Emulex and Novell Showcase Lead in Xen Server Virtualization

1 January 1970

CeBIT -- Emulex(r) Corporation (NYSE:ELX), the most trusted name in storage networking connectivity, today announced the industry's first demonstration featuring Linux-based server virtualization combined with industry-standard N-Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) technology in Europe. Emulex has teamed with Novell to showcase the benefits of leveraging its industry-standard NPIV-based LightPulse(r) Virtual HBA technology within a Fibre Channel environment using Xen 3 technology and tools provided by Novell as part of Novell's next SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

Enterprise data centers are increasingly looking to virtual server technology for consolidation, increased resource utilization and management flexibility. The Emulex LightPulse Virtual HBA technology in conjunction with Xen 3, enables each virtual machine or guest operating system to own and access a dedicated World Wide Port Name (WWPN), even when several virtual machines are sharing the same physical host bus adapter. This new capability enables each guest to be managed independently, using SAN best practices for security and configuration management, such as fabric-based zoning and storage Logical Unit (LUN) mapping.

"The Emulex LightPulse Virtual HBA technology is already recognized by the industry and analyst community as a major breakthrough in the deployment of virtual servers in enterprise environments," said Mike Smith, executive vice president of worldwide marketing at Emulex Corp. "Teaming with virtualization leaders, such as Novell, to bring these compelling benefits to the leading-edge world of Open Source helps ensure broad deployment of next generation server and storage solutions."

Leveraging the Emulex LightPulse Virtual HBA technology, provides the first and only server-level implementations of the N-Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) industry standard, which is also supported by the leading fabric switch vendors, including Brocade, Cisco and McDATA. The Emulex NPIV-based Virtual HBA technology is available now as a standard product on IBM's zSeries mainframes, and has been successfully demonstrated by Emulex with Novell, Red Hat and VMware.

"Novell will be the first to offer enterprise open source virtual servers with the Xen 3 capability within our upcoming release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, marking a unique milestone for Linux users," said Holger Dyroff, vice president of Linux product management for Novell. "We are developing a number of unique capabilities for this environment, and we are excited to be partnering with Emulex and others in providing critical enhancements in SAN connectivity and system management."

The CeBIT demonstration showcases SUSE Linux Enterprise Server hosted under a Xen 3 virtualization monitor, enabling deployment of multiple operating systems on a single physical server. The demonstration also features the Emulex generally available 4 Gb/s LP11000 PCI-X 2.0 HBAs and illustrates guest creation, zoning and fabric management scenarios. For more information, visit the SAN/NAS Exchange Pavilion located in Hall 1, Stand C77 booth A1.

Emulex Fibre Channel HBAs -- Generations Ahead

Emulex LightPulse HBAs leverage seven generations of advanced, field-proven technology, providing customers with the highest quality SAN connectivity solutions that the world's leading enterprises have come to rely upon. With a unique firmware upgradeable architecture, common driver model and centralized management tools for simplified installation and deployment, Emulex HBAs are simply "Generations Ahead" of competing solutions. The Emulex suite of Fibre Channel HBAs offers the following industry-leading features and benefits:

-- Superior Quality and Reliability -- Field-proven, single-chip

design with a combination of parity and other advanced error

checking methods to validate the integrity of data blocks.

-- Most Efficient Installation and Management -- Unique tools

designed to automate installation and provide local and remote HBA

configuration and management. The Emulex architecture allows

complete independence of device drivers from HBA hardware and

firmware, which translates into time- and cost-savings by

eliminating the need to reboot during most configuration changes

and providing compatibility across HBA generations.

-- Maximum SAN Performance -- Experience superior full-duplex data

throughput and I/O processing, ideal for real-world application

environments. Dynamic Frame Multiplexing is another exclusive

Emulex feature designed to consistently provide superior

performance in mixed workload environments, such as disk and tape

back-up.

-- Fastest Diagnosis and Recovery -- Ensures fast and efficient SAN

troubleshooting with comprehensive diagnostics, detailed event

logging and tracing.

-- Broadest Enterprise Deployments -- With the largest installed

base of HBAs, Emulex SAN connectivity solutions are trusted by the

world's largest, mission-critical enterprises.

About Emulex

Emulex Corporation is the most trusted name in storage networking connectivity, with solutions spanning host bus adapters, embedded storage switches, I/O controllers and SAN Storage Switches. Emulex ranked number 19 in the Deloitte 2005 Technology Fast 50 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:ELX). Corporate headquarters are located in Costa Mesa, California. News releases and other information about Emulex Corporation are available at http://www.emulex.com.

EMULEX -- We network storage

About Emulex

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: With the exception of historical information, the statements set forth above include forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. The company wishes to caution readers that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include the rapidly changing nature of technology, evolving industry standards and frequent introductions of new products and enhancements by competitors; fluctuation in the growth of Fibre Channel and IP markets; changes in economic conditions or changes in end-user demand for technology solutions; fluctuations or delays in customer orders; the highly competitive nature of the markets for Emulex's products; Emulex's ability to gain market acceptance for its products; the company's ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; the company's reliance on third-party suppliers. These and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are also discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its recent filings on Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q.

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CONTACT: Emulex Corporation

Press Contact:

Robin Austin, Sr. Manager, Public Relations

(714) 885-3462

robin.austin@emulex.com

Source: primezone

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