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AUSPEX AND HITACHI ANNOUNCE ASIA PACIFIC RELATIONSHIP

Auspex Systems Inc and Hitachi Data Systems have announced a reseller agreement involving the Auspex NSc3000 Network Storage Controller, the first universal file-serving solution for Storage Area Networks (SANs). Under the agreement, Hitachi Data Systems will resell the Auspex NSc3000 for use with its Hitachi Freedom Storage SAN solutions throughout Asia Pacific.

The relationship will enable Hitachi Data Systems to further enhance the value of Hitachi Freedom Storage-SAN solutions by integrating the Auspex controller to access and share files via Network Attached Storage (NAS) protocols without the cost of purchasing and managing a traditional NAS appliance with attached disk subsystems.

SAN and NAS are complementary technologies and storage solutions with the benefits of both technologies drive down total cost of ownership, simplify management and improve the return on investment by provisioning requirements out of a common pool of centrally managed storage.

Hitachi's selection of the Auspex NSc3000 was based on the product's fit into the Freedom Data Networks "open" vision and synergy in terms of performance, scalability and availability with enterprise class Lightning 9900 storage systems. Most other SAN-to-NAS gateways operate only with one vendor's SAN and lack the ability to support large numbers of users, multiple terabytes of SAN storage, 24x7 availability, and other functionality required by the large enterprise data centers that typically implement Hitachi SANs.

The Auspex Nsc3000 has been certified for interoperability with the Hitachi Freedom Storage Lightning 9900 and Thunder 9200 models from Hitachi's range of storage products.

"The non-proprietary nature of the Auspex NSc3000 extends the openness of our SAN product family and dovetails precisely with our open approach to network storage," said Tom Zack, vice president for Product Marketing (APIA), Hitachi Data Systems. "It offers the most flexible enterprise level solution on the market to date for providing file services to SANs, which in turn translates to significant benefits, without additional heavy investments, to our customers."

"This agreement sends a strong message to the marketplace about the need to break down the barriers between proprietary storage solutions in order to simplify the management of enterprise data assets," said Tom Garofalo, cice president & General Manager, Auspex Asia Pacific. "This is a powerful validation of our product direction from one of the biggest players in the industry, and we look forward to a solid partnership."

With the Auspex NSc3000, administrators of Hitachi SANs will eliminate the need to purchase and manage a dedicated NAS server. Instead, unused disk capacity in the SAN pool can be redeployed to house information requiring file-level access, while software residing on the controller serves files to end users directly from the SAN. In addition, the Auspex solution enables enterprises with heterogeneous SANs to access multiple storage pools from a single controller; permits administrators to mix storage media from different vendors; and allows industry-first synchronous data replication between heterogeneous storage for enhanced high availability.

The Auspex NSc3000 comes as a standalone unit and in a high availability platform consisting of clustered controllers with automatic failover capabilities. The system is already installed at sites with Hitachi Freedom SANs in Singapore and Australia.

About Hitachi Data Systems

Hitachi Data Systems is a leading supplier of storage hardware, software, solutions and services. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd, Japan's largest electronics company, HDS is committed to providing the technological infrastructure for the world's most information-intensive corporations. With 2,600 employees, Hitachi Data Systems does business in the public and private sectors in 170 countries on six continents, including the rapidly emerging economies in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. Its customers include more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies, and all of the major Storage Service Providers (SSPs). For more information, visit www.hds.com.

About Auspex Systems

Auspex introduced the world's first Network Attached Storage (NAS) server shortly after its founding in 1987, creating a new breed of storage appliance offering significant performance and administrative benefits over general-purpose file servers. Auspex's enterprise-class network servers are used worldwide for consolidated information storage and delivery. Auspex also is leading the convergence of NAS with Storage Area Networks (SANs) with the NSc3000 Network Storage Controller, the first multivendor SAN-to-NAS gateway. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with sales offices and channel partners throughout the U.S. and around the globe. For more information, call 800-4AUSPEX (800-428-7739) or 408-566-2000, or visit www.auspex.com.