Bus-Tech Announces New Mainframe Appliance for Storage Models for EMC Centera; New Models Offer Significant Performance Enhancements

Business Wire, Sept 30, 2004

BURLINGTON, Mass. -- Today, Bus-Tech(R), Inc., a leading supplier of data center connectivity products, announced two new models of the Mainframe Appliance for Storage (MAS) for EMC Centera Content Addressed storage (CAS) support. These new products, the MAS-FX and the MAS-EX, significantly enhance performance capabilities for online fixed content allowing customers to meet increased regulatory requirements across multiple industries.

EMC Centera CAS is a software-driven storage architecture specifically designed to address the unique information storage requirements of fixed content. Once relegated to tape archives, optical disks, or file cabinets, fixed content is now being driven online, fueled by regulatory requirements, digitization of industries and the desire to leverage content in new services and revenue streams.

MAS-FX features dual FICON Express attachment to the mainframe, and the MAS-EX features dual ESCON attachment to the mainframe. The two models are pre-packaged to provide a turn-key implementation of MAS with EMC's Centera. Both the MAS-FX and MAS-EX manage object retrieval by providing support for mainframe DB2 to house the database

The new MAS models for EMC Centera Support provide improved direct IBM mainframe connection to EMC's Centera allowing mainframe tape volumes and optical images to be stored as objects on EMC's content addressable storage. This doubles the speed over previous versions, provides dramatic boosts in performance, and improves connectivity options for EMC Centera customers in IBM mainframe environments.

MAS-FX with dual-FICON Express adapters delivers performance of up to 35 MB/sec. per device, more than doubling the speed of previous MAS FICON implementations. The MAS-FX is available with single or multi-mode fibre. The MAS-EX with enhanced ESCON connectivity delivers up to 25 MB/sec. per device, more than doubling the speed of previous MAS units with ESCON adapters. Higher performance means greater value for customer looking to store fixed content tape or optical based data on EMC's Centera.

"With these products, we are building upon the strong relationship Bus-Tech already has with EMC," said Ralph Armstrong, vice president of product management for Bus-Tech. "The MAS, with its ease of implementation and extraordinary performance improvements, provides an even more compelling reason for IT managers to redeploy existing tape or optical applications using EMC's Centera."

The two new models of the MAS are available immediately.

About Bus-Tech, Inc.

Bus-Tech, Inc. founded in 1987 is the industry's leading provider of state-of-the-art connectivity solutions for the data center to Original Equipment Manufacturers. The company's powerful suite of adapter and platform solutions satisfies even the most rugged demands of data processing professionals for high-bandwidth, high-availability, and high-performance connectivity. With more than 15,000 installed sites worldwide, Bus-Tech is a recognized leader in the data center interconnect market. Headquartered in Burlington, MA, the company is privately held with locations around the world. For more information about Bus-Tech and its products, please visit the Bus-Tech World Wide Web site at http://www.bustech.com, send e-mail to info@bustech.com or call 800-284-3172 or 781-272-8200.