EqualLogic Extends IP SAN Environment with Technology Partnerships; EqualLogic Works with Leading Storage Vendors to Provide Best-Practice Storage Management and Data Protection to Customers

Business Wire, April 4, 2006

NASHUA, N.H. -- EqualLogic(R), a leading provider of complete, enterprise-class iSCSI storage area network (SAN) solutions, today announced new technology partnerships that further extend the capabilities of networked storage environments using PS Series SANs. EqualLogic and new technology partners PolyServe, KOM Networks and emBoot now offer customers the ability to deploy scalable network-attached storage (NAS), secure data archiving, and Windows Server SAN boot solutions as a component of their PS Series SAN infrastructure.

EqualLogic's collaboration with PolyServe, KOM Networks and emBoot is the most recent in a series of ongoing technology partnerships that EqualLogic has fostered with industry leaders deploying iSCSI storage, including Microsoft, Symantec, Cisco, Computer Associates, Oracle, CommVault, QLogic, VMware and others. These strategic relationships have resulted in complete, plug-and-play solutions for storage and server consolidation, sophisticated storage management and end-to-end data protection that channel partners can now provide to joint customers.

"Beyond storage consolidation, our customers need to build more efficient IT operations by taking advantage of state-of-the-art storage and server virtualization and data protection technologies," said John Joseph, vice president of marketing at EqualLogic. "EqualLogic is revolutionizing networked storage not only by delivering a fully virtualized and automated storage solution, but also by actively developing a rich and interoperable iSCSI storage environment. Our recent partnerships with leading technology vendors further demonstrate that EqualLogic's iSCSI-based SAN is the most compatible and complete solution for enterprise data services and applications on the market."

Each new partnership enables seamless integration with PS Series SANs of third-party storage and server capabilities that enhance the efficiency and security of IT operations:

--The partnership with PolyServe, a leading provider of shared data clustering software in Microsoft Windows environments, combines EqualLogic's PS Series storage with PolyServe's SQL Server Utility(TM) and File Serving Utility(TM) to deliver industry-leading solutions for SQL Server consolidation, Windows file server consolidation and scalable NAS solutions at a dramatically lower cost and complexity than established NAS and Fibre Channel solutions. "EqualLogic's scalable modular storage solution is a perfect fit for our consolidation utilities, which are designed for high performance and flexibility," said Clark Newby, vice president of marketing for PolyServe. "The PS Series integrates perfectly with our commitment to deliver high-performance solutions that are responsive to user demands. Together we have created a very powerful offering."

--KOM Networks and EqualLogic are working together to allow customers to deploy secure and compliant data archiving using the PS Series SAN with KOMworx Archive Server, a patented e-WORM solution that permanently archives fixed content data on hard disks in an unalterable format. "The combined KOM Networks and EqualLogic solution brings sophisticated storage management capabilities to medium-size companies," said Dr. Taher Shaath, CEO of KOM Networks. "Customers with Windows servers now can transform standard disk hardware into a permanent archiving solution with the highest level of data integrity and authenticity."

--emBoot's new winBoot/i software uses the Microsoft iSCSI initiator to boot Windows Server 2003 from an iSCSI SAN, allowing EqualLogic customers to deploy and re-deploy servers dynamically in a PS Series SAN environment. Boot from SAN enables more efficient storage management for all types of servers, from blades to high-end machines, and facilitates easier disaster recovery. "IT managers have turned to network boot solutions to gain tremendous efficiencies in server deployment and storage management," said George Kostiuk, CEO of emBoot. "Now Microsoft Windows environments can enjoy these benefits with a SAN boot solution for Microsoft's iSCSI software initiator, which works seamlessly with EqualLogic PS Series storage arrays."

EqualLogic works with leading technology partners to bring its customers the most complete, plug-and-play storage solutions possible, providing consolidation, sophisticated storage management and end-to-end data protection. EqualLogic's technology partnership solutions include backup and recovery, database and e-mail management, iSCSI connectivity and tape libraries, network switching, heterogeneous operating systems, storage management and virtualization. EqualLogic works with all partners to help mutual customers create best-of-breed, fully interoperable storage environments. EqualLogic technology partners include leading companies such as Microsoft, Symantec, Cisco, Computer Associates, Oracle, CommVault, QLogic, VMware and many others. For more information about EqualLogic's technology partner program and for a complete listing of technology partners, visit http://www.equallogic.com/pages/partners_technology.htm