Cygnet and Smart Storage Team Up to Support DVD; Smart Storage Offers Full DVD-RAM Support In Cygnet's InfiniDISC Jukebox.

Business Editors/High-tech Writers

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 21, 2000

Cygnet Storage Solutions, Inc. and Smart Storage Inc, both privately held companies, announce the compatibility of Cygnet's InfiniDISC DVD/CD Jukebox product line with Smart Storage's SmartStor Archive v. 3.1 for Windows NT software.

SmartStor now manages InfiniDISC's disc handling, drive integration, and robotic control to erasable DVD-RAM media, while also utilizing a standards-based UDF file system that conforms to the recently released Windows 2000.

UDF file system and SmartStor allow a user to write, read and erase data on DVD-RAM similar to hard disk. Additionally, once the media is written, it can be removed and read on any computer system running Windows 2000.

"SmartStor Archive is a perfect complement to InfiniDISC. The combination provides connectivity to the network's server and takes advantage of all of the benefits of CD and DVD technology along with the high-capacity of over 2 TB," adds Wayne Augsburger, Cygnet's V.P. of Sales and Marketing.

Gary Brach, president of Smart Storage says, "With SmartStor Archive v3.1, a customer can eliminate any concerns of compatibility with Cygnet's InfiniDISC Jukeboxes while maintaining a common file system interface. All of the guess work has been removed from the equation."

SmartStor Archive is a complete read/write software solution for vertical storage application such as imaging, digital asset management, and CAD as well as generalized data storage. InfiniDISC Jukebox can be accessed as a single drive-letter or mount point, so Windows (3.x, 95, 98, and NT), UNIX, and Macintosh clients can archive and retrieve data from the same network location. SmartStor Archive also supports multiple industry standard file formats (ISO 9660, Joliet, Rockridge, Apple HFS, UDF, and NTFS) for optical media to provide universal accessibility.

InfiniDISC pricing starts at $11,795.00US for a 250-disc and 2 CD-ROM drive configuration and is sold by authorized Cygnet Resellers. For the added convenience, Cygnet also offers SmartStor Archive along with its InfiniDISC DVD/CD Jukebox product lines through their resellers. All InfiniDISC hardware products, offered by Cygnet, come with an on-site service contract as well as product warranty.

Cygnet welcomes resellers, who are interested in becoming part of their Team, to contact [e-mail]. Cygnet also encourages software vendors to find out more about the InfiniPartner Program by contacting [e-mail].

Cygnet Storage Solutions, Inc.

Cygnet Storage Solutions, an ISO9001 certified manufacturer, is a provider of an increasingly wide array of CD/DVD storage and automated recording solutions. Cygnet, the first to have integrated DVD-RAM technology into its jukeboxes, has installed its InfiniDISC, InfiniDVD and DVD100 into key applications and has been instrumental in ushering DVD-RAM storage and archival solutions into the storage industry mainstream.

Its diverse and popular product line includes CD and DVD jukeboxes, CD auto-loading duplicators, towers, network attached storage devices and network servers. Cygnet is headquartered in Milpitas, California.

For more information about Cygnet, call +1 800-7CYGNET for North and South America, email us at [e-mail] or visit www.cygnet.com.

For press contact, please email us at [e-mail].

Smart Storage Inc.

Smart Storage's family of Windows NT, NetWare, and UNIX products enable companies to cost effectively increase the availability of information to their employees and customers by utilizing LANs and SANs; and storage devices such as hard disk, RAID, and CD/DVD and optical libraries. With its corporate headquarters in Andover, MA, and additional offices in Tokyo, Japan and Cologne, Germany, Smart Storage markets its complete line of SmartStor products through partnerships with distributors, VARs, system integrators, and OEMs.

For product, sales, and support information, contact Smart Storage in the U.S. by phone at 888/479-0100; E-mail at [e-mail]; or visit the Web site at www.smartstorage.com. For international inquiries, please contact Smart Storage's offices in Germany by phone at 49-221-272-910 and Japan by phone at 03-5798-2305.

Any statements released above that are forward looking are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company's business and prospects, including economic, competitive, government, technological and other factors discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Note to Editors: All company and/or product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.