ORLANDO, FL -- Storage Networking World/Nishan Systems announced today the availability today of its 16-port Multiprotocol IP Storage switches, the IPS 4000 Series. With wire-speed support for native iSCSI devices and Fibre Channel to iSCSI and iFCP conversion, the IPS 4000 Series can process data simultaneously in both directions at a combined rate of 215 megabytes per second (MBps) -- the maximum amount possible -- on each of its full-duplex Gigabit Ethernet ports. Leveraging the strength of its IPS 3000 Series in the SAN extension market, Nishan designed the new IPS 4000 Series to be used both for building SANs and extending them over standard IP networks -- all in a one-rack-unit (1.75-inch high) enclosure. It had been impossible to build wire-speed iSCSI SANs, but Nishan's IP Storage switches now enable wire-speed integration of Fibre Channel and iSCSI end systems with IP networks in the largest data center SANs and across metro area and wide area networks. To smooth the transition from Fibre Channel to IP Storage, customers can configure any port on Nishan's IP Storage switches to support either Fibre Channel or Gigabit Ethernet. That enables customers to protect and leverage their current investments in servers, operating systems, software applications, and storage devices that require Fibre Channel support. And with their advanced E_Port functionality, Nishan's IP Storage switches interoperate with existing Fibre Channel switches -- an important consideration for enterprises that have conventional Fibre Channel SANs. Nishan's multiprotocol, standards-based architecture supports existing Fibre Channel end systems and switches, along with the native IP Storage protocols, iSCSI and iFCP, to interoperate with all standard IP routers, providing the utmost flexibility and functionality for today's storage networks. "By supporting Fibre Channel as well as iSCSI devices at wire speed, our IP Storage networking products satisfy both the tactical and the strategic needs of our customers," said Aamer Latif, president and CEO of Nishan Systems. "Our new IPS 4000 Series IP Storage switches build upon our strong base in SAN extension applications by moving us into high-end data centers. Now, our customers can build large SANs and extend them across standard IP networks with a single product." A key value proposition for Nishan products is that existing storage devices interoperate and perform flawlessly, without modification, in storage networks powered by Nishan's IP Storage products. Nishan's industry partners continue to report highly positive results from extensive testing. Here are some comments: "Hitachi Data Systems applauds Nishan Systems for its leadership in driving the development of industry standards for storage over IP," said Hu Yoshida, Hitachi Data Systems chief technology officer. "We have done extensive interoperability testing of Nishan's IP Storage switches and believe that they are an excellent complement to the TrueCopy remote data copying functions offered in our Freedom Storage products." "Nishan's products are the first to be qualified to provide data replication over IP with our REDI SAN Links Software," said Richard Blaschke, vice president of marketing for XIOtech. "Their products seamlessly leverage the existing IP infrastructure to extend the benefits of our MAGNITUDE SAN hardware platform. XIOtech is excited to be working with Nishan to provide IP storage solutions for our customers today." For more information visit www.NishanSystems.com