MediaLogic ADL signs deal with Automated Network Technologies for UNIX HSM software.

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 1, 1995--MediaLogic ADL, (ASE:TST) developer of the industry's premier scalable data library products, Wednesday announced an expansion of software support for its breakthrough line of Scalable Library Architecture (SLA) products through an agreement with Automated Network Technologies.

Englewood, Colo.-based Automated Network Technologies will support the full SLA product line with its leading-edge Hierarchical Storage Management software for UNIX.

"MediaLogic ADL's SLA products are among the first on the market that have the capability to take advantage of the advanced functionality of Metior(a)," said Automated Network Technologies President Hal Abbott.

"Metior is a perfect match for the SLA products because we share a common belief that previous solutions were not suitable for the high-throughput demands of today's UNIX storage environments," said Abbott. "The Metior-SLA combination is unsurpassed in delivering the level of performance, capacity and functionality demanded for UNIX HSM applications."

"The customer commitment doesn't stop with leading-edge hardware technology," said Lee Elizer, president and chief executive officer of MediaLogic ADL.

"MediaLogic ADL is dedicated to working with the top echelon of storage software providers to give ADL customers the option to select the software product which best fits their business needs. Automated Network Technologies provides the type of product excellence and value necessary for effective mass storage library utilization."

Automated Network Technologies' Metior HSM software is based on the IEEE mass storage reference model and is one of the first distributed HSM solutions for UNIX. Metior runs on the most popular UNIX platforms, including Sun OS, Solaris, Silicon Graphics, HP-IX and SCO Unix. Metior also provides client support for any NFS-mountable environment, including NetWare, OS/2, Macintosh and VMS.

Automated Network Technologies' exclusive "three dimensional" hierarchy capability makes it one of the most configuration-flexible of any UNIX HSM software solutions. The three-dimensional feature allows network administrators to create up to seven levels of hierarchical storage, including multiple levels of hierarchy in the same physical medium as in a single tape library.

Files can be designated for migration between levels of the hierarchy based on any attribute desired by the administrator to best meet the requirements of specific groups or departments. Files can also be moved directly from one layer to any other layer in the hierarchy and can be restored to any authorized workstation directly from the tape library with no intervention by the server disk.

The three-dimensional design and distributed architecture of Metior significantly reduces disk thrashing, greatly improving network storage performance.

"Just as no single storage model is the best for every environment, no single set of migration rules or hierarchical design works best for every company," said Abbott. "Metior is the only solution that delivers the flexibility to bring effective HSM to open system computing environments."

The Metior software can drive all twelve tape drives simultaneously in MediaLogic ADL's SLA-8max and SLA-4max libraries, or seven drives in the SLA-D library. In an SLA-8max configuration, for example, the SLA-8 could utilize six drives to back up data from the server, while the other six drives are responding independently to client file restoration requests and/or HSM staging requests.

With Automated Network Technologies, MediaLogic ADL has now added another company in the backup and data management software field, which includes Palindrome Corp. with backup and HSM solutions for NetWare and Workstation Solutions with its UNIX backup products.

The SLA family currently includes three series of automated data libraries: the SLA-4 Series of 4mm DAT systems with capacities of up to 960 gigabytes (with 20, 40, 72 and 120 cartridges) in a 12-drive configuration, the SLA-8 line of 8mm units, offering more than 1.23 terabytes of capacity also in a 12-drive configuration (with 14, 28, 52 and 88 cartridges), and the multi-terabyte high-performance DLT-based SLA-D product family with up to 7 drives (with 7, 14, 26 and 50 cartridges).

The innovative SLA technology gives these libraries an unprecedented level of scalability to create customized solutions to precisely meet specific customer requirements. As more cartridges are added to the libraries through the addition of higher capacity DataPaks, additional tape drives can be added to ensure that data throughput keeps pace.

And each drive includes an integrated media loader, automatically scaling the data handling capabilities of the library as more drives are added to ensure that information stored in the DataPak is made available to users as fast as possible. Quick and easy data interchange is supported via the front panel accessible MixedMedia Interchange Drawer.

The MixedMedia Interchange Drawer can be configured with up to four SCSI devices to exchange information between the MixedMedia devices and the DataPaks.

MediaLogic ADL Inc., with headquarters in Boulder, is a subsidiary of Massachusetts-based Media Logic Inc. MediaLogic ADL is chartered with creating breakthrough technology in the area of innovative automated data library (ADL) solutions.

The design and architecture of the new MediaLogic ADL scalable library products is expected to enhance current applications, enable expanded use of libraries and provide an excellent opportunity for VARs to participate in the profitable emerging market for automated solutions.

Founded in 1982, Media Logic is a leading worldwide supplier of evaluation equipment to both manufacturers and users of flexible computer disks and tape. The company also manufactures and sells AccuCopy industrial disk drives and heads for strenuous environment and high-reliability applications. The company's stock is publicly traded under the symbol TST on the American Stock Exchange. -0-

(a)A trademark or trade name of an entity other than MediaLogic ADL. -0-

CONTACT: MediaLogic ADL, Boulder

Sherry Condry-Evans, 303/939-9780

adlinc(at-sign)aol.com

or

JPR Communications

Judy Smith, 818/343-9474