Correcting telephone number in ADIC news release issued Monday, May 8.

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 1995--Advanced Digital Information Corp. (ADIC) Monday unveiled its highest capacity, highest performance products to date, the Scalar Series of digital linear tape-based automated data libraries.

The Scalar Series tape libraries were designed to solve the two key storage management problems faced by managers of local and enterprise-wide networks: the explosive growth of data to be managed, and the shrinking time windows available for backup and archive operations.

ADIC has combined its award-winning robotics technology with a modular design approach that allows the Scalar DLT libraries to be easily reconfigured and upgraded to keep pace with customers' changing storage requirements.

Instead of locking customers into a limited library platform with no upgrade potential, Scalar Series products can grow along with the user's storage demands. Scalar libraries can accommodate from one to eight DLT drives and up to 120 DLT cartridges for a total near-line capacity of 5 terabytes.

``The new Scalar Series is the heir to the tradition of product excellence, innovation, and proven reliability that ADIC has earned over the years,'' said Bill Britts, ADIC vice president of sales and marketing. ``The Scalar Series is a true breakthrough that virtually eliminates product obsolescence and protects end users' investment in storage technology. This is a product that our customers won't outgrow. Instead, it will grow with them as their business expands and their storage requirements grow.''

The configuration flexibility built into the Scalar products allows for optimized control of library functions by allocating separate SCSI-2 addresses for the robotic control interface and the DLT drives.

Drive interfaces can be custom configured to accommodate multiple host buses, allowing parallel data transfer at up to 20 megabytes per second. This high throughput potential makes the Scalar libraries a cost-effective solution for users faced with the problem of backing up larger and larger amounts of data in a narrow backup window.

ADIC's Scalar DLT Series is the first line of automated library products capable of supporting all of the capacity, performance and data management requirements of today's distributed computing environments. Along with the multi-terabyte capacity and high throughput, the Scalar Series offers advanced media management capabilities demanded by the exploding capacities of distributed network storage systems.

Instead of forcing operators to fumble with dozens of individual cartridges during every backup or tape rotation process, the Scalar design features a magazine-based approach to media handling.

The Scalar libraries expand the single-tape mail slot found on other multi-cartridge tape storage systems to a 10-cartridge mailbox system. This large capacity pass-through port allows users to define their own 2- to 10-cartridge ``virtual magazine,'' which can be loaded, unloaded and manipulated both by the software and the operator as single units.

This flexible magazine system allows users to divide data into user-defined subdivisions -- periods of time, specific clients, or projects, for example -- based on the user's needs.

The Scalar Series modular design approach makes the libraries completely field upgradeable. Additional DLT drives can be installed without any special tools in less than five minutes. All other major components -- including media, power supplies, robotic gripper assembly, SCSI connections, bar code reader and control electronics modules -- are also field upgradeable or replaceable, minimizing maintenance and repair costs.

All Scalar components are interchangeable across the entire product line. If a user elects to upgrade from an entry-level Scalar model to a larger capacity unit, all of the drives, robotics and media can be installed in the new cabinet, minimizing upgrade costs and maximizing the customer's investment for every Scalar purchase.

The Scalar cartridge-changing mechanism is based on ADIC's patented robotics technology, which has led the storage industry in overall media handling reliability. Basing the Scalar design on this proven technology also means that ADIC's scalable approach to libraries will be easily adaptable to other drive technologies and storage media.

Design innovations embodied in the Scalar DLT Series also extend to user convenience. All library functions are accessible by a simple front panel control that allows direct user operation of the library.

The user can easily direct the gripper mechanism to any cartridge in the library or to the home position. The front panel display also provides the operator with detailed diagnostic information, making troubleshooting a quick and easy process.

In addition to the inherent capacity and speed advantages of DLT technology, the Scalar DLT drives also carry a mean time between failure rating of more than 80,000 hours at 100 percent duty cycle, making the Scalar DLT Series libraries the most reliable products on the market.

ADIC plans to start customer shipments of the Scaler DLT Series in the second quarter of 1995. Manufacturer's suggested retail starts at $33,000.

Located in Redmond, ADIC was founded in 1983 to develop and market storage solutions for NetWare and other platforms. These products included Novell codeveloped disk subsystems and disk controller boards. ADIC pioneered the use of robotic technology in automating tape backup storage for networks and workstations.

In February 1994, ADIC became a wholly owned subsidiary of Interpoint Corp., also of Redmond. ADIC's award-winning products are available through a worldwide network of distributors and VARs. For further information on the product or a local reseller/distributor, contact ADIC at 800/336-1233, or fax at 206/881-2296.

CONTACT: ADIC

Steve Whitner, 206/881-8004

or

JPR Communications

Judy Smith, 818/343-9474