Opsware Introduces Suite 7, First and Only Data Center Automation Solution to Automate Operations Across All Data Center Infrastructure and Processes

Business Wire, Sept 18, 2007

New Release of Opsware Software Offers Unique Application-level Control and Visibility by Automating All Data Center Domains - Server, Network, Storage and IT Processes

SAN DIEGO -- Opsware Inc. (NASDAQ:OPSW), the leading provider of Data Center Automation software, today introduced Opsware System 7, the industry's first fully integrated suite of automation software to provide application-level control and visibility by automating all domains across the data center--servers, network, storage and IT processes. This comprehensive and holistic approach eradicates many of the operational disconnects between siloed server, network and storage administration teams which have typically been the leading cause for increased costs and delays in change management, compliance management and new service rollouts. This ground-breaking release of the Opsware suite further delivers on the company's vision for helping IT achieve the Zero-Latency Data Center--minimizing manual, error-prone operations and hand-offs between change processes that should be integrated, and empowering enterprise IT operations to achieve their objectives without delay.

"Enterprise applications are highly complex, running on numerous interconnected infrastructure components that are often located in multiple, remote data centers around the world. To date, IT has struggled to manage these applications efficiently because there has been no ready means of getting an integrated view of an application, showing how its infrastructure components relate to one another, in order to determine change impacts before changes are executed," said Tim Howes, CTO and VP of research and development at Opsware Inc. "Opsware System 7 dramatically improves the situation by delivering a comprehensive application perspective to the management of all datacenter components, including servers, networks, storage and software. This capability not only brings greater visibility and control to IT operations, but it can also enable orders-of-magnitude labor and cost savings as well as much greater predictability and accountability."

Opsware System 7 includes Server Automation System 7, Network Automation System 7, Process Automation System 7, the new Application Storage Automation System, Visual Application Manager 7 with cross-tier service visibility, a central Operational Management Database (OMDB), and The Opsware Network real-time service. Working together, these systems identify dependencies and automate the management of changes and assess change impact between all data center infrastructure elements' software components while providing a single view of an application. Furthermore, they automate the process hand-offs between IT groups and other IT systems to automate the entire workflow associated with every change operation across servers, networks, and storage. Opsware System 7 automates all of the necessary elements across the data center to deliver process-powered change automation, unified compliance assurance, breakthrough application-level management and unprecedented platform extensibility to support IT organizations' custom needs.

Opsware Server Automation System 7

Server Automation System 7 is Opsware's flagship product and the cornerstone technology in Opsware System 7. This version takes server automation to new heights with the following enhancements:

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Network Automation System 7

Network Automation System 7 builds upon the software's award-winning network change and configuration management (NCCM) capabilities in four key areas: Intelligent software analysis and remediation, network run-time compliance enforcement, next generation networking support and complete process-powered network automation. The new version continues Network Automation System's product leadership in NCCM with a number of industry firsts, including:

* The ability to automate end-to-end network operations without the need for intensive process scripting

* The ability to automatically ensure device software stays up-to-date with the latest Cisco recommended patch levels through a capability only provided with Opsware's solution as a result of Opsware's strategic partnership with Cisco

* The ability to proactively detect problems using real-time policies that validate the run-time status of the network and the devices connected to it

* Support for next-generation technologies such as IPv6 and SNMPv3

* A new Network Automation System Driver Development Kit (DDK) that ensures compatibility with the latest network equipment, integrates with The Opsware Network (TON) for live security vulnerabilities and policy updates, and includes rich integration packs for third-party IT tools and applications.

Please refer to the company's announcement on September 12, 2007 for further details regarding Network Automation System 7.

Process Automation System 7

Thoroughly integrated with both Server and Network Automation System 7, the new Process Automation System 7 provides a wealth of new capabilities, including: