INDUSTRY

QLogic, the leader in Fibre Channel stackable switches, today announced that its enterprise class 4Gb SANbox 5600 Series Fibre Channel stackable switches are now available directly from Sun Microsystems and authorized Sun distributors. The SANbox 5600 Series is the first and only 4Gb Fibre Channel stackable switch in the industry, offering customers seamless scalability and high performance in a pay-as-you grow solution. "The QLogic SANbox 5600 Series gives our customers the ability to add 4Gb ports and additional switches in a highly cost effective manner as their business and storage needs grow," said James Whitemore, vice president and chief marketing officer, Data Management Group, Sun Microsystems, Inc. "The unique, dedicated 10Gb inter-switch links mean that SAN architects don't have to sacrifice any 4Gb ports for connecting switches to each other. The advantage of this design is that every single 4Gb port is available for storage connectivity and ports can be added without disrupting the storage network to power down or to relocate devices like competitive solutions." Leading the Industry with the First and Only Fibre Channel Stackable Switches Following the successful model of stackable IP switches, QLogic pioneered the category of Fibre Channel stackable switches with the introduction of the SANbox 5200 Series, the first stackable Fibre Channel switches and the first products to deliver 10Gb Fibre Channel technology. Now the benefits of stackable switches are available for high performance 4Gb SANs. SANbox 5600 Series stackable switches deliver the seamless scalability and performance of chassis switches in easy-to-manage, pay-as-you-grow solutions. With sixteen 4Gb ports plus a four-pack of high-speed 10Gb ISL ports, and entry as low as eight ports with four-port software-keyed increments and graphical user interface (GUI) wizards, each SANbox 5600 Series stackable switch provides maximum flexibility for configuring, managing and scaling SANs. "Sun customers now have access to end-to-end 4Gb Fibre Channel connectivity with the addition of the SANbox 5600 Series stackable switches," said Jesse Parker, vice president of marketing, QLogic Switch Products Group. "By combining these highly innovative and scaleable switches with Sun StorageTek Enterprise Class 4Gb host bus adapters, Sun customers can quickly double their I/O performance for a growing number of bandwidth-thirsty applications."