ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Aug. 10, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- QLogic(r) Corp. (Nasdaq:QLGC), the leader in Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs), stackable switches and blade server switches, today announced that its SANblade(tm) 4Gb Fibre Channel HBAs deliver 33 percent higher performance with Oracle(r) workloads than the leading competitor. Using database driven Online Transaction Processing (OLTP), Web, and Analytical Processing (OLAP) workloads common in datacenters, test results validate that QLogic 4Gb HBAs outperform the competition in business critical application environments. A white paper with a detailed description of the test environment and results can be downloaded from http://www.qlogic.com/knowledgecenter/briefs_papers.asp.
"SAN administrators in Global 2000 corporations are asking for application-oriented performance data to help them architect 4Gb SANs," said Roger Klein, vice president and GM at QLogic. "The results of this testing show that QLogic 4Gb HBAs outperform the competition and meet the performance requirements of the most demanding Oracle environments."
Oracle Performance Test Summary
To correlate the benchmark tests to today's business requirements, QLogic selected market-leading Oracle Relational Database Management Systems running on Microsoft(r) Windows 2003(tm) Enterprise Edition -- a very popular, highly scalable enterprise configuration. Real-world performance was tested using the EMC Clariion CX3000(tm) storage array. The HBAs were housed in a Dell(r) PowerEdge(tm) 6850. The Dell server was connected through a QLogic SANbox(tm) 5600 series 4Gbps switch to an enterprise storage array with 15 disks of 10,000 RPM total capacity, and alternately to a RamSan-400 with 32 GB total capacity. Using the RamSan solid state disk removed the latency introduced by a slower disk-driver and allowed QLogic to proof the performance expected from next-generation storage arrays.
"A Better 4Gb" HBA from QLogic
SANblade 4Gb HBAs from QLogic offer a suite of technology advancements that help storage administrators in large enterprises ensure complete business continuity, maintain application performance and cost-effectively scale their networks.
For Better 4Gb Performance:
-- Intelligent Interleaved DMA -- Unlike round-robin schemes for
transmitting data in a mixed 1Gb/2Gb/4Gb environment, QLogic HBAs
detect the link rate that each target can support and transmit
simultaneously, and at maximum performance, to each storage device.
-- Dual Read DMA -- QLogic HBAs simultaneously process multiple DMA
requests, which helps accelerate the I/O performance in real-life
applications like Oracle and Exchange. (For more information on
performance reports visit
http://www.qlogic.com/products/hba_better4Gb.asp)
-- Out Of Order Frame Reassembly -- Only HBAs from QLogic reassemble
frames within an exchange in the correct order, even though they
may have been received out of order. This improves performance by
eliminating the need to retransmit the entire I/O block.
For Better 4Gb Reliability:
-- Less Heat Production -- SANblade Pro 2400 Series FC HBAs consume
less power and produce less heat than competitive offerings so no
additional cooling is required and reliability is greatly
improved.
-- Overlapping Protection Domains -- This QLogic exclusive ensures
that data is not left unprotected, even for the smallest fraction
of time, by generating a new check of parity or ECC before
stripping out the old check. This offers a superior level of
protection, well beyond traditional implementations.
-- HBA Failover with Linux -- To protect data even if there is a
component failure, QLogic uniquely offers Linux drivers that
provide customers with automatic failover and fail back between
redundant HBAs.
For Better 4Gb Scalability:
-- Virtual SAN (VSAN) -- This QLogic exclusive allows a single HBA to
read VSAN tags in packets sent from a Cisco MDS switch. As a
result, QLogic HBAs can support multiple VSANs, each with a
completely isolated fabric topology and set of fabric services
including name server, zone server, domain controller, alias
server and login server.
For Better Ease of Use:
-- More HBA Information -- QLogic 4Gb SANblade Pro HBAs feature three
LED's that display each HBA's current speed. A unique bracket
design provides information on type of bus and the worldwide port
name (WWPN) to end users without removing the HBA from the server.
QLogic beaconing makes the process of locating a specific HBA in
the datacenter much easier.
About QLogic
QLogic is a leading supplier of high performance storage networking solutions including Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs), blade server embedded Fibre Channel switches, Fibre Channel stackable switches, iSCSI HBAs, iSCSI routers and storage services platforms for enabling advanced storage management applications. The company is also a leading supplier of server networking including InfiniBand host channel adapters that accelerate cluster performance. QLogic products are delivered to small-to-medium business and large enterprises around the world via its channel partner community. QLogic's products are also powering solutions from leading companies like Cisco, Dell, EMC, Hitachi Data Systems, HP, IBM, NEC, Network Appliance and Sun Microsystems. QLogic is a member of the S&P 500 Index. For more information go to www.qlogic.com.
Note: All QLogic-issued press releases appear on the Company's website (www.qlogic.com). Any announcement that does not appear on the QLogic website has not been issued by QLogic.
Disclaimer -- Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains statements relating to future results of the Company (including certain beliefs and projections regarding business trends) that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the forward-looking statements. The Company advises readers that these potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: potential fluctuations in operating results; gross margins that may vary over time; revenues may be affected by changes in IT spending levels; the stock price of the Company may be volatile; the Company's dependence on the storage area network market; the ability to maintain and gain market or industry acceptance of the Company's products; the Company's dependence on a limited number of customers; seasonal fluctuations and uneven sales patterns in orders from customers; the Company's ability to compete effectively with other companies; declining average unit sales prices of comparable products; a reduction in sales efforts by current distributors; dependence on sole source and limited source suppliers; the Company's dependence on relationships with certain silicon chip suppliers; the complexity of the Company's products; sales fluctuations arising from customer transitions to new products; the uncertainty associated with SOX 404 compliance; environmental compliance costs; terrorist activities and resulting military actions; international economic, regulatory, political and other risks; uncertain benefits from strategic business combinations; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; recognition of compensation expense related to employee stock options and the Company's employee stock purchase plan; the decreased effectiveness of equity compensation; difficulties in implementing smaller geometry process technologies; the ability to protect proprietary rights; the ability to satisfactorily resolve any infringement claims; reliance on third party licenses; the use of "open source" software in our products; changes in our tax provisions or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income tax returns; computer viruses and other tampering with the Company's computer systems; and facilities of the Company and its suppliers and customers are located in areas subject to natural disasters.
More detailed information on these and additional factors which could affect the Company's operating and financial results are described in the Company's Forms 10-K, 10-Q and other reports filed, or to be filed, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company urges all interested parties to read these reports to gain a better understanding of the many business and other risks that the Company faces. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made only as of the date hereof, and the Company does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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