Amdahl Enhances LVS Fibre Channel Offerings with Storage Area Network Initiative.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 18, 1998--

New LVS 4600 Based Information Management Solutions Ensure End to

End Availability through Hardware, Fibre Services,

and SAN Integration Program

Amdahl Corporation today announced a comprehensive open systems Storage Area Network (SAN) initiative designed to simplify the installation and implementation of a total Fibre solution. The initiative adds further value to Amdahl's Integrated Information Suite (AIIS), which focuses on delivering information anytime, anywhere across MVS(R), UNIX(R) and Windows NT(R) platforms, with the introduction of Amdahl's Fiber Optic Service, as well as an alliance testing program. Customers can now receive fiber design and installation services, plus tested and validated hardware and software from a single source that has over 20 years of deploying information management solutions.

Expanding on Amdahl's ESCON infrastructure offerings, this complete information management solution can provide the customer with multi-host connectivity including Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FCAL) and Fabric Switch deployment. This enhancement strengthens AIIS by delivering information to users regardless of hardware, software, or location. As first announced in February 1998, components of the suite include Spectris(tm) Platinum storage for System/390, LVS 4600 open system storage, and GIS, (Global Information Sharing(tm)) software.

"British Airways uses Amdahl to provide the necessary computer technologies, IT services and deployment of fibre channel solutions in parts of it's IT infrastructure to support it's mission-critical applications," said Peter Kalyan, technical development manager (UNIX and Internet Technologies) at British Airways Plc.

Another key component to Amdahl's SAN Initiative is the newly formed Fibre Alliance program. The goal of this program is to work with the industry's leading providers of Fibre technology and build integration labs to ensure that all solutions are tested prior to deployment in customer's sites.

"Amdahl Corporation is a premier manufacturer of high-speed Fibre Channel storage solutions," said Mr. Roland J. Thibodeau, Vice President Worldwide Sales of Jaycor Networks Inc. (JNI). "Amdahl's approach to developing open and honest technical information exchanges with their suppliers has allowed JNI to continually improve on the interoperability of our Fibre Channel products."

"We have seen too many point solutions that only address a small portion of the business problem," said George A. Mele, Director of Storage Marketing for Amdahl Corporation. "Our customers cannot be burdened with untested or unproven technologies and infrastructures to run their business. SAN technology will touch all aspects of a company's operation, so building this consortium of industry players allows Amdahl to insulate our customers from problems by catching them in our integration lab."

"Amdahl is in the information solutions business," Mele continues. "Our new SAN initiative combines components, design and deployment, with alliances that enable our customers to be leaders in their given markets. Amdahl provides the seamless connectivity needed to integrate S/390, UNIX and NT and its associated storage, helping our customers to design and implement the infrastructure that will allow them to grow well into the next Millennium."

A core component to the SAN Initiative is the LVS 4600 Storage System, which is designed as a high performance/high availability system for connection to UNIX and Windows NT. The LVS 4600 Storage System features a new high capacity drive option that results in improved density and total cost of ownership with a larger solid state drive option, which improves database performance by up to 500%. The new 18.0 GB drive packs 1.8 TBs of usable capacity in a single enclosure or can be intermixed within a data center cabinet with 9.0 GB drives, allowing users to customize configurations by application performance requirements. The new 1.6GB solid state disk option doubles the capacity of the previous model while delivering improved performance and reliability. The LVS Storage System has been shipping with Fibre Channel for over a year and these two major enhancements effectively, increase both price/performance and flexibility.

"The ability to upgrade from 9.0 GB to 18.0 GB technology protects the customer's investment and lowers overall total cost of ownership by extending the assets useful life," adds Mele, "These enhancements continue to make Amdahl's LVS 4600 the ideal storage system for mission-critical SAN deployment."

"Emulex benefits from participating in Amdahl's SAN program in many ways," stated Mike Kane, director of fibre channel marketing for Emulex Corporation. "Amdahl provides a high level of system integration and qualification with the Emulex LightPulse(tm) fibre channel host bus adapters and software drivers. Amdahl's approach is to develop relationships that optimize the use of new technology; they deliver value-added solutions for real business applications. Complete solutions with a high level of technical support and integration of expertise is what Amdahl offers. Together, Emulex and Amdahl is a winning team." Kane added.

Vixel Corporation, the leader in Fibre Channel Connectivity, is delighted to be a member of the Amdahl SAN Initiative. "The opportunity to partner with one of the leading information solution providers today, allows Vixel Corporations Loop InSite, our Storage Network Management software, to move to a new level of performance and acceptance," says Greg Olbright, CEO and President of Vixel Corporation. "Today's measurements in the Global 1000, center around Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) and forces the issue that powerful problem detection and isolation software are a must. Vixel's Rapport 2000 Hub and Loop InSite Software are the only solutions in the Fibre Channel market to provide this capability. This combination of technology and integration from Amdahl's Integrated Information Suite provides the premier Storage Area Network solution in the storage business today."

Combining best of breed hardware, software, and alliance testing programs, Amdahl is in position to deliver proven business driven solutions across storage infrastructures. The AIIS enhancements are another example of the Amdahl tradition of bringing robust and flexible mainframe-class technology solutions and services to its customers. Amdahl continues to "raise the bar" by providing products and services that help customers gain a competitive advantage in their industries.

About Amdahl

Amdahl Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited, a leading provider of information technology products and solutions for the global marketplace with revenues of $37.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 1998. Amdahl provides integrated enterprise computing solutions designed to meet the needs of the leading, most compute-intensive environments around the world. Amdahl has over 25 years of experience with large-scale computing solutions and client/server technology. The company supports heterogeneous architectures found in mission-critical customer environments that blend MVS, Windows NT, and UNIX operating systems. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Amdahl combines hardware and software products and services methods with world class offerings to create customized solutions that help clients gain a competitive advantage in their industries.

For the Year 2000 compliance status of this offering and any others, visit the Amdahl Year 2000 Web site at: www.amdahl.com/y2k

Amdahl is a registered trademark, Spectris, AIIS, TDMF, GIS and LVS are trademarks of Amdahl Corporation. Fujitsu is a registered trademark of Fujitsu Limited. MVS is a registered trademark and System/390, ESCON are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Windows NT is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively (except in Japan where such license is non-exclusive) through X/Open Company, Limited. All other trademarks and product names are the property of their respective owners.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Amdahl news releases are available on the Internet at www.amdahl.com , the Amdahl Corporation home page. The Amdahl site provides current, in-depth information on Amdahl offerings and solutions for enterprise computing.

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