACA Pacific
* InfoX
* Synnex
* UltraPower
* Marubeni Information Systems
* Netmarks
* Servants International
* Samboo System
* Datastor
* Ingram Micro Asia, Zero One Technology,
EMEA
* Servodata
* Odirile Storage Distribution
* Avnet
* Four Leaf
* Bell Microproducts
* Distrilogie Group
* TIM AG
* StorIT Data Storage Solutions
* Hammer
* InfoX
* DSCon
* SM DATA
* Armada
North America
* Arrow
* Bell Microproducts
* Moca
* Promark
* Tech Data
* InfoX
South America
* Bell Micro
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.
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 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 does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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