Sun Microsystems Provides Next Generation Storage Infrastructure for Sandpiper Networks' Streaming Media Technology - Sun StorEdge A1000 RAID array system - Company Business and Marketing

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Sept 13, 1999

Sun Microsystems Inc., Tuesday announced that Sandpiper Networks, the leading provider of comprehensive content delivery solutions for e-businesses, has chosen Sun as the strategic systems provider for building the industry's most innovative storage infrastructure for multimedia. By standardizing on the Sun StorEdge platform and integrating over four terabytes of Sun StorEdge A1000 disk arrays with its own powerful Footprint service, Sandpiper is able to deliver broadcast quality streaming media faster and more reliably over the Web.

Sandpiper's Footprint service, known for distributing Web content with speed and precision, demands a network infrastructure that can meet the increased demands of today's content-rich Web sites. Among the most crucial factors in meeting Sandpiper's needs is the ability to support the delivery of streaming media with the same heightened performance that the company brings to static content delivery.

Currently, the Sandpiper delivery network consists of more than four terabytes of Sun StorEdge A1000 array storage capacity supporting over 400 Sun Enterprise servers worldwide, with deployment of 1,000 servers in 150 networks expected by year-end.

To date, Sandpiper is using Sun Enterprise servers and Sun StorEdge systems in more than 25 deployments worldwide, with customers such as America Online, Concentric Networks, Uunet, GTE BBN, Sprint, Cable and Wireless, PSINet, Frontier/Globalcenter and TCG/Cerfnet.

"Together with Sun and our other technology partners, we have built the most robust content delivery network that ensures the delivery of multimedia content for high-impact Web sites," said Leo Spiegel, president and chief executive officer of Sandpiper. "The enormous storage requirements associated with multimedia files clearly dictates a new generation of delivery services that leverage massively-distributed, storage-centric network architectures. Partnering with Sun has really allowed Sandpiper to set the standard for streaming media delivery services and to offer unprecedented storage capabilities to today's leading edge Internet content providers."

Distributing Multimedia Through the Internet

The steady increase in the use of streaming audio and video content in today's media-rich Web sites presents unprecedented site performance and distribution challenges. Sandpiper's solution, based on the Sun platform, meets those challenges by combining massively-deployed, high-performance storage with an intelligent delivery service that ensures e-businesses scalable, reliable delivery of all content types.

Sandpiper's service, leveraging a globally distributed network of disk storage arrays and servers, optimizes network performance by migrating Web content to the location nearest the users. As a result, Web site performance is two to ten times faster. Unlike other existing content delivery solutions which have limited distributed storage capabilities, Sandpiper's service handles Web content of all types -- including text, images, authenticated or dynamic content and streaming audio and video.

"Delivering modular storage solutions matched to the application is the key to giving customers like Sandpiper the best in price/performance," said Jeff Allen, vice president of marketing, Sun Microsystems Network Storage. "Providing open storage solutions and software that can be deployed around the world quickly and reliably allows our customers to compete at Internet speed."

The news of the selection of Sun Microsystems as a strategic systems provider is the latest in a group of announcements that demonstrate Sandpiper's commitment to revolutionizing content delivery over the Internet. Other recent announcements by Sandpiper include agreements with Real Networks, the recognized leader in streaming media, and Inktomi, a leading provider of scaleable Internet infrastructure software.

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer ," has propelled Sun Microsystems Inc. to its position as a leading provider of high-quality hardware, software and services for establishing enterprise-wide Intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than $11.5 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun.com.

Sandpiper Networks is the world's first content delivery service provider for the Internet. Founded in 1996, Sandpiper has built the largest and most comprehensive Content Delivery Network (CDN). The company's initial service offering, Footprint, gives leading ebusinesses the power to deliver Web sites more efficiently and profitably while dramatically improving site performance. Footprint ensures the delivery of fresh Web content of all types while providing management statistics that are vital to Web-centric businesses. Current customers using the award-winning Footprint service include CNBC.com, E! Online, Intuit, LATimes.com, Live On Line, MusicNow and University Netcasting. For more information, visit www.sandpiper.net.