SEAGATE LEADS THE SERIAL ATTACHED SCSI (SAS) TRANSITION; UNVEILS SAS SYSTEM LAUNCH PROGRAM

Seagate (NYSE: STX) today announced its new SAS System Launch Program (SSLP) designed to support the industry transition from legacy parallel SCSI to trusted Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) storage solutions. Adaptec, nStor, and Xyratex are the first SAS solution providers to join Seagate's SSLP. Finisar Corporation's Medusa Labs Group, an organization specializing in the testing and training of storage networking protocols such as SAS, SATA, and Fibre Channel, will collaborate with Seagate on the SSLP with its Pre-Qualification Testing Program to support multi-vendor SAS solutions. Together, Seagate and these leading companies will deliver fully tested and validated SAS solutions to the marketplace helping ensure a smooth transition to the next standard in enterprise storage.

The storage solutions under the SSLP will undergo a set of test suites to monitor product functionality, SAS protocol compliance, stability, data integrity, and performance while being performed in optimal and error-induced states. The SSLP's product testing will enable participating customers to deliver fully-compatible SAS solutions built on Seagate's reliable SAS disc drives including the Cheetah 15K.4 and Savvio 10K.1. Finisar's Medusa Labs will conduct qualification tests to verify proper functionality and operation between all SAS components. Error and recovery work will verify that the products are up to par for the heaviest enterprise application and workloads.

"Finisar's Medusa Labs understands the importance of verifying vendor solutions so that customers can be assured of getting the highest degree of quality and reliability built into their SAS solutions," said Kevin Cornell, senior vice president and general manager Finisar Network Tools and Finisar's Medusa Labs. "With Seagate providing the foundation of future SAS storage solutions and its collaboration with Finisar's Medusa Labs, we will help assure IT professionals that SSLP-verified products can be trusted right out of the gate."

"Companies such as Adaptec, nStor and Xyratex are the first to join Seagate in leading the industry to the future of SCSI storage. Together, we are sending a signal to the industry that we are committed to producing world-class SAS-based storage solutions that the enterprise is demanding," said Henry Fabian, Seagate executive director of Global Product Marketing. "We applaud those companies and look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationships with them and others to lead the SAS market adoption."

"We are pleased to be working with Seagate in this important industry transition from Ultra 320 to Serial Attached SCSI," said Linus Wong, director of Strategic Marketing at Adaptec. "SSLP is an excellent vehicle to help drive the adoption of SAS by ensuring customer confidence through tested storage solutions."

"nStor is pleased to be collaborating with an industry leader such as Seagate," said Guy Carbonneau, chief technical advisor for nStor, "Together we are committed to providing leading SAS technology products that reduce the cost and complexity of purchasing, deploying and managing of storage systems."

"Xyratex stands behind the rigorous design testing assurance that the SSLP provides and the message it sends to the market that SAS is ready to replace legacy SCSI storage solutions," said Steve Thompson, chief technology officer at Xyratex. "SAS stems from over two decades of field-proven SCSI engineering and Xyratex looks forward to working with Seagate to deliver world-class SAS storage solutions to the enterprise."

Participating SSLP companies will begin shipping SAS storage solutions as early as April.

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