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Press Room | Press Releases

DataCore Software Declares a Stop to iSCSI "Bait and Switch"; Announces Complete iSCSI Storage Offerings

SANmelody Levels the Playing Field and Fills Out the iSCSI Functionality Gap

FORT LAUDERDALE - October 13, 2005 — Adding to its recent storage over IP announcements, DataCore Software today announced an update release to SANmelody 2.0, which includes new Volume Shadow Copy Services support for SQL Server, Exchange 2003 and Windows 2003 file systems, plus an extensive set of Application Support Storage Services that together enable DataCore to deliver the industry's most comprehensive suite of storage area network (SAN) and disk management capabilities to iSCSI IP SAN users. DataCore has taken the lead in filling out the functionality "gap" that has forced many users to become disillusioned with the industry's iSCSI "bait and switch" offerings and the time lag in bringing essential SAN features to market.

"There is really no technical reason why iSCSI storage offerings should be so 'minimalist.' A wire is a wire, after all," said Ziya Aral, Chief Technology Officer, DataCore Software. "The attempt by some vendors to fit iSCSI offerings at the very bottom of their product hierarchy has meant that customers are often faced with a de facto 'bait and switch.' In order to gain modern storage functionality and features, one often has to give up iSCSI altogether. DataCore rectifies that."

With the new capabilities, which are available today, and other recently announced enhancements, DataCore's SANmelody now delivers true parity for iSCSI to match Fibre Channel SAN features and covers all the critical functionality needs that were previously unavailable to IP SAN users. These include:

Enhanced Windows Disk Volume Administration enabling pre-formatted Windows NTFS/FAT file and data disks to be served to systems from a central point via iSCSI

Simplified backup and rapid disaster recovery support for all Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Services (VSS) aware applications (i.e., SQL Server, Exchange 2003, Windows 2003 files)

Easy data migration - provision, re-purpose or migrate and move new and pre-existing Windows data volumes over iSCSI

Rapid emergency recovery and diskless boot support for iSCSI IP SANs

iSCSI support for Microsoft Clusters, Virtual Servers (e.g., VMware) and Blade Servers

Automated "Virtual Capacity" provisioning and network storage services over iSCSI

Business Critical iSCSI end-to-end high-availability - iSCSI synchronous fail-over mirroring, Microsoft MPIO multi path I/O, asynchronous IP replication and fast disk-to-disk recovery

As a whole, the new capabilities have made SANmelody 2.0 software a first in providing iSCSI users with a complete range of advanced SAN features and network storage services - making it practical to build robust, scalable and affordable SANs using standard IP networks and LANs utilizing iSCSI protocols.

SANmelody's Breadth of Powerful Capabilities - Delivering on the Promise

Industry pundits have pondered the slow adoption of iSCSI, while users the world over ask for products that deliver on the true promise - all the cost benefits of low-cost networking, use of commodity components and access to the full capabilities of SANs and storage services. Instead, the industry has continued its practice of using "bait and switch" sales tactics to lure users with the promise but delivering a different reality - limited offerings that don't scale and lack key functionality in comparison to higher-end offerings that are missing iSCSI support of essential features. "In terms of capabilities available and cost savings, users are not being presented with a level playing field to choose between iSCSI and traditional Fibre Channel SAN offerings," said George Teixeira, President and CEO, DataCore Software. "Users are being forced to go with higher cost solutions and to buy higher-end storage arrays, more expensive SAN infrastructures and higher-priced features in order to meet their needs - defeating the whole cost savings rationale users wanted to adopt iSCSI storage networking in the first place."

SANmelody's New Application Support Capabilities and Solution Services Fulfill the True Promise of iSCSI

For additional capability descriptions, animated technical presentations and to learn more about DataCore's new features please visit the SANmelody New Capabilities section at: http://www.datacore.com/products/prod_SANmel_suppserv.asp

Highlights of SANmelody's iSCSI capabilities include:

Simplified backup and rapid disaster recovery for SQL Server database volumes, Exchange 2003 information stores and Windows 2003 file systems utilizing Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Services (VSS). Supports recovery and off line work from a point-in-time copy of the data.

New capabilities to easily migrate, import and manage existing live data that resides on Windows files and data volumes. Move and protect data in real-time using synchronous disk-to-disk mirror capability over iSCSI, complete image snapshots, IP replication or host mirroring.

Enhanced Windows volume management. Enables pre-formatted virtual disks with NTFS/FAT files and data to be served up easily from a central point to other systems via iSCSI.

Virtual capacity provides enormous, multi-terabyte disk capacity to be automatically provisioned over iSCSI as needed to application servers. Stops "out of space" alerts and downtime.

Business-critical, end-to-end iSCSI failover and enterprise-level data protection using your existing Ethernet LAN connections. Instead of proprietary or specialized cluster configurations for fail-over, DataCore lets you do enterprise level fail-over using iSCSI connections.

Easier Windows data migration, re-purpose old disks and move data rapidly. Existing disks can continue to be used normally and their live data can be seamlessly migrated onto newer disk technologies. Older disks can be removed from service without impacting operations.

Enhanced support for Microsoft environments. Supports Windows file system volumes and storage services such as Virtual Disk Services (VDS), Volume Shadow Copy Services (VSS), and MultiPath I/O (MPIO).

iSCSI support for Microsoft Clusters, Virtual Servers (e.g., VMware) and Blade Servers

"Boot from the SAN", diskless server and rapid emergency boot disk recovery support using IP SAN connectivity to server farms, grids, blades and VMware-based virtual infrastructures.

Support for latest iSCSI and IP SAN security features to better protect the network from threats.

Functionality that enables hardware independence and the use of iSCSI connections to 'bridge' different types of storage (i.e., SATA, SAS, iSCSI, IDE, FC) to application servers.

Enhanced ease-of-use and operation. The user interface has simplified and improved storage administrative tasks and a Windows Wizard installation process has significantly reduced the time to set up a production iSCSI IP SAN down to a few minutes

The ability to non-disruptively add SANmelody features to enhance all your disks or just the ones you want! Select "in the SAN or out" when required - there is no lock in. Administrators have the freedom to select SANmelody enhancements to disks that need them, when needed.

About DataCore Software
DataCore Software fundamentally changes the economics of managing storage. DataCore's disk server software easily adds capacity expansion and centralized storage management for Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Linux, VMware, MacOS, and NetWare systems. DataCore is privately held with corporate headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For more information, visit www.datacore.com.

DataCore, the DataCore logo, SANsymphony, SANmelody, SANmaestro and Powered by DataCore are trademarks or registered trademarks of DataCore Software Corporation. Other DataCore product or service names or logos referenced herein are trademarks of DataCore Software Corporation. All other products, services and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Corporate Contacts:
DataCore Software
Bettye Grant
Tel: 954-377-6000
Fax: 954-938-7953
publicrelations@datacore.com

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Stuart Smith
Red Nine PR
404-261-0707
ssmith@redninePR.com