StoneFly Networks and McDATA Cost Effectively Consolidate Servers for iSCSI Storage Provisioning

StoneFly Networks and McDATA Cost Effectively Consolidate Servers for iSCSI
Storage Provisioning
McDATA's OPENready Certification of StoneFly's Storage Concentrator Ensures
Interoperability of Integrated IP SAN Solution 


SAN DIEGO, Nov. 12  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- StoneFly Networks(TM), Inc., the
innovator of iSCSI-based storage provisioning appliances, today announced a
strategic partnership with McDATA Corporation  to provide cost-effective storage
provisioning with an Internet Protocol (IP) SAN through local aggregation and
server consolidation.  As part of this announcement, StoneFly's flagship
product, the Storage Concentrator, has been certified under McDATA's
OPENready(R) Partner Interoperability Program.  The McDATA/StoneFly solution
leverages iSCSI technology to provide IT departments with an ideal way to
harness the benefits of existing SAN technology investments in servers and
storage.

Both StoneFly and McDATA products are available immediately through Dell Inc. as
part of the company's Software & Peripherals (S&P) program.   The combined
solution lets organizations pool storage into a single, centrally managed,
enterprise-wide SAN and then connects departmental servers to this SAN. Key
components include McDATA's Sphereon(TM) family of Fabric Switches, which
provide on-demand connectivity for SAN environments of all sizes, and StoneFly's
Storage Concentrator(TM), an iSCSI-based storage provisioning appliance, which
enables real-time management and optimization of IP SANs.

"In typical enterprise IT environments, servers may be isolated and experiencing
uneven storage resource allocation," said Bob Preston, vice president of
marketing for StoneFly Networks. "By aligning with McDATA, a worldwide leader in
open storage networking, we are offering a simple and affordable way for
customers to consolidate servers and implement storage provisioning through an
IP SAN."

"Ensuring seamless interoperability for customers with blended technology
environments is one of the reasons McDATA established its OPENready
Interoperability Partner Program," said Mark Stratton, director of solutions and
alliances, McDATA. "Today's server and storage consolidation announcement
follows StoneFly's recent completion of a comprehensive qualification process to
achieve OPENready Tested Partner status. By awarding this status to an iSCSI
industry pioneer such as StoneFly, we are opening the door for customers to
fulfill the promise of storage provisioning through an integrated approach."

According to John Webster, senior analyst and founder of Data Mobility Group, a
Nashua, N.H.-based market research and advisory firm specializing in storage and
data management, the use of blended storage networking technologies fulfills a
critical market need for SANs to encompass all workgroups and isolated servers. 
"The StoneFly/McDATA strategic partnership underscores growing market
requirements for integrating storage networking technologies with IP SANs,
providing a lower cost entry point to universal, centralized access to all
storage, regardless of whether the interconnection is Fibre Channel or iSCSI,"
he said. "Furthermore, by selling this solution through the Dell channel, the
two companies are offering widespread availability."

StoneFly Storage Concentrators are standards-based and provide a high level of
performance and business continuity features.  The Storage Concentrator i3000 is
priced starting at $13,995, including StoneFly Replicator(TM) mirroring to
ensure data replication for disaster recovery planning.  The i3000 is also
available as a FailOver cluster for high availability priced starting at
$19,995. The company also offers complete plug-and-play Scalable IP SANs, which
include Storage Concentrators, interoperable iSCSI initiators and ATA disk
arrays in configurations ranging from 1TB to 10.5TB of storage -- priced at less
than one cent per megabyte.

About StoneFly Networks, Inc.

StoneFly Networks, Inc., based in San Diego, is the innovator of iSCSI- based
storage provisioning appliances that enable optimization of Internet Protocol
Storage Area Networks (IP SANs). Shipping since June 2002, Storage Concentrators
have been installed across key vertical markets, including insurance,
healthcare, education, government, financial services and manufacturing.
StoneFly Storage Concentrators combine the functionality of an iSCSI router,
bridge and a powerful provisioning engine to provide logical volume management,
business continuity, and disaster recovery planning. StoneFly products require
no specialized expertise to install, and are fully interoperable with leading
operating systems, iSCSI initiators, and storage arrays. StoneFly Networks is a
member of the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) and the founding
member of the IP Storage Institute (IPSI). For more information, please visit
http://www.stonefly.com/.

StoneFly Networks and Storage Concentrators are property of StoneFly Networks,
Inc. All other company and product names contained herein are property of their
respective owners. 

DATASOURCE: StoneFly Networks, Inc.



CONTACT:   Bob Preston of StoneFly Networks, Inc., [phone],

ext. 3906, ; or Paula Johns of HetzelMeade

Communications, [phone], , for StoneFly Networks



Web site:  http://www.stonefly.com/ 

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