McDATA ESCON to FICON Migration Solution Completes Testing Under IBM TotalStorage Proven Program

Business Wire,  Feb 6, 2006  

Tags: IBM Corp.

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BROOMFIELD, Colo. -- Intrepid(R) FICON Converter Available to IBM TotalStorage(R) Customers Worldwide

McDATA Corporation (Nasdaq:MCDTA) (Nasdaq:MCDT) today announced that its Intrepid(R) FICON Converter (IFC) has successfully completed interoperability testing with IBM's FICON enabled eServer z890 mainframe and Peer-to-Peer Virtual Tape Server (PtP VTS) ESCON attached tape drives, and has been confirmed as IBM TotalStorage Proven. The IBM TotalStorage Proven program builds on IBM's already extensive interoperability efforts to develop and deliver products and solutions that work together.

McDATA's IFC solution enables FICON based I/O on the mainframe host and FICON switch ports to be attached directly to ESCON peripherals, protecting existing ESCON investments, reducing costs associated with FICON migrations, and increasing infrastructure performance and efficiency.

"McDATA's extensive expertise in mainframe connectivity, backed by the IBM TotalStorage brand, results in a superior solution for mainframe customers wanting to optimize network performance with FICON yet preserve their ESCON infrastructure investment," said Doug Ingraham, vice president of product management, McDATA. "Customers turn to McDATA because we have a complete portfolio of hardware, software, connectivity, and services that solve data center challenges now, and help customers get their data center of the future."

McDATA's Intrepid FICON Converter enables customers to set a strategy for moving from ESCON based computing, infrastructure and devices to an environment that provides higher network scalability and performance. By eliminating the sizeable up-front capital investment in new FICON peripheral purchases, customers are no longer inhibited from implementing and leveraging the benefits of FICON. With the IFC, mainframe/host and infrastructure decisions are not tied directly to a storage purchase. Customers can now systematically move to an all FICON infrastructure of host computing, switched FICON fabrics and FICON storage that allows the integration of their ESCON devices, alleviating a full rip and replace strategy and reducing operational disruption.

The IBM TotalStorage Proven program supports the ability of independent hardware and software vendors to build high-quality solutions with the latest technology on leading storage platforms as well as reduce solution design time when multiple, tested building blocks have already been pre-tested.

About McDATA (www.mcdata.com)

McDATA (Nasdaq:MCDTA) (Nasdaq:MCDT) is the leading provider of storage networking solutions, helping customers build, globally connect, optimize and centrally manage data infrastructures across SAN, MAN and WAN environments. With nearly 25 years experience developing SAN products, services and solutions, McDATA is the trusted partner in the world's largest data centers, connecting more than two-thirds of all networked data.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements about expected future events that are forward-looking and subject to risks and uncertainties. Readers are urged to consider statements that include the terms "believes," "belief," "expects," "plans," "objectives," "estimates," "anticipates," "intends," "targets," or the like to be uncertain and forward-looking. Factors that could cause actual results to differ and vary materially from expectations include, but are not limited to, McDATA's relationships with EMC, IBM and Hitachi Data Systems and the level of their orders, aggressive price competition by numerous other SAN and IP switch suppliers, OEM qualification of our new products -- such as the Intrepid 10000 Director, integration of CNT's sales and marketing functions, manufacturing constraints, constraints in obtaining third party product for resale and other risk factors that are disclosed in McDATA's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These cautionary statements by McDATA should not be construed as exhaustive or as any admission regarding the adequacy of disclosures made by McDATA. All cautionary statements should be read as being applicable to all forward-looking statements wherever they appear. McDATA does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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