Features - Storage Innovations:

LeftHand LAUNCHES A COMPLETE, MAINSTREAM IP-SAN SOLUTION

LeftHand Networks, a provider of IP-based Network Unified Storage solutions, has announced the launch of its Distributed Storage Matrix(DSM) which enables customers to build complete IP-SANs using existing Ethernet infrastructure.

LeftHand Networks' DSM, coupled with its previously introduced Network Storage Modules (NSMs), allows customers to create an IP-SAN with standard servers and Ethernet switches in 30 minutes or less. The built-in IP-SAN clustering, virtualization and replication features of DSM create an easy to manage, highly scalable, fault tolerant "pool" of storage that may be shared by all servers on the network. This "pool" appears to application/database servers as a "local" disk drive that scales in both performance and capacity as additional NSMs are added anywhere on the network.

Customers who have already purchased LeftHand Networks' IP Storage Solution span different size organizations and industries. They include Fortune 100 and mid-tier customers in manufacturing, software development, healthcare, life sciences, and other industries; as well as governmental organizations and universities. A partial list of LeftHand Network's customers include: Lockheed Martin, Mapics, Gold Systems, CCD Corporation, Denver Health, Array BioPharma, City & County of Denver, Fresno Pacific University and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

"We have been following the developments at LeftHand Networks for about a year now," said Joel Boymel, Data Systems Manager at Array BioPharma. "Both our research information and our client collaborations require a rock solid storage solution. LeftHand's Distributed Storage Matrix technology promises to be a viable solution for our booming storage requirements in both e-mail and database environments."

Applications for the Distributed Storage Matrix IP-SAN include Server Consolidation, Backup/Recovery and Business Continuity, for Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server and Oracle database applications.

"We deployed our first LeftHand Network's storage system over a year ago," said Blake Scott, Sr. Network Administrator at Gold Systems. "The launch of DSM has given us the ability to incrementally, and cost effectively transition our DAS environment to a SAN, using our existing Ethernet network. In the process, we've been able to consolidate a significant number of servers, which has greatly simplified our data storage management, especially for Microsoft Exchange."

Enterprise Storage Group analyst, Arun Taneja, endorses LeftHand Network's strategy, stating "Going with an IP-based SAN gives the mid-tier market exactly what it has been looking for -- a way to seamlessly migrate existing DAS systems to Network Storage without the complexity and cost of fibre channel SANs."

"The response from customers has been tremendous," said David Bangs, VP of Sales at LeftHand Networks. "They instantly recognize the value our Distributed Storage Matrix IP-SAN solution offers for Server Consolidation, Backup/Recovery and Business Continuity by cost effectively leveraging their existing Ethernet networks."

LeftHand Networks is based in Boulder, Colorado, a leading area for both storage and networking innovation. Pricing for the Distributed Storage Matrix starts at $15,000 for a complete, fully featured solution.

LeftHand Networks, www.lefthandnetworks.com, provides a complete, end to end, IP-based SAN, called the Distributed Storage Matrix. The company's intelligent storage modules connect directly to standard Ethernet switches, and appear to all servers as an infinitely scalable, geographically distributed local disk. LeftHand Networks' software offers high-end storage management capabilities such as virtualization, replication, snapshot, on-the-fly volume expansion, failover, monitoring, and data migration. The combination of a modular hardware platform and full-featured software suite provides customers with extremely attractive ROI for server consolidation, backup and disaster recovery that integrates seamlessly with their existing environments.

Contact: David Bangs of LeftHand Networks, david.bangs@lefthandnetworks.com.