Features - Storage Innovations:

EMULEX LAUNCHES NEXT GENERATION HBANYWARE 2.0

Emulex Corp, a leading supplier of storage networking host bus adapters (HBAs), announced its next generation HBA management suite, HBAnyware 2.0, with enhanced functionality to further simplify the management of storage area networking solutions. Emulex's HBAnyware solution, launched in October 2002, drastically simplifies storage networking management and reduces planned downtime by allowing host bus adapters to be independently and uniformly configured and managed from a single point, which contributes to lowering the total cost of ownership. HBAnyware 2.0 incorporates driver-based technology to enable complete management of Emulex HBAs, including the ability to remotely upgrade firmware. New and enhanced features include:

• Remote driver configuration
• Remote persistent binding management
• Faster and more robust real-time discovery
• In-band management security provisions based on authenticated CT
• Expanded O/S platform support ­ Windows 32- and 64-bit and Solaris

Emulex's HBAnyware 2.0 is designed to augment third party SAN management solutions by providing functionality for remote HBA driver reconfiguration and remote persistent binding management with new security provisions to ensure the end-to-end, in-band active management path is fully secure by providing authentication and access control lists. Emulex has partnered with more than 10 SAN management and infrastructure partners to integrate support for Emulex's HBAnyware, including Brocade, Calif., CreekPath, InterSAN, McDATA and VERITAS.

"HBAnyware 2.0 provides critical enhancements to the SAN management infrastructure that are necessary for large-scale, complex storage networks and Emulex is working closely with its partners to continue delivering leading-edge technology solutions that simplify SAN management while lowering total cost of ownership," said Mike Smith, executive vice president of Worldwide Marketing at Emulex. "End users want a single point-of-control for multi-vendor enterprise storage solutions, and Emulex is committed to delivering leading-edge technology to its partners to help meet customers needs."

HBAnyware ­- "Remote Management for HBAs, Anywhere in the SAN"

HBAnyware provides a level of access and control of HBAs not previously available to the SAN industry. Today, SAN management software utilizes the industry standard common HBA API to extract HBA details such as model numbers, revisions, and topology information. HBA manufacturers provide additional management capabilities through utilities that enable other necessary product-specific configuration and management functions, which must be administered individually to each HBA in the SAN.

Third party applications are needed to provide visibility to the network and for such functions as network monitoring, asset management and topology mapping. HBAnyware provides all the information currently available through the common HBA API, and adds the ability to actively and uniformly manage HBAs in the SAN both locally and remotely, which provides new time- and cost-saving functionality, such as the remote firmware download. Emulex is providing access to the API extensions to its OEM customers and partners, enabling the ability to incorporate HBAnyware functionality within their own products. The capabilities of HBAnyware are valuable in any SAN, but critical in large-scale data centers, blade server environments, heterogeneous SANs and other complex storage networking scenarios.

For more information on HBAnyware, visit www.emulex.com and download the HBAnyware backgrounder.