Vixel Announces Certification of its 9200 2Gb/s Switch by LSI Logic Storage Systems; LSI Logic Certifies Vixel Technology for 2Gb/s Storage Solution

Business Wire, March 14, 2002

Business Editors

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2002

Vixel Corporation (Nasdaq:VIXL), a leading provider of storage networking products and technologies, announced today that LSI Logic Storage Systems, Inc. (NYSE: LSI), has completed its certification of the Vixel 9200 2 Gigabit per second (2Gb/s) Fabric Switch for use with the MetaStor(R) E4600 2Gb/s Fibre Channel storage system.

This news follows the recent announcement by LSI Logic and Vixel that they completed certification of a new Fibre Channel 2Gb/s infrastructure bundle, which includes the Vixel 9000 Series 2Gb/s Fabric Switches and LSI Logic's 2Gb/s LSI44929O Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (HBA). This new certification will enable end users to recognize the performance, flexibility and interoperability of a fully certified and complete 2Gb/s SAN infrastructure complete with storage.

"By working with LSI Logic to certify our 2Gb/s switches with their storage systems and HBAs, we are making it simple for businesses to shift to the increased performance of a 2Gb/s SAN environment," said Claude Lorenson, director of product marketing at Vixel. "We are proud to be extending our long-standing relationship with LSI Logic into the cutting-edge of SAN technology. With this announcement we have provided our customers the ability to implement 2Gb/s technology that has certified interoperability, allowing them to move forward with high performance implementations without having concern over compatibility between the individual elements of their SAN."

The MetaStor E4600 storage system supports up to eight concurrent Fibre Channel host connections at a rate of 2Gb/s each. Because of its higher transfer rate and an increase in input/output operations per second (IOPS), customers can attach an increased number of faster servers from a multitude of vendors to a single E4600.

"LSI Logic has performed extensive interoperability testing with the Vixel 9200 switch, our MetaStor E4600 and the LSI44929O host bus adapter to assure customers of compatibility in this high speed environment," said Flavio Santoni, vice president of marketing and sales, LSI Logic Storage Systems, Inc. "End users are continuing to recognize that the optimal performance provided by 2Gb/s SAN environments is a necessity and with the rapid ROI of our flexible, scalable and interoperable offering, we are expecting continued momentum in the 2Gb/s space."

About LSI Logic Storage Systems, Inc.

LSI Logic Storage Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of LSI Logic Corporation, builds high performance, highly scalable storage systems and sophisticated, multi-vendor storage management applications for resource optimization and consolidation in the open enterprise. For more information, please call 888/638-2786 or 408/433-8686 or visit www.lsilogicstorage.com.

About LSI Logic Corporation

LSI Logic Corporation is a leading designer and manufacturer of communications, consumer and storage semiconductors for applications that access, interconnect and store data, voice and video. In addition, the company supplies storage network solutions for the enterprise. LSI Logic is headquartered at 1551 McCarthy Boulevard, Milpitas, CA 95035, 866/574-5741, www.lsilogic.com.

About Vixel Corporation

Vixel Corporation is creating disruptive storage networking technologies that consistently deliver easily managed, easily integrated, high performance interconnectivity at highly competitive prices. Vixel's InSpeed(TM) technology is a unique switching architecture designed from the ground-up as an effortlessly managed storage interconnect solution. Optimized for the needs and price requirements of storage and server suppliers, InSpeed breaks the cost/performance barriers inhibiting broad storage networking adoption. Vixel is leading the industry by providing a new breed of embedded storage switch products that improve data access and availability to business applications - regardless of scale. Vixel also offers a new generation of high-performance storage switches designed for businesses of all sizes that need affordable and simple Storage Area Networks (SANs). As a leading provider of SAN solutions, the Company's comprehensive portfolio of technology offerings also includes multivendor certified solutions, Fibre Channel switches, hubs and SAN management software that deliver reliable, interoperable solutions to its customers and partners. Vixel products and technologies are used by major system suppliers including Avid Technologies, BlueArc, Compaq, Fujitsu Softek, IBM, Lucent, Network Appliance and Sun Microsystems and are available worldwide through its network of value-added resellers, alliances and OEMs. Vixel is an ISO 9001 certified company.

For more information, visit Vixel's web site at www.vixel.com. Vixel Corporation is headquartered at 11911 North Creek Parkway South, Bothell, Washington 98011 and can be contacted by phone at 425/806-5509 or e-mail at marketing@vixel.com.

Vixel Safe Harbor

Except for historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include risks affecting performance and market acceptance of Vixel's products, Vixel's ability to meet its quality and performance standards, development of the storage area network, or SAN market, the competitiveness and performance of Vixel's products in the rapidly changing SAN market and the ability of Vixel to meet evolving product standards required by customers and others involved in the distribution channel for SAN products. Further information on the factors and risks that could affect Vixel's business, financial condition and results of operations, are contained in Vixel's Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Form-10Q, which are available at www.sec.gov.