QLogic Fibre Channel Adapters Native To Major Operating Systems; SANblade Family Only Fibre Channel Adapters Native To Windows, NetWare, Solaris and Linux

Business Wire, April 18, 2002

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

ALISO VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2002

Supporting its vision of a storage area network (SAN) in every business, QLogic (Nasdaq:QLGC) today announced an important milestone for the company and Fibre Channel industry. Device drivers for the QLogic SANblade(TM) family of Fibre Channel host bus adapters are embedded in the four major operating systems, signaling an end to the era when IT professionals were required to download and install third party drivers. Operating systems that offer easy installation of QLogic SANblade HBAs include Microsoft(R) Windows NT(R) and Windows 2000, Novell(R) NetWare(R), Sun Solaris(TM), Red Hat(R) Linux(R) and SuSE Linux. Drivers for SANblade adapters are also included in the 32-bit and 64-bit beta versions of Microsoft .NET and Linux 64 kernel.

"The benefits of SAN based storage consolidation deeply resonate with a broad spectrum of IT managers, but deployments have been largely at the high end," said Robert Gray, IDC storage research analyst. "This is another step in reducing the cost and complexity barriers that have been a drag on SAN deployments in today's do more with less business environment."

Native Operating System Support Simplifies Networked Storage

Device drivers for printers have been included with major operating systems for many years. The result is IT professionals expect that installing a printer on a Windows PC or server should be as easy as using the "Add/Remove Hardware Wizard." Until now, installing a Fibre Channel HBA many times involved a complex process of downloading device drivers from vendor websites, installing the drivers and testing the drivers for operating system compatibility. Today, IT professionals can expect to install a QLogic SANblade HBA by simply using the same "Add/Remove Hardware Wizard."

SANblade Fibre Channel HBAs -- Tested, Proven and Supported

SANblade is the HBA brand from the vendor of choice for most major OEMs. Network Computing Editor's Choice, The SANblade(TM) 2300 Series provides fast, reliable and efficient data flow without bottlenecks. SANblade 2300 Series Features and Benefits:

-- Reliability for mission critical applications with single chip architecture.


-- On-board RISC processor for lowest CPU utilization.

-- Broadest interoperability certifications with tape, disk and storage
management software products.

-- Data transfer rates of up to 400MB/s per channel in full duplex mode for
greater bandwidth.

-- Transaction rates up to 80,000 I/Os per second.

-- Easy management with SANsurfer Tool Kit software.

-- Support for storage, server and cluster applications.

-- High PCI port density with dual and quad port HBAs.

About QLogic (www.qlogic.com)

QLogic Corporation simplifies the process of networking storage for OEMs, resellers and system integrators with the only end-to-end infrastructure in the industry, consisting of award-winning controller chips, host bus adapters, network switches and management software to move data from the storage device through the fabric to the server. QLogic designs and produces solutions based on all storage network technologies including SCSI, iSCSI, InfiniBand and Fibre Channel. A member of the S&P 500 Index, QLogic was recently ranked number 25 on Forbes' Best 200 Small Companies and number 20 on Fortune's 100 Fastest Growing Companies.

Note: All QLogic-issued press releases appear on the company's web site (www.qlogic.com). Any announcement that does not appear on the QLogic web site has not been issued by QLogic.

Disclaimer -- Forward-Looking Statements

With the exception of historical information, the statements set forth above include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The Company wishes to advise readers that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include new and changing technologies and customer acceptance of those technologies; a change in semiconductor foundry capacity or conditions; fluctuations in the growth of I/O markets; fluctuations or cancellations in orders from OEM customers; the Company's ability to compete effectively with other companies; cancellation of OEM products associated with design wins; and reductions in the need for space and increased costs of operations due to facility relocation. Carrying additional expansion space may increase costs and adversely impact future earnings.

These and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are also discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its recent filings on Form S-3, Form 10-K, and Form 10-Q.

Note to Editors: Trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of the companies with which they are associated.