SYSTEMS

King of Prussia – InfiniCon Systems, the premier provider of shared I/O solutions for next-generation server networks, today announced General Availability (GA) of its InfinIO 7000 Shared I/O System, the next-generation networking platform that leverages the InfiniBand Architecture to provide for lower cost, lower risk, and more manageable server deployments. The InfiniBand standard is a channel and network architecture that brings improved levels of scalability, availability, and manageability to data centers, along with a maximum throughput of 30 Gb/second. Leading analyst firms have projected that approximately 50 percent of servers shipped by 2005 will employ InfiniBand as a high-speed networking connectivity vehicle, with a potential market size estimated by analyst firm Yankee Group at $4.1Billion in the next four years. Approximately 200 companies have joined the InfiniBand Trade Association (IBTA), illustrating support for product development plans based upon the standard, including industry giants Dell, IBM, and Sun. The InfinIO 7000 is the first commercially available I/O system that employs the new InfiniBand networking standard, off-loading I/O functions from servers and marking the advent of new data center deployment architectures. Commodity servers can connect to the InfinIO architecture over a single, high-speed 10Gb/s InfiniBand link for seamless integration intoexisting Fibre Channel and Ethernet networks – eliminating the complexity and administrative burden that typify server deployments in enterprise environments today. Additionally, the InfinIO 7000’s integrated InfiniBand fabric permits servers to communicate directly with each other at rates up to 1000 percent faster than current networks allow, providing significant benefit for clustered databases, High Performance Computing Clusters (HPCC), and parallel computing environments. Immediate ROI on InfiniBand Investments InfinIO 7000 deployment is non-disruptive to current network environments, requiring no changes at the operating system or application levels. All servers – whether supporting web, security, database, or other applications – can leverage InfinIO’s shared I/O infrastructure to benefit immediately from the InfiniBand architecture. InfinIO’s ability to integrate InfiniBand-capable servers seamlessly and cost-effectively results from the InfinIO Software Suite, which provides host-based Fibre Channel, Ethernet, and clustering drivers that transparently use the InfiniBand connection to access the shared resources in the external InfinIO 7000 system. "Our vision for next-generation computing is to transform I/O infrastructure from its current condition of being a business bottleneck into being a business driver or enabler," stated InfiniCon CEO Charles Foley. "With the delivery of our InfinIO 7000 architecture, we’ve accomplished this in a way that provides tremendous cost, management, and performance benefits to enterprise IT users who want to optimize the value of InfiniBand-enabled servers." InfinIO Deployment: Quantifiable Business Benefits As part of InfiniCon’s Early Shipment Program, the InfinIO 7000 has been delivered to a dozen major server, storage, and software suppliers – as well as early adopters – for evaluation and interoperability testing. Strategic benefits to data centers that deploy shared I/O technology have been noted to include: Simplified Data Center Infrastructures. InfinIO reduces the number of external connections required in standard, high-availability server configurations by approximately 50 percent. Servers attached to the InfinIO architecture gain higher levels of throughput and connectivity to Ethernet networks (Internet, LAN, WAN), Fibre Channel Storage Area Networks (SANs), or native InfiniBand fabrics. Improved Business Responsiveness. By simplifying the I/O model for server deployment, InfinIO enables businesses to add server capacity and to rollout new applications in only hours, rather than multiple business days. The reduction in complexity significantly lowers risks during deployment. Lower Total Cost of Ownership. InfinIO slashes capital expenditures previously required for NICs, HBAs, and cabling by as much as 70 percent, while reducing operational cost through improved IT administrator, implementer, and planner productivity. InfinIO also averts sizeable revenue losses by enabling businesses to respond faster to customer requirements and to limit downtime. InfinIO Architecture Highlights: RAS Design, Server Switching, and Advanced Management Functionality The InfinIO platform consists of dual 10Gb/second InfiniBand 4X Switch modules and up to eight plug-and-play I/O personality modules including Gigabit Ethernet, 2Gb Fibre Channel, and 10Gb InfiniBand Expansion (IBx) cards. Chassis slots can be populated with any mix of these personality modules and hot-swapped as needed. In addition, the InfinIO 7000 design provides fully redundant logic, power, and cooling – assuring levels of reliability and availability required in enterprise data centers today. The InfinIO 7000 base design supports high-speed (10Gb/second) server-to-server communications required for high-performance clustering applications. Deployed in a pure switching configuration, a single InfinIO system provides support for up to sixty 10Gb InfiniBand switch links with an aggregate data rate of over 1Tb in one 3U chassis. Multiple chassis can be linked to create fabrics supporting hundreds of servers. With a base of twelve ports, additional ports can be added in six-port increments without requiring cables or causing downtime. The InfinIO fabric is managed and configured through InfiniView‰, a comprehensive browser-based management system that provides full support for industry standard SNMP MIBs and management frameworks, and is interoperable with subnet managers from leading InfiniBand software developers. In its first-generation release, InfiniView features configuration, monitoring, and diagnostics, as well as access to advanced functionality such as Ethernet and Fibre Channel port sharing, which lets users share ports across the servers to improve resource utilization. Lead-time for new InfinIO 7000 orders placed at time of announcement ranges from four to six weeks, depending upon configuration. List pricing for configurations ranges from $26,740 to $84,320. Partner/Industry Support for InfinIO 7000 General Availability Announcement "Shared I/O is a major value proposition of InfiniBand. InfiniCon has taken this to heart and is delivering a solution that excels in this and other dimensions," stated Arun Taneja, senior analyst at Enterprise Storage Group. "If you operate a large data center, you probably want to evaluate this product." "Utilizing an existing infrastructure with emerging technology is imperative in today’s IT environment," stated Vernon Turner, group vice president, IDC Global Enterprise Server Solutions. "With the release of InfiniCon’s InfinIO 7000, IT departments are now able to leverage existing Fibre Channel and Ethernet resources, while exploiting the full benefits of the financial and high-speed interconnect that accompanies InfiniBand." "InfiniCon’s announcement of the InfinIO 7000 signals the starting gate of InfiniBand system availability," said Jim Pappas, director of initiative marketing for Intel’s Enterprise Platform Group. "InfiniBand data center deployments require connectivity to Ethernet and Fibre Channel networks. Connectivity products like those offered by InfiniCon provide an important ingredient to InfiniBand fabric deployments." "The Asian market is demanding infrastructure solutions that can tie servers with software and storage together with greater flexibility and better delivery of service," stated Li Zheng, manager of IT Business Department, Tomen America, Inc. "InfiniCon's shared I/O technology makes these benefits possible, providing a high-speed interconnect that helps optimize the performance and scalability through the use of InfiniBand technology. We congratulate InfiniCon Systems on the InfinIO 7000 product announcement." "Infiniband, like any evolving technology, requires a seamless coexistence strategy with proven solutions to encourage adoption while protecting current investments," noted Carl Greiner, senior vice president of Enterprise Strategies, META Group. "InfiniCon's release of the InfinIO 7000 as generally available addresses these requirements, allowing deployment based on business justified benefits." Partner/Industry Support for InfinIO 7000 General Availability Announcement "Real data center-ready solutions are critical to drive InfiniBand technology into production solutions. InfiniCon Systems continues to demonstrate leadership in delivering InfiniBand-based business solutions to the market. Our relationship with InfiniCon and the integration of our respective products makes a production-ready solution a reality," said Alisa Nessler, CEO and president of Lane 15 Software. "We congratulate InfiniCon on the InfinIO 7000 product announcement and look forward to our mutual success in the market." "RedSwitch is pleased to be a part of the InfinIO 7000 product introduction. InfiniCon Systems' announcement is one of the first InfiniBand system solutions using the RedSwitch HDMP-2840 switch silicon," stated Dr. Hungwen Li, president and CEO of RedSwitch, Inc. "This announcement is an important milestone for InfiniCon Systems, RedSwitch, and the entire InfiniBand community." "InfiniCon is one of the initial companies in the InfiniBand space that has shown a practical understanding of the business issues that InfiniBand is designed to address, said Jamie Gruener, senior analyst, Enterprise Computing and Networking, Yankee Group. "The InfinIO 7000 represents a new way of looking at I/O and appears to provide a fulfillment of InfiniBand’s promise." "Mellanox Technologies congratulates InfiniCon Systems on their InfinIO 7000 product announcement. The general availability of systems-level products is a natural evolution of the InfiniBand Ecosystem," said Eyal Waldman, CEO and chairman of Mellanox Technologies. "The InfinIO 7000 platform leverages Agilent's leading Tachyon DX2 Fibre Channel controller to deliver higher-throughput, higher-availability connections to today's storage area networks," said Philip Gadd, marketing manager of Agilent's Storage and Networking Division. "We applaud InfiniCon's vision of bringing the benefits of InfiniBand to data centers in a way that preserves existing investments." "Interoperability with emerging technologies is critical to Overland Storage's continued success," said Bob Scroop, vice president and general manager, storage resource business unit, Overland Storage. "Working with InfiniCon and the InfinIO 7000 platform on interoperability with our fibre channel tape library systems ensures that InfiniCon Systems and Overland Storage will be part of integrated data center solutions." "InfiniCon’s InfinIO platform offers the first production-ready InfiniBand systems platform using the iBandit technology. InfinIO is clearly fulfilling the vision of InfiniBand and will be another proof point of how InfiniBand will resolve I/O related issues that data centers are dealing with today," stated Les Crudele, president and CEO of Banderacom.