Discovery.com Selects Network Appliance Solutions

Network Appliance Inc, a leading provider of network-attached data access and content management solutions, announced that Discovery.com, a trusted guide to the Internet from Discovery Communications Inc, has selected Network Appliance network storage solutions as its corporate data management standard. Network Appliance storage appliances, also known as "filers," will be used by Discovery.com to ensure scalability, reliability, and high performance for one of the Internet's more popular sites.

To help deliver its content to a broad user base, Discovery.com has deployed multiple-terabyte clustered F760 filers, the most powerful Network Appliance enterprise storage solution. The filers are connected in a clustered failover configuration to provide continuous data availability and access to Discovery.com for its vast user base.

Discovery.com has also deployed Network Appliance SnapRestore software products to ensure the high data reliability and recoverability demanded by Discovery.com customers.

"Network Appliance allows us to maintain a robust computing infrastructure that supports the amount of traffic our site receives," said Wade Peckman, director of infrastructure engineering for Discovery.com. "As we continue our exponential growth in content, community and commerce across seven deep categories, Network Appliance offers the perfect solution for scalability while helping us maintain a low total cost of ownership."

"We are pleased that Discovery.com has chosen Network Appliance as its vendor of choice for storage solutions," said Mark Santora, senior vice president of marketing at Network Appliance. "With Discovery.com's expanding Web presence, Network Appliance storage solutions will add the flexibility, scalability, and high performance needed to meet the demands of its users. These are key benefits the Network Appliance filers offer for companies like Discovery.com, with several applications accessing a single, unifying data storage device."

Discovery.com selected the proven Network Appliance storage solutions because of their high scalability and their ability to grow file systems dynamically by simply adding disks without affecting ongoing operations.

Plus, Discovery.com is using Network Appliance filers to store data for both its Oracle and Informix databases, significantly reducing its backup and management time.

In February of this year, Discovery.com announced its sweeping new Internet strategy, consolidating all of its Web properties for Discovery's television brands (including Discovery Channel, TLC, and Animal Planet) and creating unique content categories aligned with areas of brand strength under one single URL: www.discovery.com. Discovery Communications Inc, a leading global real-world media company, will make a $500 million investment over the next three years in Discovery.com, a portion of which is dedicated to the continuous buildout of its technical infrastructure. Network Appliance offers a critical solution for that infrastructure and allows Discovery.com to meet increased demand.

Discovery.com is a participant in Network Appliance's "Powered by Network Appliance" program, a branding initiative designed to foster business development and enhance the exposure of Internet companies with e-business driven strategies. Network Appliance powers nine out of the top 10 ISPs and 13 out of the top 15 Web sites worldwide.

About Discovery.com

Discovery.com is a trusted guide to the Internet that provides tools for everyday living and adventure. The premier Web site devoted to enriching people's lives, it provides rich, useful content and commerce opportunities in seven distinct categories: Discoveries, Animals/Pets, Health, Travel, Lifestyles, Schools, and Kids.

Discovery.com Inc is a subsidiary of Discovery Communications Inc (DCI). DCI is a privately held, global entity headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and is a leading global real-world media company. DCI operates three distinct business units: Discovery Networks, U.S.; Discovery Networks, International; and Discovery Enterprises Worldwide.

About Network Appliance

Network Appliance, a veteran in network file serving and caching, has been providing data access solutions since 1992, and is a member of both the S+P 500 and NASDAQ 100 index. Major corporations and ISPs, including Ford, Planet Online, 3Com and Vodafone have deployed Network Appliance solutions. Network Appliance Internet caching solutions (NetCache appliances) and file servers (filers) deliver fast, simple, reliable, and cost-effective access to networkstored data and enable simultaneous shared file services for UNIX, Windows NT, and the World Wide Web.

The company pioneered the concept of the "network appliance," an extension of the industry trend toward dedicated, specialised products that perform a single function. Network Appliance filers and NetCache appliances are based on the company's innovative data access software known as the Data ONTAP operating system and standards-compliant hardware. More information is available at www.netapp.com.

Contact Chris Gale, Network Appliance, +44 (0)20 8756 6725, chrisg@netapp.com