Ancor, Emulex, and Gadzoox® are first to join Hitachi Data Systems in delivering open SAN solutions.
April 26 1999 — Hitachi Data Systems today announced the formation of a team of business alliances to expedite time to market of comprehensive, open Storage Area Network (SAN) solutions. The synergy of charter partners Ancor Communications, Inc., Emulex Corp., and Gadzoox Networks, Inc., along with their industry-leading SAN technologies, helps to build the foundation for Hitachi Data Systems' single source of tightly integrated SAN solutions. Hitachi Data Systems will continue adding companies to its alliances team to provide an even wider range of options.
Hitachi Data Systems also announced Freedom Data NetworksT (FDN) today — a flexible structure for implementing SANs and other data-centric network solutions that allow customers to access and control their data without being tied to proprietary technology that limits their business options. One example of Hitachi Data Systems' Freedom Data Networks architecture can be found at Northern Trust Company of Chicago, where Hitachi Data Systems has developed a fully functional high-end SAN for a Windows NT™ environment. Northern Trust's SAN will enable the company to pool storage devices in a central location, utilize a common Automated Tape Library (ATL) to back up multiple server locations, and off-load data management traffic from the LAN. (Please see the separate Hitachi Data Systems news release also dated April 26, 1999, which discusses the Northern Trust solution)
"We are extremely pleased to have Ancor, Emulex, and Gadzoox join with us to provide customers with powerful Storage Area Network solutions within our Freedom Data Networks architecture," said James Harris, group vice president, Hitachi Data Systems Marketing, Alliances & Channels. "This business alliance strategy enables us to offer customers complete flexibility in implementing SANs by providing products that are tightly integrated and suited to a range of computing environments.
"We are now poised to deliver what our customers are requesting: total, comprehensive, flexible solutions. We believe our SAN solutions, which are based on complete openness and interoperability, are the best choices when it comes to efficient and cost-effective management, administration, backup, and distribution of data. Thanks to our alliance partners, we are moving quickly to deliver on our vision of access to any information, from any computer, anywhere, anytime." Hitachi Data Systems and its alliance partners provide three key SAN components: storage systems (such as Hitachi Data Systems Freedom Storage™); interconnect devices, such as hubs and switches; and host bus adapters. The Hitachi Data Systems Freedom Storage family of products provides high-performance and high-availability data storage across heterogeneous computing environments. Emulex's host bus adapters provide connectivity for Windows NT-based servers, such as Hitachi Data Systems' VisionBase™ line. Gadzoox' managed hubs connect FC-AL servers and storage, offering a lower-cost network solution. Ancor's high-performance fabric switches provide multiple, non-blocking, communication paths among servers, storage devices, and multiple switches for large SAN fabric configurations.
"Hitachi Data Systems' SAN is a major step forward in providing customers with an open storage network that meets their unique requirements, rather than a rigid, one-size-fits-all solution," said Ancor chief executive Ken Hendrickson. "So, for Hitachi Data Systems customers needing absolute reliability and fault tolerance, the security of hard zoning, or the scalability and performance to stay ahead of exploding data stores, Ancor's fibre channel switches provide the critical SAN interconnection."
"This marketing alliance with Hitachi Data Systems helps to build the critical performance foundation for Storage Area Network solutions — what customers are now asking for to manage their ever-increasing load of information" said Mike Smith, senior director of fibre channel Marketing for Emulex. "We are pleased to provide our fibre channel adapters to enhance interoperability and integration of the various technologies of Hitachi Data Systems' powerful SAN solution offering."
"Our relationship with Hitachi Data Systems is enabling the marketplace to reap the performance benefits of the latest storage technologies," said Kent Bridges, Gadzoox vice president of Worldwide Sales. "Gadzoox' managed hubs are a critical component of Hitachi Data Systems' new SAN offerings that allow customers to achieve higher scalability, centralized management, and more efficient connectivity in their rapidly expanding and distributed storage environments."
Recognized as a leading provider of business solutions for the world's most IT-intensive corporations, Hitachi Data Systems offers a global professional services division, multiplatform storage sub-systems, and the industry's broadest line of high-performance servers. The company's extensive range of products and services, coupled with its business alliances with key industry leaders, enable it to translate technology into enterprise-wide solutions for high-end and middle-market customers. Hitachi Data Systems is owned by Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT) and has its headquarters in Santa Clara, California.
Ancor (Nasdaq: ANCR) provides GigWorks™ high-performance fibre channel switches for storage-and data-intensive network solutions, including SANs. The company was the first to deliver a fibre channel switch, and the first to top the one-gigabit performance level. Ancor is a member of the Fibre Channel Association, the Storage Networking Industry Alliance, the Fibre Channel Community, and the ANSI Standards Committee to promote the advancement of Fibre Channel standards and interoperability.
Emulex is a leading designer of high-performance network connectivity products including Fibre Channel host bus adapters and hubs. The company's hardware and software-based host bus adapters improve communication in computer networks and enhance data flow between computers and peripherals. As a leading developer and supplier of Fibre Channel technology, Emulex's Fibre Channel devices support all implementations of the Fibre Channel standard, including arbitrated loop, switched fabric, and point-to-point topologies. Corporate headquarters are located in Costa Mesa, California.
Gadzoox is a leader in SAN products. The company brings innovative networking solutions to Hitachi Data Systems' SAN solutions with highly scalable, managed Fibre Channel hubs and software management products. Gadzoox' product strategy fully supports building the enterprise SAN architecture in a modular fashion while providing maximum investment protection for the existing infrastructure. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Gadzoox is privately held. For more information, call (888) 423-3222.
Contacts: PR
Lorraine Morgan at Hitachi Data Systems (408) 970-7176.
Freedom Storage, Freedom Data Networks, and VisionBase are trademarks of Hitachi Data Systems Corporation. Windows NT is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Gadzoox is a registered trademark of Gadzoox Networks, Inc. Ancor and GigWorks are the marks and property of Ancor Communications, Inc.
All other brand or product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify, products or services of their respective owners.
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