STORAGE

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- SGI today became among the first UNIX(R) system vendors to introduce Serial ATA (SATA) technology in enterprise class storage systems. The company has introduced two new disk storage systems under the SGI(R) InfiniteStorage brand, the SGI(R) TP9300S and SGI(R) TP9500S that employ the next generation disk-interface technology. The new storage systems combine SATA's lower drive unit costs with the availability, manageability, data integrity, and functionality of fibre channel based storage systems. "SATA drives are challenging tape as the near-line medium of choice," said Gabriel Broner, senior vice president and general manager of SGI's Storage and Software Group. "The price gap between disk and tape is shrinking, and the faster data access times of disk greatly speeds access time. Our customers can benefit from storage solutions with improved ROI and improved overall performance." "SATA will bring the best cost-per-megabyte to the market for enterprise class storage systems," said Flavio Santoni, senior vice president, Worldwide Sales, Marketing and Customer Services, LSI Logic Storage Systems. "The biggest payoff will come when these devices become a part of full enterprise solutions, particularly in high-performance computing environments. Potential applications include managing rich media in the media and entertainment markets, managing seismic model data in the energy market, and streaming geospatial information in government markets." Announced in September, SGI InfiniteStorage is a family of hardware and software products that allows customers to improve their data management processes, or workflows. InfiniteStorage offers three significant capabilities unique to SGI: transparently sharing data across their organization by avoiding data copying and movement; scaling data as the business and application grows; and managing the data lifecycle without limiting access. The new SATA storage systems were developed by LSI Logic Storage Systems and marketed by SGI under the InfiniteStorage brand through an OEM arrangement. These new SATA models will play a key role in SGI's Integrated Lifecycle Management solution, working with SGI(R) servers and shared filesystems to automate data movement in a multi-tiered storage architecture. Initial shipments of these new SATA storage systems are scheduled for mid-December 2003 with entry configurations starting below $40,000 (U.S. list price) and will be available directly from SGI or through the company's worldwide resellers.