QLogic Leads Market in End-to-End Fibre Channel; Gartner Dataquest Study Substantiates QLogic's Position as Leader in Fibre Channel Controllers and Boards for Servers and Storage Devices

Business Wire, May 1, 2001

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

ALISO VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2001

QLogic Corp. (Nasdaq:QLGC), the only end-to-end storage area network (SAN) infrastructure provider, today announced that a new study from Gartner Dataquest entitled "Semiconductors in the SAN Landscape," unveils QLogic's leadership in end-to-end Fibre Channel controllers for calendar year 2000. Published in April, 2001, the Gartner Dataquest report states, "QLogic is the leader in unit shipments of both Fibre Channel protocol controller chips (including hard drive controllers) and host bus adapters (HBAs)."

"External storage and SANs increased dramatically this past year as customers continue to seek improvements in data availability, scalability and fault tolerance," said Benjamin Thompson, Gartner Dataquest analyst, and author of the report. "Gartner Dataquest forecasts the total external storage market to grow to $50.3 billion by 2004 with more than 80 percent of that storage being implemented in SANs. This implies a large customer base for both host and target controllers."

QLogic designs and markets chip and board solutions that are implemented in over 200 OEM solutions including servers, storage subsystems, routers, host bus adapters, RAID controllers, disk drives and high-performance tape drives. The company also produces leading Fibre Channel switch technology including the company's SANbox(TM) line of switches as well as ASICs and embedded switches for several major OEMs.

"What sets QLogic apart from our competition is our unique position as the industry's only end-to-end SAN infrastructure provider," said Mark Edwards, senior vice president, QLogic Corporation. "This gives us the ability to deliver unparalleled expertise in SAN compatibility and performance to the world's top server and storage manufacturers."

2 Gigabit and 1 Gigabit End-to-End

Only QLogic offers a complete suite of Gigabit and 2 Gigabit-per-second building blocks, pre-tested for interoperability and administered by a complementary SAN management software platform. This broad range of high-performance products, all available from a single vendor, allows OEMs, VARs storage service providers (SSPs) and end-users to build cost-effective, plug-and-play SANs that are centrally managed and highly available.

QLogic's ISP controller chips serve the industry with high performance and interoperability. Incorporated in hundreds of OEM-installed solutions, QLogic's ISP Fibre Channel chip architecture is installed in a multitude of SANs industry-wide. It is designed for integration directly into system boards, RAID controllers and host adapters, including QLogic's SANblade Fibre Channel host adapters. QLogic's ISP architecture embeds a highly sophisticated layer of exclusively developed firmware based on years of development and field experience. Combined with wide industry acceptance, this unique architecture gives QLogic unmatched expertise in developing SAN products that are interoperable with a broad range of server, storage, switch, software and component products.

QLogic SANblade Fibre Channel HBAs are based on QLogic's ISP Fibre Channel controller and carry all the same performance benefits. QLogic SANblade Fibre Channel solutions are available in single and multiple port models for PCI, PCI-X and Sbus interfaces.

FTEC and FibreFAS Series Fibre Channel Controllers for Hard Drives and Tape Drives

Embedded into Fibre Channel disk drives, tape drives and a wide variety of other peripherals, QLogic's FTEC and FibreFAS series of single-chip Fibre Channel controllers combine broad functionality with the extremely high performance demanded by enterprise class hard disk and tape drive manufacturers. QLogic's architecture supports on-chip dual-port Gigabit- and 2 Gigabit-per-second transceivers, fast disk data rates and highly automated interface logic, enabling high throughput with low drive microprocessor overhead and thereby maximizing overall drive performance. Built-in programmable flexibility gives drive designers a wide range of choices and ensures maximum control.

About QLogic

QLogic Corporation (Nasdaq:QLGC) is changing the way the world views Storage Area Networks (SANs), serving OEMs, VARs and system integrators with the only end-to-end SAN infrastructure in the industry. With over 15 years of enterprise storage experience, the company delivers a full range of Fibre Channel switches, PCI host bus adapters, controller silicon and management chips for systems and peripherals, as well as the QLogic Management Suite of SAN management software solutions. A member of the S&P 500 Index, QLogic was ranked fourth on Forbes' Best 200 Small Companies and number 22 on Fortune's 100 Fastest Growing Companies. QLogic is integrated in over 200 OEM solutions, including: AMI, Compaq, Computer Associates, DataCore, Dell, EMC, FalconStor, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, IBM, INRANGE, Iwill, MTI Technology Corp., Quantum, Raidtec, Siemens, Sony, Sun, Unisys, VERITAS and XIOtech. For more information about QLogic and its products, contact QLogic Corp., 26600 Laguna Hills Drive, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656; telephone: 800/662-4471 (sales); 949/389-6000 (corporate); fax: 949/389-6126; home page: http://www.qlogic.com.