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StorageTek CANADA TO RESELL AUSPEX NSC3000 CONTROLLER

Auspex Systems Inc has announced a reseller agreement authorizing StorageTek Canada Inc, a subsidiary of StorageTek (Storage Technology Corp), to market the Auspex NSc3000 Network Storage Controller in conjunction with StorageTek disk products. The agreement equips StorageTek Canada with an enterprise-class file-serving platform for its D-Series disk storage subsystems for Storage Area Networks (SANs). It also plays a key role in a broader StorageTek initiative to offer a complete SAN solution to enterprise and mid-tier customers.

The agreement follows the joint certification of the NSc3000 with the StorageTek D-Series, announced by Auspex and StorageTek in October. The certification ensures the functionality, stability, interoperability and fault tolerance of the Auspex platform when used with StorageTek's D-Series solutions.

"We have been searching for a Network Attached Storage (NAS) platform that would enable us to tap into sales opportunities involving customers who want to provide file services to their end users as part of an overall SAN implementation," said Jeff Roddick, president of StorageTek Canada. "The Auspex NSc3000 gives us a solution that is certified to run with our disks and that can meet the needs of the largest data centers as well as mid-tier installations."

"Our NSc3000 controller will help StorageTek Canada close new business by providing a file-serving platform that can increase the ROI of their SAN systems," said Alain Lortie, Regional Sales Manager for Auspex Systems. "This agreement is a strong endorsement of our technology from a major player in the SAN market and another validation of our strategy to provide a universal file-serving platform that can be deployed with SAN equipment from virtually any vendor."

The Auspex NSc3000 is a universal SAN/NAS gateway that eliminates the need to purchase and maintain separate SAN and NAS systems to store and serve databases and files, respectively. Instead, files are stored on SAN disks and served directly from the SAN by the NSc3000, utilizing NAS protocols. This strategy simplifies the storage infrastructure and lowers the total cost of storage ownership.

The Auspex gateway delivers the market's highest performance and capacity, bilingual UNIX and Windows support, and the full NAS feature set expected by IT administrators, including support for NDMP-based data backup and point-in-time copies. It is also the first product of its kind designed to operate with SAN equipment from multiple vendors, providing a high-performance file serving solution for virtually any homogeneous or heterogeneous SAN. It is available both as a standalone product and in a high-availability configuration consisting of clustered controllers with automatic failover software.

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. Its shares are traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol ASPX. For more information, call 800-4AUSPEX (800-428-7739) or 408-566-2000, or visit www.auspex.com.

About StorageTek

StorageTek Canada Inc is a subsidiary of Storage Technology Corporation, a $2 billion worldwide company with headquarters in Louisville, CO, that 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 an 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.

Contact: Patricia Handschiegel, 847-955-7730, patricia@sspr.com.