Features - Storage Innovations:

STORAGETEK EXTENDS SAN PORTFOLIO WITH BROCADE SILKWORM 3200

StorageTek (Storage Technology Corp), a storage services and solutions expert, strengthened its commitment to providing small-to-medium sized customers with low-cost solutions for Storage Area Networks (SANs) by offering the Brocade SilkWorm 3200 Entry Fabric Switch. Leveraging the 8-port, 2 Gigabit per second (Gbit/sec) Brocade SilkWorm 3200 in conjunction with StorageTek's expansive storage solutions simplifies SAN deployment enabling customers to cost-effectively migrate from direct-attached storage (DAS) environments.

Ideal for small and medium businesses and for enterprises implementing departmental and workgroup SANs, the SilkWorm 3200 is optimized for entrylevel SAN requirements. The SilkWorm 3200 provides a cost-effective storage networking solution to support Windows NT/2000, Linux, and Unix server clustering applications, replace legacy hub or loop switch devices, provide a highly scalable back-end for Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices, and serve as a stepping stone to enterprise-wide SAN deployment. By reducing the cost of networking storage while assuring investment protection through full compatibility with the entire Brocade product family, the SilkWorm 3200 allows companies to deploy full-fabric SAN infrastructure that is price-optimized for their environment today and will scale seamlessly to meet their storage needs of tomorrow.

"With the addition of the Silkworm 3200, StorageTek furthers is commitment to provide customers of all sizes with the greatest choice possible in delivering cost-effective storage networking solutions," said Pierre Cousin, StorageTek vice president and general manager, Storage Networking Business Unit. "The SilkWorm 3200 will help StorageTek customers accelerate their migration from direct attached storage to Fiber Channel based StorageTek network storage solutions and allow departments or workgroups the consolidation benefits provided by network storage."

"The SilkWorm 3200 provides the industry's most cost-effective entry point available today for companies moving to storage area networks, ideally suited for small and medium business SAN requirements, and enterprise departmental solutions such as server clustering. Together with StorageTek, we offer complete SAN solutions from the entry-level to the enterprise, helping SAN customers further optimize their IT resources and reduce the total cost of ownership of their storage environments," said Jay Kidd, Brocade vice president of Product Marketing.

Product Availability

StorageTek currently offers the Brocade SilkWorm 3200 to customers worldwide. The SilkWorm 3200 can be acquired through local StorageTek sales teams as part of the StorageTek Solution. StorageTek Global Services provides a comprehensive methodology to deliver assessment, design, implementation and management services for the SilkWorm 3200. StorageTek Global Services has installed and maintains over 2000 heterogeneous Storage Area Networks. StorageTek's service offerings have been crafted to ensure that our customers gain the maximum storage consolidation benefits in their complex SAN environments.

About StorageTek

StorageTek, a $2 billion worldwide company with headquarters in Louisville. CO. delivers a broad range of storage solutions for digitized data. StorageTek solutions are easy to manage and allow universal access to data across servers, media types and storage networks. StorageTek is the innovator and global leader in virtual storage solutions for tape automation, disk storage systems and storage networking and is a voting member of the SNIA. Because of StorageTek, customers can manage and leverage their digital assets as their businesses grow and can maximize IT productivity to ensure enterprise-class business continuity. For more information, see www.storagetek.com, or call 800-786-7835.