McDATA Enhances SAN LPARs on i10K.

Open System & FICON LPARs in the Same Chassis for Greater Cost Consolidation

BROOMFIELD, Colo. -- McDATA Corporation (Nasdaq: MCDTA) (Nasdaq: MCDT), a leading provider of data access solutions, today announced that the McDATA Intrepid([R]) 10000's (i10K) SAN LPARs now support mixed Open Systems and FICON LPARs with CUP management. McDATA is the only vendor with a director designed to provide hardware firewalled fabric segmentation (with exclusive SAN Logical Partitions (LPARs) and standards-based Open VSANs). The i10K's SAN LPARs -- independent logical directors within a single physical i10K chassis -- now support a mixture of FICON and Open Systems partitions. Customers can manage the FICON partition with FICON management servers (CUP) enabled on the FICON SAN LPAR. This delivers the most complete and flexible set of tools to help storage administrators integrate, segment, isolate and manage their storage fabrics.

"SAN LPARs are ideal for larger clients with mainframe and open systems applications that require the highest levels of hardware fault isolation and security," said Raj Das, vice president of product marketing, McDATA. "SAN LPARs help contain costs and save space in the data center by allowing the administrator to create multiple, separate SANs within a single director chassis. Our improved support for mixed open systems and FICON segments means that customers can realize even greater consolidation cost savings. Additionally, for McDATA, mixed application partitioning represents another milestone in our history of technology and Fibre Channel & FICON leadership."

FICON SAN LPARs allow for complete error and management isolation. The FICON SAN LPAR can now be managed with FICON CUP, which will operate only within the partition in which the FICON connectivity resides. Fabrics that require deterministic pathing, like mainframe fabrics, cannot rely on VSANs alone to provide the necessary isolation required. Only a combination of SAN LPARs and Open VSANs will suffice for these fabrics.

The i10K's combination of SAN LPARs and Open VSANs allows for mainframe deployments to more securely co-exist with open systems fabrics in support of cost cutting consolidation efforts. Storage administrators can use Open VSANs to isolate smaller applications, lines of business or departments into their own segment of the fabric, improving capacity planning/expansion and problem isolation in fibre channel environments, while using the mainframe tool set in a separate hardware firewalled FICON SAN LPAR.

FICON CUP for the i10K will be available through channel partners in January. Existing McDATA i10K customers with maintenance contracts will be entitled to a free software upgrade. All new i10K orders will automatically include this new capability at no additional charge.

About McDATA (www.mcdata.com)

McDATA (Nasdaq: MCDTA) (Nasdaq: MCDT) is the leading provider of data access solutions, helping customers build, globally connect, optimize and centrally manage data infrastructures across SAN, MAN and WAN environments. With nearly 25 years experience developing SAN products, services and solutions, McDATA is the trusted partner in the world's largest data centers, connecting more than two-thirds of all networked data.

Forward-Looking Statements 

This press release contains statements about expected future events that are forward-looking and subject to risks and uncertainties. Readers are urged to consider statements that include the terms "believes," "belief," "expects," "plans," "objectives," "estimates," "anticipates," "intends," "targets," or the like to be uncertain and forward-looking. Factors that could cause actual results to differ and vary materially from expectations include, but are not limited to, McDATA's relationships with EMC, IBM and Hitachi Data Systems and the level of their orders, aggressive price competition by numerous other SAN and IP switch suppliers, OEM qualification of our new products - such as the Intrepid 10000 Director, integration of CNT's sales and marketing functions, manufacturing constraints, constraints in obtaining third party product for resale and other risk factors that are disclosed in McDATA's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These cautionary statements by McDATA should not be construed as exhaustive or as any admission regarding the adequacy of disclosures made by McDATA. All cautionary statements should be read as being applicable to all forward-looking statements wherever they appear. McDATA does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.