SNIA to Demonstrate Progress in Open Storage Management; Nineteen Vendors Participate in Storage Networking World CIM-SAN Demonstration.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

Storage Networking World Fall 2002

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2002

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), an international organization dedicated to delivering storage networking architectures, education, and solutions for the IT community, will demonstrate vendor progress toward developing products that will simplify multi-vendor storage network management at the Storage Networking World conference in Orlando, Fla. Oct. 27-30.

As part of the SNW Interoperability and Solutions Demo SNIA member companies will showcase a multi-vendor Storage Area Network (SAN) managed using a common interoperable interface for SANs being constructed by the SNIA. The demonstration, called "CIM-SAN," leverages technology pioneered by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF)'s called the Common Information Model (CIM) and Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM). For a complete press kit on "CIM-SAN": www.snia.org/tech_activities/smi/cimsan.

The "CIM-SAN" configuration is comprised disk arrays, tape libraries, switches, host bus adapters, routers, NAS appliances, virtualizers, and storage management software. All total, thirty-two products, from nineteen vendors have established over 93 points of interoperability in CIM-SAN-1. Functionality that will be demonstrated includes zone management, volume management, LUN masking/mapping, asset management, and status monitoring using clients and servers.

"The seamless interoperability of multiple vendor products is essential in providing storage networks that are easy to manage," said Sheila Childs, chair of the SNIA Board of Directors. "It is through the relentless hard work and unfaltering support of our participating member companies in the CIM-SAN demonstration, that the SNIA Storage Management Initiative has now moved ever closer to its goal of managing storage networks through a highly functional, secure, extensible and interoperable interface."

"SNIA has the industry support and necessary expertise to drive the Storage Management Initiative to completion as it represents the vendors in the industry and actively solicits feedback from users through its various customer advisory councils," said John Webster, founder of the Data Mobility Group.

Companies showcasing products and prototypes in the CIM-SAN demonstration include: AppIQ, BMC Software (NYSE:BMC), Brocade (Nasdaq:BRCD), Computer Associates (NYSE:CA), Crossroads Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CRDS), EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC), Hitachi Data Systems, HP (NYSE:HPQ), IBM Corporation (NYSE:IBM), INRANGE Technologies (Nasdaq:INRG); InterSAN Inc., LSI Logic Storage Systems (NYSE:LSI), McDATA Corporation (Nasdaq:MCDTA/MCDT), Network Appliance (Nasdaq:NTAP) Prisa Networks, QLogic (Nasdaq:QLGC), Quantum Corporation (NYSE:DSS), Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq:SUNW), and VERITAS Software (Nasdaq:VRTS).

A sufficient set of open source tools and infrastructure components are now available that will allow a critical mass of vendors to efficiently implement CIM/WBEM technology in products. Many of the companies participating in the CIM-SAN demonstration are planning to ship CIM/WBEM-enabled products later this quarter and early next year. Senior executives of SNIA member companies will also participate in a panel at the SNW conference titled "CIM-SAN: The Future of Interoperability," moderated by industry analyst Nancy Marrone of the Enterprise Storage Group.

"CIGNA wants end-to-end storage resource management and interoperability. Standards are what allow that to happen and we expect CIM and the Storage Management Initiative Specification to contribute to the solution," said Bruce Hall, storage administrator, CIGNA.

The CIM-SAN configuration was constructed and tested in the state-of-the-art labs of the SNIA Technology Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. SNIA's Disk Resource Management, Fibre Channel, Storage Media Library, Network Attached Storage, and Policy Technical Work Groups have been developing CIM/WBEM technology since 1998. In July 2002, SNIA formalized its storage management efforts under the Storage Management Initiative to unify marketing, educational and technical activities related to storage network management.

"Both CIM and WBEM have been greatly improved by the input of the SNIA technical work groups," said Andrea Westerinen, VP of Technology of the DMTF and Manager of Information Modeling at Cisco Systems. "With SNIA's interoperability activities, implementation experience and technical input, we have made significant progress in using the CIM/WBEM standards to unify the management of systems, networks, applications, and other aspects of the Intra/Internet environment."

For a complete press kit on CIM-SAN, please visit http://www.snia.org/tech_activities/SMI/CIMSAN.

About the SNIA

The Storage Networking Industry Association is a not-for-profit organization made up of more than 300 companies and individuals worldwide spanning virtually the entire storage industry. SNIA members share a common goal: to set the pace of the industry by ensuring that storage networks become efficient, complete and trusted solutions across the IT community. To this end, the SNIA is uniquely committed to delivering standards, education and services that will propel open storage networking solutions into the broader market. For information, contact the SNIA at 650/949-6720 or via e-mail at [e-mail], or visit the SNIA Web site at http://www.snia.org.

About the DMTF

Distributed Management Task Force, Inc. (DMTF) is the industry organization that is leading the development, adoption, and interoperability of management standards and initiatives for desktop, enterprise, and Internet environments. DMTF is chartered to adopt, create, and maintain the specifications and technologies that provide management tools with the ability to discover, deploy, and control management data in a standard way. Working with key technology vendors and affiliated standards groups, DMTF is enabling a more integrated, cost-effective, and less crisis-driven approach to management. Companies interested in joining the DMTF should call 503/225-0725 or visit the DMTF Web site at www.dmtf.org.

Editorial Addendum

Industry Participants

AppIQ

"CIM-SAN brings vendors together in the spirit of cooperation to fine tune interoperability solutions for end users. Through its CIMIQ Partner Program, AppIQ has been instrumental in broadening the range of CIM-enabled products being demonstrated in CIM-SAN. AppIQ will continue to support the SNIA in its efforts to bring true interoperability to the customer."

-- Jim Geronaitis, director of Marketing, AppIQ

BMC Software

"BMC Software is proud to be an original member of the DMTF and is committed to the goal of bringing interoperable storage infrastructures to the marketplace. Storage networks continue to grow in complexity and are becoming more challenging for administrators to manage. CIM-SAN-1 is definitely a step in the direction of interoperability and BMC Software looks forward to contributing to its progress."

-- Helmuth Klemm, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Storage Management, BMC Software.

Brocade

"Brocade's participation in the CIM-SAN demo demonstrates the company's continued dedication to moving the industry toward interoperable storage management through the adoption of standards. Brocade has played a major role in the formation of industry standards by contributing and authoring technology included in CIM and Bluefin. CIM-SAN represents a significant step in making it easier to develop storage applications and manage storage resources, and will play a critical role in demonstrating the benefits of end-to-end SAN interoperability and manageability in SANs."

-- Tony DiCenzo, Brocade director of Industry Marketing, SNIA Board of Directors member

Crossroads Systems

"Crossroads participation in the CIM-SAN demonstration at SNW underscores our track record of commitment to multi-vendor interoperability and the enablement of policy-based storage management. Crossroads contributed to the SNIA demo by providing a management aggregation point for SCSI tape libraries and other storage devices that would otherwise not be accessible by most client management applications."

-- Bob Griswold, chief technologist and director of Marketing, Crossroads Systems

EMC Corporation

"The industry mega trend of automated networked storage will be accelerated by today's CIM-SAN 1 demonstration. EMC's commitment to standards such as CIM/Bluefin -- which sit along with middleware within our core strategy for making heterogeneous storage management simple, automated and open -- is nothing short of 100%. The CIM-SAN 1 demonstration highlights clear progress toward the widespread availability of CIM/Bluefin-compliant hardware and software, and delivered through storage management middleware, beginning next year. In the end, both customers and vendors will benefit through the accelerated and cost-effective delivery of heterogeneous storage management functions."

-- Don Swatik, vice president, Solutions Group, EMC Corporation

HP

"HP is pleased to commit its substantial resources and network storage expertise to the success of today's CIM-SAN-1 demonstration. This effort represents an important step in showcasing the industry's progress toward interoperable, open environments for storage management. Customers can count on HP to continue driving adoption of storage networking standards, and to deliver products that simplify management of their multi-vendor environments."

-- Mark Sorenson, vice president, Storage Software Division, HP Network Storage Solutions

Hitachi Data Systems

"Hitachi Data Systems has worked closely with SNIA from its inception and is proud to participate in the CIM-SAN demonstration. The CIM-SAN demonstration is a milestone in making true interoperability a reality. Hitachi Data Systems has consistently illustrated our belief that open storage management standards play a critical role in providing enterprises with lower total cost of ownership and the freedom to select best-of-breed products. We understand that as heterogeneous storage networks grow, management and interoperability become customers' number one priority."

-- Steve East, vice president, Storage Integration, Hitachi Data Systems

IBM

"The CIM-SAN demonstration is a significant milestone in the progress toward achieving simplified storage management in a multi-vendor storage area networks using CIM WBEM technologies. IBM is a strong proponent for industry standards and is working with industry bodies, such as SNIA, and other storage vendors to develop open standards. The goal, of course, is to address our customer's needs to more easily and efficiently manage heterogeneous environments."

-- Brian Truskowski, Chief Technology Officer, IBM Storage Systems Group

"The CIM-SAN demonstration is a significant milestone in the progress toward achieving simplified storage management in a multi-vendor storage area networks using the Bluefin standard. IBM is a strong proponent for industry standards and is working with industry bodies, such as SNIA, and other storage vendors to develop open standards. The goal, of course, is to address our customer's needs to more easily and efficiently manage heterogeneous environments."

-- Brian Truskowski, chief technology officer, IBM Storage Systems Group

INRANGE Technologies

"INRANGE recognizes the importance of developing and promoting multi-vendor interoperability in order for enterprise customers to realize the benefit of open storage management and "best-of-breed" technology solutions. Through our involvement in the CIM-SAN-1 demo, INRANGE has illustrated its commitment to interoperability and to furthering the adoption of industry standards. INRANGE has helped to further the CIM/WBEM initiative by supporting the emerging SMI specifications endorsed by SNIA, by participating in plug-fests and interoperability testing, and by facilitating the coexistence and transition from API-based management approaches."

-- Dale A. Lafferty, vice president, marketing and alliances, INRANGE

InterSAN Inc.

"CIM will facilitate a common understanding of management information across multi-vendor SAN components and management systems -- which is of significant value to both vendors and customers. Effective CIM implementations will accelerate the availability of advanced storage area management automation that manages quality of service while lowering total cost of ownership. InterSAN is delighted to have this opportunity to partner with the industry's leading SAN vendors in demonstrating the first CIM managed, multivendor SAN."

-- Karen Dutch, vice president of marketing, InterSAN Inc.

LSI Logic Storage Systems

"LSI Logic Storage Systems is proud to once again be at the forefront of the implementation of a new storage industry standard. The demonstration of our new CIM Provider in concert with products from other SNIA members shows end users how simplified SAN management will increase their storage ROI."

-- Flavio Santoni, vice president of sales and marketing, LSI Logic Storage Systems

McDATA Corporation

"McDATA's is committed to delivering customers an open, standards-based storage network management platform, which is a key component in the migration to an intelligent storage infrastructure. As a leader in implementing a CIM-based architecture, McDATA is continuing to work with CIM provider companies to provide more robust CIM support within our application."

-- Robert Wright, McDATA vice president and SANavigator Inc. general manager

Network Appliance

"As storage volumes expand exponentially, storage management is now a paramount IT concern, and the CIM-SAN technology is a light at the end of the tunnel for many IT administrators. Our close collaboration with storage industry peers to bring the CIM-SAN-1 demonstration to the public illustrates Network Appliance's ongoing commitment to pointedly addressing our customers' needs for a simplified storage infrastructure. The benefits of having network storage solutions equipped with the latest standards, performance levels, and feature sets will magnify the value of vendors' solutions and increase customers' return on investments."

-- Mark Santora, senior vice president of Marketing, Network Appliance

QLogic Corporation

"QLogic is a founding developer of the CIM/WBEM and Bluefin standards to simplify multi-vendor storage networks. Our current products are CIM/WBEM-ready and Bluefin is a critical part of our development plans. Within the next year we look forward to delivering SAN infrastructure products that offer increased interoperability and functionality."

-- Frank Berry, vice president of marketing, QLogic Corp.

Sun Microsystems

"Customers are demanding storage management solutions that are simple, integrated and can lower their total cost of ownership. In order for customers to see the full potential that open standards promise to bring to the storage market, all storage vendors must work together to develop and deliver products that comply with industry-developed standards."

-- James Staten, director of software marketing for Network Storage, Sun Microsystems

VERITAS Software

"VERITAS Software supports industry standards and views CIM-SAN 1 as a proof point toward reducing storage complexity. We recognize the importance of these standards in creating open, interoperable storage solutions as reflected in our vision for VERITAS products."

-- Robin Purohit, vice president, Product Management, VERITAS Software