BakBone Software And Network Appliance Introduce Certified Tape Backup Solutions.

Business Editors

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2001

Development Continues to Expand Certified Data Protection Offerings

BakBone Software, Inc. (TSE: BKB, OTC: BKBOF), a global provider of storage management solutions, and Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP), the leading provider of network-attached data access and content delivery solutions, today announced that BakBone's NetVault(TM) backup/restore software supports the Network Appliance(TM) FC Fabric Tape SAN Backup solution and has been awarded Network Appliance's gold certification.

The announcement reconfirms NetVault's position as the leading backup/restore software to maximize the power of Network Appliance's filers to protect their customers' corporate-critical data, a key requirement with the convergence of storage area network (SAN) and network-attached storage (NAS) technologies.

Network Appliance's gold certification was awarded to NetVault, which means it has passed a stringent set of tests, including compatibility with Data ONTAP(TM) 6.1, Network Appliance's latest operating system software. The certification ensures seamless operation and maximum performance between NetApp(R) filers and NetVault.

"BakBone and Network Appliance share common goals: providing robust storage solutions for today's data-intensive enterprises, and advancing storage networking architectures of all types as customers scale their storage requirements from tens to thousands of terabytes," said Mark Santora, senior vice president of marketing at Network Appliance. "The combined simplicity and power of the NetVault/Network Appliance solution benefits customers through cost savings and bulletproof enterprise data protection."

Earlier this year, BakBone became the first company to announce full Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) support for Network Appliance filers. NetVault 6.03 NDMP, introduced in January, is specifically optimized for maximum performance on the Network Appliance filer, a robust, field-proven storage solution for consolidating data and simplifying data management, enhancing overall backup functionality.

NetVault's Application Plug-in Module (APM(TM)) for Network Appliance NDMP maintains centralized backup administration, and provides fast, online backup and restore of data. The APM provides a full-featured solution for Network Appliance filers, including local backup, automation control, direct access restores and dynamic drive sharing, available for UNIX(R), Windows NT(R), Windows 2000(R), and Linux(R). This represents an improvement over traditional backup/restore software, which require intensive technical support for companies seeking to grow their storage capabilities.

NetVault provides users of NetApp filers with backup/restore abilities including:

- A range of full NDMP functionality, including NetVault's Dynamically
Shared Drives (DSD(TM)), and Direct Access Restore;

- Heterogeneous platform support across multiple storage topologies; and

- True modular architecture, enabling users to quickly develop and implement
application-specific capabilities

"The combination of NetVault and Network Appliance filers delivers a highly scalable data and storage management solution that is easier to deploy and manage, while less expensive to operate," said Lauren Whitehouse, BakBone's Vice President, Marketing. "Companies are seeking those qualities, in addition to speed, in their storage implementations. As SAN and NAS technologies converge, BakBone and Network Appliance have produced a complementary solution, unleashing the full potential of data and storage management infrastructures and preserving the uptime critical to enterprise success."

About BakBone Software, Inc.

BakBone Software (TSE: BKB, OTC: BKBOF) is an international storage management software company that develops and globally distributes industry-leading storage management solutions to the open systems markets, providing data protection and management solutions scalable from workgroup to enterprise that will grow with a company's needs. BakBone's core products include near-line optical and archival, as well as tape backup and restore software for a full suite of storage management solutions to the corporate data center.

BakBone's corporate headquarters is located at 10145 Pacific Heights Boulevard, San Diego, California 92121. Its stock is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and is included on the TSE 300 Composite, S&P/TSE Canadian SmallCap and TSE 200 indices. For more information on BakBone products, call 858-450-9009, e-mail [e-mail], or access BakBone's web site at www.bakbone.com.

About Network Appliance

Network Appliance, Inc., a veteran in network file storage and content delivery, has been providing data access solutions since 1992, and is a member of both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 index. Major corporations and service providers, including Lycos, Yahoo!, Citicorp Securities, Siemens, Lockheed, Cisco, Motorola, and Texas Instruments have deployed NetApp solutions.

The company pioneered the concept of the "network appliance," an extension of the industry trend toward dedicated, specialized products that perform a single function. NetApp's storage and content delivery platforms (filers and NetCache(TM) appliances) are coupled with powerful content distribution and reporting software. This center-to-edge(TM) solution offers seamless data management from the back-end data center to the edge of the network quickly, simply, and reliably. The Network Appliance product portfolio utilizes the company's innovative data access software, known as the Data ONTAP operating system, as well as standards-compliant hardware. It also offers multiprotocol support and transparent integration for UNIX and Windows(R) environments.

BakBone Software, the BakBone logo, and NetVault are all trademarks or registered trademarks of BakBone Software, Inc., in the United States and/or in other countries. NetApp is a registered trademark and Network Appliance, NetCache, center to edge, and Data ONTAP are trademarks of Network Appliance, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Windows, Windows NT, and Windows 2000 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Limited. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.