IP Storage Specifications, iFCP and iSNS, Achieve Standards-Track Status in the Internet Engineering Task Force -- IETF.

Business/Technology Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 26, 2001

More than 20 industry leaders voice support for

protocols designed to bring open systems interoperability

and enhanced functionality to the SAN market

Nishan Systems today announced that two significant IP storage specifications, iSNS and iFCP, have been approved for standards-track status in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Under the auspices of the IETF's IP Storage (IPS) Working Group, Nishan co-authored the iFCP and iSNS specifications, contributed to the iSCSI specification, and submitted another specification, mFCP, for informational status review.

iFCP, iSNS, iSCSI, and mFCP are IP-based storage networking specifications that address the architectural requirements of merging traditional SCSI and Fibre Channel storage with IP networking. Each of these specifications fits within the overall structure of IP storage solutions and can be used together to support an array of IP storage networking applications. An overview of the protocol suite and its architecture is available at the IETF web site:

An Architecture for a Fibre Channel Fabric on an IP Network http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-monia-ips-ifcparch-00.txt

"After more than two years of development, Nishan Systems is pleased to announce this landmark in our company's and industry's history," said Aamer Latif, president and CEO of Nishan Systems. "Bringing IP Storage submissions to standards-track status is the next step in the IP storage revolution we first announced last May to deliver native IP storage networking solutions based on Gigabit Ethernet and IP."

The first of the two standards-track protocols, Internet Storage Name Service (iSNS), provides the generic framework and naming service for storage entity management in an IP-based storage network. Consolidating existing Fibre Channel and DNS mechanisms, iSNS leverages standards-based, distributed directory databases, such as the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). This naming service, which functions with all proposed IP storage protocols, including iSCSI and iFCP, is available for review:

iSNS Internet Storage Name Service

http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-ips-isns-00.txt

Co-authors of the iSNS standards-track specification along with Nishan include Nortel Networks, LightSand Communications, Cisco Systems, IBM Research, and Pirus Networks.

The second standards-track proposal is iFCP. Internet Fibre Channel Protocol (iFCP) links Fibre Channel storage area networks (SANs) and mFCP SANs over any generic TCP/IP network and enables existing FCP mechanisms and infrastructure to be leveraged for IP storage networking. iFCP is deployable in the wide area or public Internet, as well as in private networks. The iFCP standards-track proposal is available for review:

iFCP -- A Protocol for Internet Fibre Channel Storage Networking

http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-ips-ifcp-00.txt

Co-authors of the standards-track iFCP specification along with Nishan include Nortel Networks, Sun Microsystems, Troika Networks, Quantum/ATL, ADIC, and Eurologic.

Draft specifications submitted for IETF consideration are accepted for standards-track status based on technical merit and interest within the working group community to which they have been assigned. iFCP and iSNS protocols now have been added to the standards track for the IPS Working Group.

The IP Storage industry is aligning its standards with broad industry cooperation, with the primary elements of iSCSI, iFCP, and iSNS being considered as contributing specifications to further the standards-base of IP storage implementations. Nishan's recently released IP Storage switches are fully standards-compliant, with the complete solution of Storage over IP(TM) (SoIP(TM)) technology supporting iSCSI, mFCP, iFCP, and iSNS. Nishan and its partners will continue to be active in setting IP Storage standards and industry directions, including those occurring within the IETF, SNIA, ANSI, and other bodies.

More than 20 leading computer, storage software, and data networking vendors have voiced their support for Nishan's IP Storage standards efforts, including industry giants Dell, EMC, IBM, Nortel Networks, and VERITAS. Other storage industry leaders, including ATL, ADIC, BakBone Software, BMC, Chaparral, DataCore, Emulex, Eurologic, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, JNI, Legato, QLogic, Quantum, Seek Systems, Spectra Logic, StorageNetworks, Sun Microsystems, XIOtech, and others, have also voiced their support of Nishan's efforts in the IP Storage specifications arena.

About Nishan Systems

Nishan Systems, the world's first supplier of native IP storage solutions, builds storage networking products based on IP and Ethernet, the worldwide networking standards. Long-thought impossible, Storage over IP (SoIP(TM)) is a broad-based revolution, led by Nishan, to use the ubiquitous Internet Protocol (IP) and Gigabit Ethernet to rapidly transfer large blocks of data between servers and storage devices. The highly reliable and manageable SoIP SAN fabric extends seamlessly from the data center to the metro area and beyond. And perhaps most significant, Nishan's SoIP products are fully compatible with the millions of LAN, MAN, and WAN routers and switches already installed and mastered by IT professionals.

Nishan Systems, a full voting member of the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), is based in San Jose, California, and can be reached at www.NishanSystems.com, and at 408-519-3700.

Note to Editors: Nishan Systems, Storage over IP, SoIP, IP Storage Fabric, Blended Fabric, OmniLoop, and all product names are trademarks of Nishan Systems, Inc.

Other company product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.