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Qualstar Ships Quantum SDLT 320 Drives

Qualstar Corporation, a leading manufacturer of automated tape storage solutions, has announced that it has begun shipments of Quantum's new SDLT 320 tape drive in its widely-regarded TLS-6000 Series automated tape library family.

Building on the Super DLTtape technology introduced last year, the SDLT 320 tape drive holds 320 gigabytes of data (compressed), 60 percent more than other tape solutions designed for mid-range systems. Throughput has also been increased to a market-leading 32 megabytes per second (compressed), offering relief for users whose backup windows continue to shrink.

"The Qualstar/Quantum combination provides clear, cost-centric benefits to customers," said David Hill, Research Director at the Aberdeen Group. "The SDLT 320 drive delivers high performance and offers high capacity to the midrange. By incorporating the '320 into its TLS-6000 libraries, Qualstar is combining one of today's leading technologies with a demonstrated reputation for reliability. In today's business environment, that's a powerful proposition."

Qualstar's TLS-6000 automated tape library family provides a wide range of capacity and performance choices, allowing customers to tailor their storage solutions to meet an especially broad range of requirements. With SDLT 320, capacities range from 3.2 terabytes in a compact desktop unit, to more than 76 terabytes in an enterprise-class library. Data transfer rates range from 100 to more than 920 gigabytes per hour over SCSI or single- and dual-channel Fibre Channel interfaces.

"Qualstar's innovative TLS-6000 libraries, combined with Quantum's high-performance SDLT 320 drives, provide companies whose storage requirements continue to escalate, with higher density and lower cost per gigabyte along with faster data backups and restores. This results in productivity advantages equating to a dramatic reduction in the total cost of ownership," said Andy Grolnick, vice president, Marketing, Quantum DLTtape Group. "These benefits, in combination with its proven durable design for handling demanding automated tape environments, make the SDLT 320 a perfect fit for Qualstar's tape libraries."

The SDLT 320 drive is backward read and write compatible with the SDLT 220 drive, using the same Super DLTtape I media, helping to assure companies that archived data is secure, while protecting their investments in Super DLTtape technology. It is also backward-read compatible with previous generation drives, enabling IT managers to migrate to a higher-performance platform, while continuing to access data written on DLTtape lV media.

All TLS-Series Tape Libraries are available with Q-Link, Qualstar's new Web browser-based remote library manager. Q-Link allows administrators to monitor, configure and manage any number or mix of TLS-Series libraries from across the data center, across town, or anywhere in the world, substantially reducing storage management costs. Automatic event notification via e-mail and remote firmware updates are just two highlights of Q-Link.

TLS-6000 libraries with Quantum's SDLT 320 drives are available worldwide through Qualstar's team of authorized resellers.

About Qualstar Corporation

Founded in 1984, Qualstar Corporation is a leading manufacturer of automated tape libraries used for backup, archival storage, data protection and storage management applications. Its TLS-Series libraries are well known throughout the world for rugged, Simply Reliable designs yielding years of trouble-free operation. Qualstar Tape Libraries are sold, installed, and supported worldwide by selected Original Equipment Manufacturers, Value Added Resellers, and Systems Integrators. More information is available from Qualstar's Web site, www.qualstar.com, or by phone at 805-583-7744.

Contact: Qualstar Corp, Bob Covey, 805-583-7744, covey@qualstar.com.