Virtual Instruments Introduces Traffic Analysis Point (TAP) SAN Monitoring Device

Integral Part of Virtual Instruments' NetWisdom Enterprise Solution Delivers SAN Transaction Monitoring for Reducing Storage Cost and Risk


SCOTTS VALLEY, CA--(Marketwire - November 11, 2008) - Virtual Instruments, provider of the award-winning NetWisdom SAN (storage area network) optimization solution, today unveiled the Traffic Analysis Point (TAP) device. A core component of the NetWisdom Enterprise solution, the TAP device enables real-time Fibre Channel network transaction monitoring, analysis and diagnosis, which reduces the risk of storage-network down time and enables infrastructure optimization.

News Highlights

-- The TAP device is a new appliance designed by Virtual Instruments and
   optimized for the 
   NetWisdom Enterprise storage-area-network monitoring solution, which
   provides the application-to-SAN transaction performance data storage
   administrators need to manage their Fibre Channel switched networks.

-- Enterprise customers like Barclay's Card Services, Kaiser Permanente and
   McKesson Corp. increasingly house their business-critical data in the
   SAN, which makes greater SAN visibility, performance and reliability a
   requirement. Leveraging NetWisdom Enterprise with the new TAP device
   gives companies a cost-effective way to see -- in real time -- the data
   flowing between their SANs and business applications, which helps them
   optimize infrastructure utilization and detect costly problems before
   they occur.

-- As an integral part of Virtual Instrument's NetWisdom Enterprise
   solution, the TAP device:

   - Offers a passive diagnostic layer for network maintenance activities
     that require data visibility without interrupting the network.

   - Provides the necessary access points for monitoring equipment,
     detecting failures, and expanding the continuous monitoring solution.

   - Monitors storage array ports, including ISLs.

   - Enables a periodic SAN Health Check to optimize the storage
     infrastructure for maximum return on investment.

-- Unlike Mirror or SPAN ports, TAP devices show complete visibility of
   network traffic and mirror the data flowing between two network points.

-- Availability and Pricing:  The TAP device is currently available as a
   core component or a standalone monitoring appliance. A single TAP device
   offers four ports and has an optional, 1U rack-mountable chassis that
   supports up to 16 ports. Pricing starts at $300 per port for a TAP
   device.

Quotes

Mark Urdahl, Virtual Instruments' Chief Executive Officer: "IT administrators can find themselves in serious and expensive situations when the storage network experiences a problem or down time with limited visibility into the root-cause of the problem. Having Virtual Instruments' TAP device is like having a window into your SAN traffic. It provides unprecedented access to SAN transactions so that performance and troubleshooting issues can be proactively identified and resolved, allowing our customers to realize tremendous cost savings."

Arun Taneja, Founder, Taneja Group: "Tapping the SAN is a best practice that solves a problem I hear about frequently: the inability to get data off of the fabric, and as a result, inability to quickly resolve network issues in complex and virtualized environments. The unique value of the Virtual Instruments TAP device is the quality and depth of data it collects to help IT administrators manage their systems and make the services delivery cloud transparent. The analytical engines work across multi-vendor platforms without disrupting IT operations or network traffic. The result is increased visibility, a better managed SAN and improved ROI."

About Virtual Instruments

Virtual Instruments' award-winning NetWisdom solution monitors application-to-SAN transaction performance -- with deep insight and data not available from other solutions. Customers such as Barclay's Card Services, Kaiser Permanente and McKesson Corp. achieve significant cost savings in virtualization and SAN deployments by optimizing utilization, performance and availability. Leading system and storage vendors including IBM, HP and EMC leverage NetWisdom to design SAN solutions for enterprise customers. Virtual Instruments was founded in June 2008 via the spin-out from Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR); it has headquarters in Scotts Valley, Calif., and can be found online at http://www.virtualinstruments.com

Contact Information: Contact Info: Kimberly Stoddard Eastwick Communications 650-480-4033 kimberly@eastwick.com

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