NEC Selects Agilent Technologies Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter for Enterprise Server Line

Business Wire, Jan 9, 2001

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2001

Design Win Highlights Agilent's Interoperability, Performance

and 2 Gb Product Leadership

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A), a leading provider of innovative technologies for communications and life sciences, today announced that NEC Corporation has selected Agilent Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) for use in NEC's high-end server. This important design win indicates Agilent's continued momentum in the Fibre Channel HBA market.

NEC's high-end server offers industry-leading performance and reliability for mission-critical enterprise applications. NEC, which provides worldwide support for the servers, looked for interoperability, high reliability and outstanding performance. Agilent's 1 Gb/s HHBA-5101 was selected based on these criteria.

"Agilent's solution met our requirements to provide our customers with an interoperable, high-performance product for mission-critical applications," said Shigenobu Suzuki, senior manager for NEC's Computers Division. "And Agilent's early leadership in 2 Gb/s Fibre Channel products gives us confidence that we can leverage our investment in future product generations."

"Adding NEC to our HBA customer list is very gratifying," said Bob Whitson, worldwide marketing manager for Agilent's Storage Networking Division. "NEC is a worldwide leader in enterprise computing, and we look forward to a successful, long-term relationship. This is another indication of our momentum in the HBA market, especially in the important Japanese storage-networking market."

The Agilent HHBA-5101 is a 32/64-bit, 33 MHz PCI Fibre Channel adapter optimized for gigabit SAN applications. It complies with international ANSI specifications for Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL-2) as well as Fabric Loop Attach (FC-FLA). Optimized for mission-critical applications, the adapter supports full-duplex operation up to 200 MB/s with parallel inbound and outbound processing. For high-performance applications, the HHBA-5101 supports a standard gigabit interface connector (GBIC) for fiber-optic media.

Agilent Storage Networking Solutions

Agilent is a leading supplier of Fibre Channel solutions for the rapidly expanding SAN market, providing industry-leading Tachyon Fibre Channel controllers, physical layer components, and HBA solutions that include software and driver support for all major operating environments. Agilent has also presented early demonstrations of both the InfiniBand I/O standard, and the emerging IP SAN technology.

Additionally, Agilent is partnering with Adaptec to tailor Fibre Channel solutions for worldwide PC server OEMs and resellers. Adaptec builds Tachyon-based host adapters, and provides drivers and SAN management software backed by a strong sales, distribution, service and support infrastructure to help customers implement Fibre Channel in demanding, PC server computing environments.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) is a diversified technology company with approximately 47,000 employees serving customers in more than 120 countries. Agilent is a global leader in designing and manufacturing test, measurement and monitoring instruments, systems and solutions, and semiconductor and optical components. In fiscal year 2000, Agilent had net revenue of $10.8 billion. The company serves markets that include communications, electronics, life sciences and healthcare.

Information about Agilent Technologies can be found on the Web at www.agilent.com.