Neterion Works With Microsoft to Demonstrate Software-Based SAN Boot Capability for 10 Gigabit Ethernet-Based iSCSI SANs

Market Wire, April, 2006

Neterion, Inc., an industry leader in the 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapter market for server and storage environments, announced that it has integrated new technology to demonstrate Microsoft iSCSI software-enabled SAN boot on its line of Xframe 10 gigabit Ethernet adapters. Using the Microsoft iSCSI software initiator and Neterion Xframe driver, a diskless client can attach to any iSCSI target with a "Designed for Windows" logo to boot the Microsoft Windows operating system. This functionality, which eliminates the need for specialized storage Host Bus Adapters for SAN boot purposes, will provide customers with an attractive alternative to current solutions in a wide range of storage networking applications.

"iSCSI Software-based SAN boot provides IT administrators at Fortune 1000 companies with a lower cost option that is also highly reliable and supportable," said Dr. Claude Lorenson, group product manager, Storage Technologies at Microsoft Corporation. "With the combination of the Microsoft iSCSI software-enabled SAN boot and Neterion's Xframe, customers will be able to deploy less complex iSCSI-based storage networks, and take advantage of 10 gigabit Ethernet."

IP-based SANs are attractive because they can be easier to install, manage and maintain than other protocols, due to the broad familiarity of Ethernet. The addition of features like remote boot and 10 gigabit Ethernet greatly enhances the value proposition of iSCSI. For example, iSCSI SAN boot over 10 gigabit Ethernet allows IT managers to deploy diskless Microsoft Windows Servers, booting and operating at unparalleled speeds. This ensures high availability and improved disaster recovery with minimal impact on business continuity.

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"This is a milestone for customers interested in iSCSI boot," noted Dave Zabrowski , president and CEO of Neterion. "By combining the performance and scalability of 10 gigabit Ethernet with Microsoft's iSCSI software-enabled SAN boot implementation, we can provide organizations with an attractive storage option that utilizes their existing IT infrastructure."

"This iSCSI SAN boot capability for Microsoft Windows 2003 with Neterion's Xframe native driver running at 10 gigabit Ethernet speeds is going to open a lot of doors for storage networking in large corporations," added Brian Garrett, technical director and analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group. "These corporations will find the reduced cost and complexity of a consolidated iSCSI storage infrastructure combined with the business continuity benefits of SAN boot to be especially attractive."

Neterion will be providing live demonstrations of iSCSI Software-enabled SAN Boot at Storage Networking World (Booth # PP24) in San Diego, April 3 -- 6, 2006.

About Neterion, Inc.

Founded in 2001, Neterion Inc. has locations in Cupertino, California and Ottawa, Canada. Neterion delivers 10 Gigabit Ethernet hardware & software solutions that solve customers' high-end networking problems. The Xframe® line of products is based on Neterion-developed technologies that deliver new levels of performance, availability and reliability in the datacenter. Xframe, Xframe II and Xframe E include full IPv4 and IPv6 support, and comprehensive stateless offloads that preserve the integrity of current TCP/IP implementations without "breaking the stack." Xframe drivers are available for all major Operating Systems, including Microsoft Windows, Linux, Hewlett-Packard's HP-UX, IBM's AIX, Sun's Solaris and SGI's Irix. Further information on the company can be found at http://www.neterion.com/ .

Xframe is a registered trademark of Neterion, Inc. Microsoft (plus any other Microsoft trademarks mentioned) is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Neterion Company Contact: Philippe Levy Director of Marketing 408-366-4610 Email Contact Neterion Media Contact: Tom Price The Bernard Group Office: 512-327-2195 Cell: 512-415-7744 Email Contact