Network Appliance Completes IBM Evaluation Tests for Flagship Enterprise Server Operating System

Business Wire, Nov 29, 2000

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 29, 2000

NetApp(R)Filers Prove Robust Storage Platform for IBM OS/390 and IBM Network Data Couplers Environments, Enabling Network Appliance to

Extend Appliance Enterprise Storage Benefits to IBM Mainframe

Deployments

Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP), the leading provider of network-attached data access and content delivery solutions, today announced that its NetApp filers have successfully completed functional testing with IBM's flagship Enterprise Server operating system, IBM OS/390. IBM tests certified that the NetApp filers, which provide data availability greater than 99.99%, meet every criterion for a reliable storage platform in an IBM OS/390 and IBM Network Data Couplers environment. IBM OS/390 and Network Data Couplers support will enable Network Appliance to expand its presence for the first time into mainframe IBM OS/390 environments, enhancing the Network Appliance(TM) enterprise portfolio and opening up new market segments for NetApp deployments.

"Simplified, cost-effective management of information is critical for today's business environments," said Rich Clifton, senior director of marketing for commercial solutions at Network Appliance. "Enterprises using IBM OS/390 can now confidently deploy NetApp filers to share and scale their critical storage networking infrastructure, and ease the complex task of retrieving and distributing critical data around the world."

The certification testbed consisted of an IBM S/390 Integrated Server and a NetApp F760 filer utilizing IBM's OS/390 and Network Data Couplers software. Testing was performed by IBM's Network Data Couplers organization located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

Network Appliance filers are highly regarded as the leading storage devices for availability, scalability, and manageability. NetApp filers offer multi-terabyte capacity, reduce storage costs, and provide access to multi-terabyte enterprise data. By eliminating the need for specialized set-up and administration, customers deploying filers from Network Appliance can experience significant reduction in administration and support costs and for the first time natively share mainframe data with open systems data.

"IBM customers have come to expect superior performance levels from the OS/390 operating system, which is the foundation of many of our customers' e-business solutions," said Dana Boudreau, Business Executive at IBM. "The scalable, highly available filers from Network Appliance complement these performance levels by providing a robust platform to consolidate data and simplify data management -- helping customers eliminate complex storage issues and focus instead on their core business."

About NetApp Filers

NetApp filers are designed for enterprise environments that require continuous data availability. Network Appliance offers a full range of hardware and software products that simplify data management and increase data availability. Unique features of Network Appliance data management solutions include:

-- Snapshot(TM) technology that maintains multiple backups online to ensure
consistent images of databases and provide read-only copies of databases for
backup, queries, decision support, and report generation. All of this is
accomplished without expensive disk mirroring or performance degradation.

-- SnapMirror(TM) software provides remote mirroring of data for quick disaster
recovery, offline backup, and data sharing.

-- SnapRestore(TM) software allows any system to revert back to a specified
Snapshot for instant recovery. Recovery of multiterabyte-sized databases can
now be done in minutes rather than hours without ever going to tape.

-- SnapManager(TM) for Exchange allows companies to utilize NetApp filers to
help system administrators easily recover and backup Microsoft(R) Exchange
databases -- significantly reducing time and costs associated with Exchange
server downtime.

About Network Appliance

Network Appliance, Inc., a veteran in network file storage and content delivery, has been providing data access solutions since 1992, and is a member of both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 index. Major corporations and service providers, including Lycos, Yahoo!, Citicorp Securities, Siemens, Lockheed, Cisco, Motorola, and Texas Instruments have deployed NetApp solutions.

The company pioneered the concept of the "network appliance," an extension of the industry trend toward dedicated, specialized products that perform a single function. NetApp's storage and content delivery platforms (filers and NetCache(TM) appliances) are coupled with powerful content distribution and reporting software. This end-to-end solution offers seamless data management from the back-end data center to the edge of the network quickly, simply, and reliably. The Network Appliance product portfolio utilizes the company's innovative data access software, known as the Data ONTAP(TM) operating system, as well as standards-compliant hardware. It also offers multiprotocol support and transparent integration for UNIX(R) and Windows(R) environments.