Computerworld Storage Networking World

FCIA Showcases Fibre Channel Technology Leadership at Storage Networking World 2008

Industry Leading Companies Collaborate on 8GFC and Fibre Channel over Ethernet Demonstrations

ORLANDO, (Storage Networking World) April 7, 2008 – The Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA) today announced that it will exhibit enterprise Fibre Channel solutions in two technology demonstrations for 8GFC (Gigabit Fibre Channel) and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE). Each demonstration will showcase real-world applications that demand performance and speed. The demonstrations will take place in booth #407 at Storage Networking World (SNW), April 7-11, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Florida.

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Intel and LSI Collaborate to Redefine Raid Deployment on Intel-Based Server and Workstation Platforms

Advanced data protection solution poised to increase RAID adoption by businesses of all sizes

STORAGE NETWORKING WORLD, Orlando, Fla., April 7, 2008 – Intel Corporation and LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) today announced a strategic multi-generation agreement to redefine how advanced RAID data protection is deployed on future Intel® Xeon-based server and workstation platforms. This technical collaboration brings together Intel’s next-generation RAID technology, codenamed “Treemont,” and industry-proven LSI MegaRAID® software to deliver a new level of RAID value. The solution offers the full benefits of advanced data protection to business-critical data that resides on Intel server and workstation platform solutions.

Treemont technology is an open architecture built on a foundation of Intel strengths, such as multi-core technology, virtualization, advanced RAID processing and storage interfaces. This new architecture is designed to optimize data protection and performance, while making advanced RAID solutions widely accessible to businesses of all sizes.

LSI MegaRAID software provides robust data protection and availability, fault prevention and recovery for business critical data. Utilizing the features of the Treemont architecture, MegaRAID capabilities will be available to a broader range of Intel server and workstation solutions.

“As a leading supplier to the RAID market, Intel has been at the forefront in bringing reliable data storage and availability to server and workstation platforms,” said Diane Bryant, vice president of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group and general manager of Intel’s Server Platforms Group. “Intel continues to set the pace of innovation and drive technology transitions with its next-generation RAID technology. With this collaboration we are redefining how advanced data protection will be deployed on Intel Xeon server and workstation platforms.”

“With MegaRAID being the preferred solution for Treemont technology, LSI is well positioned to deliver the trusted protection and reliability of this proven software across an even broader range of platforms,” said Phil Bullinger, executive vice president, Engenio Storage Group, LSI. “By working closely with Intel, OEMs and system builders will now have greater platform options to choose from to meet customers' performance and data protection requirements.”

Intel and LSI have collaborated since 1999 to deliver advanced RAID solutions based on Intel® I/O Processors (Intel® IOP) and industry-proven LSI MegaRAID technology to leading OEMs and system builders in addition to delivering a wide range of SAS/SATA RAID products to Intel’s worldwide channel network.

About Intel
Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

About LSI
LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) is a leading provider of innovative silicon, systems and software technologies that enable products, which seamlessly bring people, information and digital content together. The company offers a broad portfolio of capabilities and services including custom and standard product ICs, adapters, systems and software that are trusted by the world's best known brands to power leading solutions in the Storage and Networking markets. More information is available at www.lsi.com.

Contacts:
Samantha Saephan
Burson-Marsteller for Intel
Office: 415-591-4023
Mobile: 510-917-5564
samantha.saephan at bm dot com

Jay Russo
LVA Communications for LSI
Office: 860-739-5598
jay at lva dot com

SNIA Data Management Forum Takes On Long-Term Information Retention and Preservation Standard

Long-Term Digital Information Retention & Preservation Working Group Formed to Address Demand for Standards and Best Practices

ORLANDO, Fla. (April 7, 2008) – Building on the results of the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) Data Management Forum’s (DMF) 100 Year Archive Requirements Survey the Association has taken several steps to help storage and information managing professionals improve their long-term information retention and preservation practices. At the forefront of these efforts is the formation of a Long-Term Digital Information Retention and Preservation Technical Working Group (LT-DIRP TWG) aimed at defining a new logical format standard and best practices for information preservation and migration.

“The results of the requirements study clearly found that there is a critical need for well-defined practices and standards associated with the long-term retention and preservation of an organization’s important information,” said Gary Zasman, Chair, DMF Long-Term Archive and Compliance Storage Initiative. “With more than 70 percent of respondents saying they are 'highly dissatisfied' with their ability to assure that they will be able to read and interpret their retained information in 50 years, there is a critical need for standards to assist users in retaining and preserving information for the future of their organizations. The requirements to keep information long term exist in many governmental regulations and organizational practices, but the existing technologies to support those requirements are costly and complex.”

As a result of these key findings, the SNIA DMF has spearheaded the creation of the LT-DIRP TWG and defined its principle objectives. The LT-DIRP TWG will be focused on the two top technical challenges of long-term digital information retention and preservation, enabling physical and logical preservation and migration. To achieve these objectives the LT-DIRP TWG will work to develop a new application-centric standard called a Self-Describing Self-Contained Data Format (SD-SCDF). This standard will define a ‘preservation-oriented’ logical container consisting of the content (the data) and associated preservation metadata, including reference information, integrity and authenticity controls, audit records and potentially event readers.
The SD-SCDF standard will be designed for implementation directly by application developers or in conjunction with the SNIA standard application to storage interface, the eXtensible Access Method (XAM). XAM’s ability to store information independent of the application that created it, and SD-SCDF’s ability to define the information being stored, enhances the ability for information to be properly and securely preserved and interpreted long into the future.

Membership in this newly formed LT-DIRP TWG is open to all SNIA member companies. To learn how to get involved visit www.snia.org/apps/org/workgroup/lttwg. To download a copy of the complete 100 Year Archive requirements survey report go to www.snia-dmf.org/100year.

About the SNIA Data Management Forum
The SNIA Data Management Forum is a cooperative initiative of IT professionals, vendors, integrators, and service providers working together to conduct market education, develop best practices and promote standardization activities that help organizations become information-centric enterprises. Areas of focus include the technologies and services that support information lifecycle management, data protection, information security, and long-term digital information retention and preservation. For more information, visit www.snia-dmf.org.

About the SNIA
The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is a not-for-profit global organization, made up of some 400 member companies and 7,000 individuals spanning virtually the entire storage industry. SNIA’s mission is to lead the storage industry worldwide in developing and promoting standards, technologies, and educational services to empower organizations in the management of information. 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 additional information, visit the SNIA web site at www.snia.org.

Contact:
Dan La Russo
Ogilvy Public Relations for the SNIA
Phone: (303) 634-2632
Cell: (720) 840-8254
dan.larusso at ogilvypr dot com

SNIA XAM Specification Boosted By Software Development Efforts; Nears Public Release

XAM Specification Version 1.0 On-Track; Demonstrations Showcased at Spring SNW and Software Developer Kit Receives Key Donations

ORLANDO, Fla. (April 7, 2008) – The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) announced today that the eXtensible Access Method (XAM) specification and Software Development Kit (SDK) are on-track for mid-2008 public availability and are driving software collaboration across the industry enabling the development of a single standard. XAM provides a framework for standards-based information independence for applications and storage systems. As such, XAM will deliver storage transparency to end users, along with the ability to assure information immutability to meet long-term digital information retention requirements.

The XAM Initiative and associated specification development efforts continue to progress and build momentum. Fifty companies, which include storage vendors, application developers and academia, are participating in the initiative and its two associated Technical Work Groups. The XAM specification version 1.0 release schedule is on track, and the SNIA plans to gain member approval for the specification in mid-2008 followed by its submission for ANSI and ISO accreditation. Additionally, the development of the XAM SDK has accelerated and is on track for mid-year availability for licensing to the industry.

Advancing the XAM SDK development effort, the SNIA is also announcing that three active members have donated software in support of the initiative. EMC has contributed the C++ with Java Native Interface (JNI) Wrapper XAM Library; HP has donated a Java version of the XAM Library; and Sun added code from its Sun StorageTek 5800 (previously known as “Project HoneyComb") for the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Reference Vendor Implementation Modules (VIMs).
“The donations from these three members, along with support from more than 45 other companies in the development of the software and specification, represent key pieces of the XAM program coming together to deliver a powerful and effective solution for storing and accessing information in massive reference data repositories,” said Vincent Franceschini, Chair of the SNIA. “From simplified porting and testing procedures for ISVs, to reducing vendor lock-in by decoupling the back-end storage from the application, to delivering a solid SDK, the XAM Initiative is delivering value to its three key constituencies – application developers, end users and storage vendors.”

In a related announcement today and, in parallel with the XAM specification and SDK development, the SNIA Data Management Forum is beginning development of a new application-centric standard called a Self-Describing Self-Contained Data Format (SD-SCDF) that will be coupled with the XAM specification over time. The SD-SCDF is aimed at providing application developers who adopt XAM the ability to write a standard, interoperable, long-term preservation format, and XAM provides SD-SCDF a strategic catalyst enabling adoption.

Key XAM Demonstrations at Storage Networking World Spring 2008
The industry can observe these benefits first-hand again, as the SNIA XAM Initiative is demonstrating several solutions utilizing the XAM specification during Storage Networking World Spring 2008. There are four distinct information management solutions integrated with the XAM specification being showcased by EMC, HP, Sun Microsystems and Vignette.

Jon Palin, Imaging and Workflow Solutions Director at application developer Vignette added, “XAM can help us simplify development requirements and dramatically reduce time to market pressures. By utilizing XAM within our document and records repository we could provide cross-platform support for XAM-compliant storage devices while removing the need to maintain and test multiple storage drivers.”

The multi-vendor demonstration illustrates XAM's ability to store, manage, access and protect application-generated information for generations to come. The demonstrations along with other key features of XAM will be described as part of Tuesday afternoon's TechEdge presentation track at 4:00 p.m., and will be shown in the SNW TechEdge Showcase as part of the SNW sponsor expo hall.

For more information on the XAM Initiative and specification, please visit www.snia.org/xam.

About the SNIA
The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is a not-for-profit global organization, made up of some 400 member companies and 7,000 individuals spanning virtually the entire storage industry. SNIA’s mission is to lead the storage industry worldwide in developing and promoting standards, technologies, and educational services to empower organizations in the management of information. 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 additional information, visit the SNIA web site at www.snia.org.

Contact:
Dan La Russo
Ogilvy Public Relations for the SNIA
Phone: (303) 634-2632
Cell: (720) 840-8254
dan.larusso at ogilvypr dot com

SNIA Forms Alliance with The Green Grid

Relationship Aligns Green Storage Expertise with Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency for Metrics, Standards, Education and Best-Practices

ORLANDO, Fla. (April 7, 2008) – The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) announced today that it has formed an alliance with The Green Grid. The SNIA and its Green Storage Initiative (GSI) plan to work with The Green Grid in developing and promoting standards, measurement methods, processes and technologies to improve overall data center energy efficiencies.

“Tackling the challenges associated with energy efficiency and green computing will require collaboration across all areas of the IT industry,” said Vincent Franceschini, Chair of the SNIA. “Storage plays an important role in power and energy efficiency within data centers and business computing ecosystems. With that, the SNIA’s Green Storage Initiative is dedicated to applying the technical and educational expertise of the storage industry to the broader view of the data center to collaborate, develop and find more energy efficient solutions for the IT industry.”

Sharing common objectives on the need to develop energy efficient metrics, best practices and education, the new alliance will enable the delivery of a complete and consistent set of information that benefits IT data centers and government bodies such as the United States Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and other regional and global agencies that have data center and computer equipment energy efficiency programs. This collaboration will leverage SNIA expertise in networked storage and The Green Grid expertise in data centers and business computing ecosystems.

“Within the IT industry, there are a number of professionals who are responsible for data center functionality from CIOs and IT managers to heating and cooling experts. It is imperative that we look at the energy efficiency issue from a single, united point of view,” said Mark Monroe, director of The Green Grid. “Together we can leverage each other’s core expertise and areas of focus to deliver a holistic and complete approach for an energy efficient data center.”

The two associations plan to collaborate on energy efficiency and metrics, whereby the SNIA will focus on networked storage and information management while The Green Grid focuses on computer servers, data center infrastructure, the data center and business computing ecosystems. The management of networked storage with SNIA’s Storage Management Initiative-Specification is a foundation for energy efficient storage best practices such as Information Lifecycle Management, consolidation, deduplication and thin provisioning. The Green Grid’s best practices include cooling (hot and cold aisles), virtualization and server throttling. Both associations will collaborate on educating the industry through events, whitepapers and demonstrations.

For more information on the Alliance, please visit www.snia.org or www.thegreengrid.org.

About the SNIA
The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is a not-for-profit global organization, made up of some 400 member companies and 7,000 individuals spanning virtually the entire storage industry. SNIA’s mission is to lead the storage industry worldwide in developing and promoting standards, technologies, and educational services to empower organizations in the management of information. 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 additional information, visit the SNIA web site at www.snia.org.

Contact:
Dan La Russo
Ogilvy Public Relations for the SNIA
Phone: (303) 634-2632
Cell: (720) 840-8254
dan.larusso at ogilvypr dot com