Crossroads Delivers `Intelligence at the Edge' for Midrange Tape Libraries, Announces New Offering In Its Storage Router Product Family.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 2004

Crossroads Systems(R) Inc. (Nasdaq:CRDS), a leading global provider for storage networking solutions, today announced a new offering in its storage router product family designed to enable IT managers to build out networks of consolidated storage assets with improved performance, security and reliability without sacrificing scalability. The Crossroads 6240 Storage Router, along with Crossroads' current suite of products, serves as a platform for Crossroads "Intelligence At The Edge" by improving the understanding, utilization and management of high-performance tape library resources.

The 6240 complements Crossroads' suite of products by providing enterprise class performance and functionality, including port redundancy, in a cost-conscious solution that scales easily with growing storage resource requirements. Dual network ports and four device ports facilitate advanced port aggregation to reduce SAN complexity in switch-based infrastructures.

With an end-to-end throughput of up to 300 Megabytes per second, the 6240 provides fast tape reads and writes to support larger data sets while completing backup and restore tasks within a smaller timeframe. The advanced performance of the 6240 also supports next generation high-performance SCSI tape drives including Linear Tape-Open (LTO) 2 and Super Digital Linear Tape (SDLT) drives.

The Crossroads 6240 Storage Router eases the management associated with SAN configuration, performance and reliability of SCSI storage devices. Provisioning secure, shared storage access among multiple Fibre Channel servers, the key features and benefits of the 6240 include:

    --  Access Controls to promote SAN security with advanced zoning
        functionality designed to prevent unauthorized systems from
        gaining access to specified devices or LUNs;

    --  Enterprise Custom Mapping that allows SAN administrators to
        create customized storage maps as needed to meet specific
        requirements for each host system;

    --  Server-Free Backup that works with major backup applications
        to enable the offload of data movement operations from servers
        to the storage router, freeing up server CPU cycles for
        mission critical tasks;

    --  Progressive Error Recovery with Target Reset function to
        ensure minimal disruption of SCSI bus operation and attached
        devices;

    --  Dynamic Storage Allocation for quick, convenient assignment of
        attached storage resources with no need to reboot the system
        and;

    --  Ease of Configuration with Crossroads Visual Manager for
        simple "point and click" choices from a graphical
        representation of all router ports.

"Providing 'Intelligence At The Edge' in Crossroads' suite of products positions our company for continued leadership in the storage routing market," said Rob Sims, president and chief executive officer, Crossroads Systems. "The 6240 with its optimized features for midrange tape libraries extends and complements our current line of Crossroads storage routers."

"With the success we've had in selling Crossroads storage routers, we are excited to add the 6240 into our product portfolio," said Jeff Brandes, vice president of corporate and business development, TidalWire - A Network Engines Company. "Our customers will appreciate Crossroads' track record for delivering quality products with best-in-class performance and interoperability."

Availability

The Crossroads 6240 Storage Router is available immediately for order from Crossroads Systems and will be sold through the company's distribution channel network.

About Crossroads Systems Inc.

With headquarters in Austin, Texas, Crossroads Systems (Nasdaq:CRDS) is a leading global provider of data routing solutions for Storage Area Networks (SANs). Crossroads' solutions serve the growing storage connectivity and data storage markets, and are designed to help companies store, manage and ensure the integrity and availability of their data. Crossroads' products are in solutions from companies such as EMC, HP and StorageTek, and are distributed through partners such as ARROW, Bell Micro, DLT Solutions, Info-X, Promark, and TidalWire. Crossroads is a voting member of the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). For more information about Crossroads Systems, please visit www.crossroads.com or call 800-643-7148.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "plan," "project," "will" and similar phrases as they relate to Crossroads are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the current views and assumptions of Crossroads, and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are the acceptance by our existing customers of any new family of products; the deteriorating economic environment, including, in particular, related expense reductions by organizations affecting their IT spending and budget which could impact sales; the effect of competition; the effect of undetected software or hardware errors, which may affect the company's results or reduce demand for Crossroads' products in the long term; Crossroads' ability to develop new and enhanced products that achieve market acceptance; the continuation of Crossroads' successful relationships with its limited number of OEM customers; Crossroads' inability to protect its intellectual property rights, as well as, other factors detailed in Crossroads' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on 10-Q. Crossroads expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to the information contained in this press release or with respect to any future distribution of its stock by investors, or to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any changes in expectations, or any change in events or circumstances on which those statements are based, unless otherwise required by law.