ALISO VIEJO, Calif., April 17, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- QLogic Corp. (Nasdaq:QLGC), the leader in Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs), stackable switches and blade server switches, today announced that it has completed a license agreement with Sun Microsystems and joined the OpenSolaris storage community, making it the first company to offer fully qualified Fibre Channel HBAs and technology for OpenSolaris. The OpenSolaris storage community was created by Sun so that developers, ISVs, and customers could leverage open source to drive innovation and new market opportunities for storage. The OpenSolaris storage community is a place for collaboration and conversation around OpenSolaris storage technology. By making their Fibre Channel HBA technology available for OpenSolaris, QLogic has contributed an important component of the storage stack to the open source world.
"The Solaris platform has played a critical part in the advancement of storage area networking in the enterprise. The OpenSolaris storage community fosters co-operation among developers and ultimately greater innovation and functionality in the marketplace," said Amit Vashi, senior director of marketing, QLogic Host Solutions Group. "Through our long-standing relationship with Sun and the OpenSolaris community, QLogic is honored to be the first company to deliver fully qualified Fibre Channel HBAs for OpenSolaris."
A Broad Opportunity for the Open Source Community
More than 95 percent of Fibre Channel HBAs in Solaris OS environments are from QLogic. This large installed base encompasses the entire range of Sun application and hardware environments. OpenSolaris presents a rich opportunity for developers using open source to add functionality or customize storage technology for new applications and platforms.
"QLogic has been a highly valued partner in storage networking solutions for many years," said Nigel Dessau, senior vice president of marketing and business operations, Sun Microsystems. "Their participation in the OpenSolaris storage community is critical as we work together to address the needs of Global 2000 companies who need highly functional, open storage solutions."
SANblade(r): The Top Enterprise HBA
QLogic market share leadership is driven by IT professionals in Global 2000 corporate datacenters that are deploying SANblade Fibre Channel HBAs. It's not surprising when you consider that SANblade HBAs deliver market leading performance and reliability across the widest range of server and operating systems (OS) platforms. SANblade HBAs from QLogic offer a suite of technology advancements that help storage administrators in large enterprises ensure complete business continuity, maintain application performance and cost-effectively scale their networks.
Data from the Dell'Oro Group 4Q2006 SAN Report shows that the installed base of QLogic 4Gb and 2Gb Fibre Channel HBA ports is now 2.88 million, compared to 2.74 million for the nearest competitor, giving QLogic the largest installed base of 4Gb and 2Gb Fibre Channel HBA ports in the world. The Dell'Oro report also shows that in 2006 QLogic became the first company to ship one million Fibre Channel HBA ports in a single year. The figures show that QLogic shipped 1.02 million Fibre Channel HBA ports last year, outpacing its nearest competitor by more than a quarter million ports.
About QLogic
QLogic is a leading supplier of high-performance storage networking solutions, producing the controller chips, host bus adapters (HBAs) 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 HBAs, blade server embedded Fibre Channel switches, Fibre Channel stackable switches, iSCSI HBAs, iSCSI routers and storage services platforms for enabling advanced storage management applications. The company is also a leading supplier of InfiniBand switches and InfiniBand host channel adapters for the emerging High Performance Computing Cluster (HPCC) 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 like Cisco, Dell, EMC, Hitachi Data Systems, HP, IBM, NEC, Network Appliance and Sun Microsystems. QLogic is a member of the S&P 500 Index.
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: 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; 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; the complexity of the Company's products; sales fluctuations arising from customer transitions to new products; the uncertainty associated with SOX 404 compliance; environmental compliance costs; terrorist activities and resulting military actions; international economic, regulatory, political and other risks; uncertain benefits from strategic business combinations; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; recognition of compensation expense related to employee stock options and the Company's employee stock purchase plan; the decreased effectiveness of equity compensation; difficulties in implementing smaller geometry process technologies; the ability to protect proprietary rights; the ability to satisfactorily resolve any infringement claims; reliance on third party licenses; the use of "open source" software in our products; changes in our tax provisions or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our 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 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 does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
QLogic and the QLogic logo are registered trademarks of QLogic Corporation. SANblade is a registered trademark in the United States. Other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of the companies with which they are associated.