American Megatrends Inc. Releases StorTrends 1100 - Sled Chassis with Indium NAS Controller.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 17, 2001

American Megatrends Inc.:

Editorial Summary

-- The StorTrends 1100 is a sled chassis with AMI's Indium NAS controller that
includes advanced software and hardware features

-- The Indium's 5 1/4 inch form factor makes it easy to be integrated into an
off-the-shelf case that supports standard 5 1/4 inch form factor drives,
reducing TTM for system integrators and resellers

-- StorTrends products provide an incredible competitive advantage with their
low form factors, amazing speed and great price

American Megatrends Inc. (AMI), the leader in storage and computing innovations worldwide, today announced it is shipping the first validation units of the StorTrends(R) 1100 - a custom-built sled chassis solution with a membrane keypad, LCD display and LEDs enclosed around AMI's small form factor Indium NAS controller.

"The StorTrends 1100 is a great solution for integrators and Value Added Resellers (VARs) seeking an advanced, small form factor NAS solution," said Michael Patellis, AMI national sales manager. "Whether the user needs to manage data better, make more file storage space available on their network with a low-cost solution or eliminate downtime issues, the StorTrends 1100 is the answer to their needs."

The StorTrends 1100 NAS solution can be:

- integrated into an off-the-shelf case that supports

standard 5 1/4 inch form factor CD-ROM drive bays,

reducing time-to-market (TTM) for system integrators and

resellers

- added into a user's own NAS device, CD server, CD-ROM

tower, CD/jukebox or optical disk library

- incorporated as part of AMI's NAS solution to power its

StorTrends 1312-N and 1312-P products

The StorTrends 1100's competitive advantages over comparable sleds on the market include dual LAN, dual USB, dual SCSI and dual 10/100 Ethernet (all on-board), as well as hardware health monitoring for local reporting (drive status, ambient temperature, system voltages and fan speed). The 1100's front panel LCD display allows users to configure network parameters using a DHCP or Static IP address, monitor CPU and memory usage and disk and volume status and perform system shutdown and restart.

Full availability of the StorTrends 1100 in versions 1100-N and 1100-P (with StorTrends NAS Software version 1.0) will be July 16, 2001. MSRP ranges from $1,099 to $1,349 depending upon the configuration.

StorTrends 1100-N

The 1100-N's Indium NAS controller combines AMI's expertise in board, firmware and operating system environments. The Indium's architecture provides a scalable, high-performance platform that addresses many applications, including NAS, web servers and other embedded environments.

The Indium has an Intel(R) 810E chipset with single Socket 370 Celeron/Pentium III CPU support for scalable processors, hard drives and memory capacities up to 900 MHz and a three-year warranty. The Indium's custom footprint is 5.25 inch (width) x 8.5 inch (depth) and the sled chassis is 5.75 inch (width) x 9.035 inch (length) x 1.650 inch (height).

StorTrends 1100-P (includes NAS Software)

The 1100-P features AMI's custom-designed StorTrends NAS software version 1.0 with industry-standard software utilized throughout the design to allow full network interoperability. These features include Network File Protocols (CIFS, NFS), Network Transport Protocols (TCP/IP), hardware health monitoring and software RAID in levels 0 (performance/striping), 1 (reliability/mirroring) and 5 (performance and reliability/parity).

Based on FreeBSD, the software is optimized for the Indium and resides on a network upgradable flash memory device - which leaves all hard drives 100 percent available for user data. This web-based interface software offers user and group based disk quotas, complete configuration and management via a web browser, error logging and notification via email and alert notification.

Traditionally file storage has been provided by off-the-shelf servers and operating systems. With AMI's NAS software, users can add additional storage to their networks quickly, safely and easily. AMI works hard to make it simple and affordable, Patellis added.

"AMI StorTrends products, including the StorTrends 1100, 1108 and 1312, were designed as NAS storage solutions. Throughout the design phase, AMI always kept in mind the basic requirements of NAS: ease of use, simple setup and simple management," said Rodney Damen, senior program manager for storage and server subsystems. "These StorTrends products, part of AMI's Storage and Server Solutions division, are at the forefront of developments within the NAS industry. And, the architecture of AMI's product line allows a fast, flexible roadmap of further developments that will eventually deploy SCSI, IDE and fibre technology."

About AMI

Founded in 1985, American Megatrends Inc. (AMI) has dedicated its resources to providing OEMs, resellers and systems integrators with leading edge computer technologies. This privately held company, best known for its BIOS, also supplies state-of-the-art hardware, software, RAID, utilities and NAS to over 55 percent of today's high-tech manufacturers. Headquartered in Atlanta, AMI has locations in the U.S. and throughout the world including Chennai, London, Munich, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo to better serve its customers. AMI is a member of the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). For more information on AMI, its products or services, call 1-800-U-BUY-AMI or visit www.ami.com.

Product specifications are subject to change without notice. Products mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. No warranties are made, either express or implied, with regard to the contents of this work, its merchantability or fitness for a particular use. American Megatrends reserves the right to update, change and/or modify this product at anytime.