VISUALIZATION

HOPKINTON, MA -- EMC Corporation today ushered in a new era of networked information storage by introducing integrated solutions that will quickly and effectively empower customers with 2-Gigabit per second (2Gb) Fibre Channel technology. With today's announcement, EMC is set to deliver a complete 2Gb solution featuring EMC CLARiiON and EMC Symmetrix systems, EMC-qualified interoperable storage hardware and software elements, and EMC migration services. As a result, customers will be able to design both pure and mixed 2Gb connectivity solutions that will reduce costs and improve productivity without disruption to business operations. "Simply announcing new 2Gb technology doesn't automatically enable customers to derive value from that technology, which is why EMC goes the extra step to provide complete solutions, " said Chuck Hollis, VP of Markets and Products. "Customers are looking for vendors to incorporate the latest connectivity innovations into their environment, but at the same time maintain stability, business continuity, and investment protection. EMC fully understands these customer needs." In addition to the new CLARiiON FC4700 2-Gb platform (see separate release for details on a wide range of CLARiiON connectivity enhancements) and the Symmetrix Four-Port 2-Gb FC Director announced today, EMC has also qualified configurations of 2Gb-compatible servers, operating systems, and Host-Bus Adaptors (HBAs) via the rigorous E-Lab Tested Interoperability Program. EMC is in the process of testing and qualifying partner-based 2Gb switching technology, which EMC plans to make available subsequent to availability from EMC partners. "McDATA and EMC have long been shipping the world's only Director-class product that is 2Gb/s extendible today," said Jack McDonnell, CEO and Chairman of McDATA. "McDATA will continue providing best-in-breed hardware and services that support EMC's robust storage solutions." "As a leading provider of SAN infrastructure, Brocade is pleased to be shipping significant volumes of 2Gbit/sec product to market today," said Jay Kidd, Brocade Vice President of Product Marketing. "By verifying 2Gbit/sec interoperability with our partners, Brocade is helping ensure that this emerging infrastructure is available to enterprise customers. We are currently in the process of completing qualification of Brocade 2Gbit/sec infrastructure with EMC, and we applaud them for their efforts to help move these technologies into the mainstream." 2Gb Fibre Channel technology drives down customer costs by doubling the amount of available bandwidth in fabric-attached information storage environments. This can allow storage systems to support a greater number of hosts per storage port connection in the same footprint with the same number of switches. In more complex fabric environments with switch-to-switch connections, 2Gb technology enables switch ports to be used more efficiently, providing even more server connections per storage port connection. James Opfer, a principal analyst with Gartner/Dataquest said, "The widespread adoption of 2Gb Fibre Channel will in large part be dependent on the ability of major industry players to deliver reliable and interoperable solutions in a timely manner. As the marketplace leaders announce support for 2Gb connectivity, customers will increasingly feel more comfortable in transitioning to this next-generation storage networking technology." The new enhancements to the CLARiiON and Symmetrix platforms also bear the EMC hallmark of seamless interoperability and backwards compatibility with existing and previous technologies. Thanks to EMC's more than $2 billion investment in interoperability testing and qualification, the enhancements announced today will fully support the information infrastructure elements listed on EMC's comprehensive EMC Support Matrix. Furthermore, the new advances will interoperate with existing 1Gb customer environments, simultaneously supporting 1Gb and 2Gb data transfers in the same environment. "As evidenced by a major trend towards hyper-consolidation, customers are laser-focused on increasing productivity and driving down costs in the data center, and see the massive potential to leverage 2Gb connectivity to do more with less," continued Hollis. "At the same time, customers want more than promising, innovative technology - they want to know exactly how it will improve their infrastructure, how they will migrate to it, and they want to be absolutely sure that it can be fully supported by a single vendor. This is what EMC brings to the table." For more information visit www.emc.com