ATTO Technology Announces Support for Storage Networking Industry Association Technology Center Grand Opening.

Business & Technology Editors

AMHERST, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 6, 2001

ATTO Participated in Various Demo Areas Including Extended Copy,

SAN Over Wide Area Networks, and SAN for Everyone

ATTO Technology, Inc., a worldwide manufacturer of Fibre Channel and SCSI storage connectivity solutions announced today its support for the Storage Networking Industry Association's (SNIA's) Technology Center Grand Opening February 2, 2001 in Colorado Springs, CO.

The 14,000+ square foot center, the largest independent storage networking complex in the world, will support the SNIA by providing testing laboratories as well as educational and training facilities. The center will also facilitate the gathering of work groups to progress the study, development and recommendation of storage standards to the appropriate standards bodies.

The Extended Copy demonstration featured the ATTO FibreBridge(TM) 3200R, backing up data from a XIOtech Magnitude Storage System through a Brocade switch to a Quantum|ATL P1000 tape library using Computer Associate's ARCserve 2000. ATTO Technology's FibreBridge SCSI-to-Fibre Channel bridge enables serverless disk-to-tape backup through the implementation of the SNIA Extended Copy Command. By deploying the FibreBridge in conjunction with third-party management software such as CA ARCserve 2000 or OTG SANXtender, data is backed up directly from a disk array to a tape library without placing a load on the server itself. By off-loading the server, users gain high performance, 24x7 continuous access to data and applications, and the removal of backup traffic on the LAN.

"Our participation in the interoperability demonstrations at the SNIA Technology Center and ongoing availability of ATTO products in the Center, validates the company's dedication to developing high performance products that conform with industry standards thus ensuring interoperability for our customers," said Don Bauch, Director of Marketing at ATTO Technology. "We were pleased to join forces at the Grand Opening with other leading vendors to demonstrate various interoperable solutions including Serverless disk-to-tape backup. With the global explosion of digital data, it's becoming increasingly critical to perform the data-intensive backup process while freeing up CPU bandwidth for mission-critical tasks."

In the SAN over WAN solution demonstration, the ATTO FibreBridge was showcased moving data from a Spectra Logic tape library to a McData switch illustrating how SCSI technology can leverage, through storage area networks, the long distance benefits inherent in wide area networks. The SANs for Everyone demonstration featured the ATTO ExpressPCI host bus adapter connecting a Compaq switch to a Compaq server in a storage network configuration. Storage networks which have significant advantages such as reduced application network utilization through shared storage, depend on reliable host adapters such as the ATTO ExpressPCI for the critical connection between server and client systems.

"With today's Grand Opening of the SNIA Technology Center, the SNIA membership has succeeded in building an environment that will, without a doubt, help to accelerate our mission - the promotion and evolution of storage networking," said Larry Krantz, chairman of the SNIA. "The SNIA education, training and standards developments are ultimately the future of storage networking. We believe that the SNIA Technology Center is a giant step toward supplying vendors, providers and more importantly, customers, with a centralized storage networking resource for years to come."

About The Technology Center

As a laboratory, the Technology Center embodies the SNIA vision by offering this new facility and providing members with the opportunity to profile enterprise storage systems, computing platforms - including Fibre Channel and NAS infrastructures - and products. With its Grand Opening today, the SNIA Technology Center will showcase the development and testing of advanced network storage technologies that require interoperability of multi-vendor storage products.

The SNIA is dedicated to ensuring that storage networks become a completed and trusted solution across the IT community, and fulfills this mission by bringing together vendors and IT staff from the storage industry to define product requirements. For more details on the SNIA Technology Center, visit the SNIA Web site at http://www.snia.org.

About the SNIA

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is a not-for-profit organization, made up of 150 companies and individuals spanning virtually the entire storage industry. SNIA members share a common goal: to set the pace of the industry by ensuring that storage networks become efficient, complete and trusted solutions across the IT community. To this end the SNIA is uniquely committed to delivering standards, education and services that will propel open storage networking solutions into the broader market. For information, contact the SNIA at 650-949-6720 or via e-mail at [e-mail], or visit the SNIA web site at http://www.snia.org.

About ATTO Technology, Inc.

ATTO Technology, Inc. is a global leader in Fibre Channel and SCSI storage connectivity solutions for Content Creation and Enterprise environments. Since its founding in 1988, ATTO has been designing, manufacturing and marketing award-winning solutions specifically for data-intensive applications. ATTO distributes its products worldwide through original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), distributors, VARs and system integrators.