Converged Networking in the Data Center Gets a Boost From BLADE Network Technologies and Emulex

* Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.

Thu Aug 27, 2009 6:00am EDT

  SANTA CLARA, CA and COSTA MESA, CA, Aug 27 (MARKET
WIRE) -- 
BLADE Network Technologies Inc. (BLADE), the trusted leader in data
center networking, and Emulex Corporation (NYSE: ELX) announced that the
two companies are kicking off a global co-marketing campaign at VMworld
to accelerate the adoption of converged networking in the data center.

    BLADE and Emulex will develop solution marketing initiatives and conduct
joint business development activities to showcase the advantages of BLADE
and Emulex solutions for converged networks that utilize next-generation
data center technologies, including 10 Gigabit Ethernet, virtual port
switching, iSCSI and FCoE. Next week at VMworld, BLADE and Emulex will
launch the campaign with a demonstration of the industry's first
convergence-ready Virtual Fabric for IBM BladeCenter in IBM's booth #1624.
BLADE will also have a presence at Emulex's booth #1937.

    In Europe, the two companies will launch their co-marketing campaign at
Storage Networking World Europe from October 27-28 in Frankfurt, Germany.
The global campaign will leverage Emulex's Convergenomics(TM) - The Guide
to Network Convergence Solutions, which is a comprehensive introduction
to network convergence, and BLADE's approach to Rackonomics, which
defines a new set of rules for the data center to enable the lowest total
cost of ownership of essential datacenter network infrastructure.

    "Emulex and BLADE are working together to bring our shared vision of
converged networking for the data center to customers and channel partners
worldwide," said Steve Daheb, chief marketing officer and senior vice
president of business development, Emulex. "At VMworld, Emulex and BLADE
are demonstrating an industry-first solution for true network convergence.
Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapters for IBM BladeCenter are based on our
OneConnect(TM) Universal Converged Network Adapter (UCNA) architecture and
work seamlessly with BLADE's convergence-ready switches to provide an
ideal solution for IBM BladeCenter customers seeking to lower capital
expenditures, maximize blade consolidation and deploy highly virtualized
environments."

    "BLADE and Emulex are ideal partners in a shared endeavor to ensure that
data center networks can keep pace with the I/O-intensive demands of
virtualization and network convergence," said Tim Shaughnessy, vice
president of Marketing, BLADE Network Technologies. "At VMworld, we are
pleased to collaborate with Emulex to demonstrate the IBM BladeCenter
Virtual Fabric in promoting how this advanced solution delivers flexible
10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and converged networking using iSCSI or
FCoE along with BLADE's VMready to enable agile workloads that span
1,000s of virtual switch ports."

    About the BLADE-Emulex Converged Networking Solution for IBM BladeCenter

    The combination of Emulex's Virtual Fabric Adapter CFFh based on its
OneConnect UCNA architecture and BLADE's convergence-ready BNT 10-port 10G
Ethernet Switch Module for IBM BladeCenter HS22 blade servers provides an
end-to-end converged networking solution in highly virtualized blade
server environments using VMware. This IBM BladeCenter Virtual Fabric
provides the flexibility of 100Mb-to-10Gb Ethernet connectivity, virtual
port switching and converged networking with iSCSI or FCoE. Using BLADE's
SmartConnect with VMready software on BLADE switches in virtualized data
centers with 1,000s of virtual ports, the solution enables network
policies to move along with Virtual Machines to maintain application
performance, availability and security.

    Unlike the physical port switching employed by conventional switch
fabrics, the Emulex-BLADE offering provides a virtual fabric for IBM
BladeCenter that can be configured with two to eight virtual NICs (vNICs)
from a physical adapter. Each vNIC and blade switch can be configured for
any bandwidth between 100Mb and 10Gb in increments of 100Mb. The Emulex
Virtual Fabric Adapter functionality can be further enhanced with license
upgrades to next-generation Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) or
hardware iSCSI, and BLADE 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches support iSCSI and
can be upgraded to FCoE, allowing a common I/O infrastructure to support
diverse application requirements within the data center.

    "One of the challenges customers face today is that they have too many
devices in their datacenters that need to be managed," said Alex Yost,
vice president, IBM Systems & Technology Group. "The Virtual Fabric
solution for IBM BladeCenter developed in partnership with Emulex and
BLADE Network Technologies allows customers to significantly reduce the
number of adapters, switches and cabling by offering up to eight virtual
adapters with the flexibility to work at any bandwidth from 100Mb to
10Gb."


-- View product demonstration video at: http://www.youtube.com/EmulexVideo
-- More information about Emulex OneConnect UCNAs at:
  
http://www.emulex.com/products/strategic-direction/oneconnect-universal-cna.html
-- Emulex connectivity solutions for IBM at: http://www.emulex-ibm.com
-- BLADE networking solutions for IBM BladeCenter at:
   http://www.bladenetwork.net/ibm-bladecenter-1.html
-- Follow BLADE on:
   -- Twitter: http://twitter.com/BLADENetwork
   -- Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BLADE-Network-Technologies/107162475618
   -- YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bladenetwork
-- Follow Emulex on:
   -- Twitter: http://twitter.com/Emulex
   -- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Emulex-Corporation/116933412473
   -- YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/EmulexVideo

    
About Emulex

    Emulex is the leader in converged networking solutions for the data
center. Our Connectivity Continuum architecture provides intelligent
networking services that transition today's infrastructure into
tomorrow's unified network ecosystem. Emulex provides a single framework
that intelligently connects every server, network and storage device
within the data center. Through strategic collaboration and integrated
partner solutions, Emulex provides its customers with industry leading
business value, operational flexibility and strategic advantage. Emulex
is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ELX) and has corporate
headquarters in Costa Mesa, California. News releases and other
information about Emulex Corporation are available at www.emulex.com.

    About BLADE Network Technologies

    BLADE Network Technologies (BLADE) is the leading provider of Gigabit and
10G Ethernet cloud-ready networking solutions for dynamic, enterprise
data centers worldwide. In addition to its innovative OEM blade switches,
and SmartConnect with VMready virtualization and BLADEHarmony Manager
software, BLADE's "Virtual, Cooler, Easier" RackSwitch family enables
"Rackonomics" -- an efficient approach for scaling out data center
networks to drive down total cost of ownership. BLADE's customers include
more than 300 of the Fortune 500 across 26 industry segments, for an
installed base representing over 6 million switch ports connecting over
1,350,000 servers and storage systems. Visit: www.bladenetwork.net.
Twitter: @BLADENetwork.

    Emulex Safe Harbor Statement

    "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. These forward-looking statements include, among other
things, statements regarding future events and future performance. Emulex
wishes to caution readers that a number of significant factors could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements. Those factors include changes in economic and industry
conditions and the effects of ongoing global economic uncertainty, changes
in end user demand for technology solutions; the effect of any actual or
potential unsolicited offers to acquire Emulex; Emulex's dependence on a
limited number of customers and the effects of the loss of, or decrease or
delays in orders by, any such customers, or the failure of such customers
to make payments; the rapidly changing nature of technology, evolving
industry standards and frequent introductions of new products and
enhancements by competitors; the effect of rapid migration of customers
towards newer, lower cost product platforms; slower than expected growth
of the storage networking market or the failure of Emulex's Original
Equipment Manufacturer ("OEM") customers to successfully incorporate
Emulex products into their systems; delays in product development; the
highly competitive nature of the markets for Emulex's products; Emulex's
ability to gain market acceptance for its products; any inadequacy of
Emulex's intellectual property protection or the potential for
third-party claims of infringement; Emulex's ability to attract and
retain skilled personnel; and the Emulex'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 Emulex's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including its recent filings on Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q.
Statements in this release are based on current expectations and Emulex
undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking
statements for any reason. All trademarks, trade names, service marks,
and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies.

    

CONTACTS:
Maxine Bingham
BLADE Network Technologies
(408) 806-5028
Email Contact

Zee Zaballos
ZNA Communications
(831) 425-1581 x201
Email Contact

Katherine Lane
Emulex
(714) 885-3828
Email Contact

Copyright 2009, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

-0-
Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.