MANUFACTURING

HOUSTON, TX -- Building on the momentum of its recently announced Enterprise Virtual Array and NAS Executor storage products, Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) has moved to further redefine and extend the value of the storage area network into the emerging enterprise with its delivery of the StorageWorks Modular SAN Array 1000. The first 2GB Fibre Channel storage system designed to bridge the gap between direct attached storage (DAS) and the SAN, the MSA1000's DtS (DAS to SAN) architecture enables customers to quickly and easily migrate data utilized by Compaq ProLiant servers to the new SAN-based MSA1000 storage system. "Compaq StorageWorks again leads the way with cost-effective, modular storage solutions that are designed to provide the best business value for our customers," said Mark Lewis, vice president and general manager of Compaq Enterprise Storage Group (ESG). "More and more customers want to implement SANs, but many still have not moved forward due to concerns about complexity, total cost of ownership (TCO) and investment protection. The MSA1000 combines simplicity of SAN implementation with a low TCO from the market's SAN leader to deliver another proof point of Compaq's commitment to protecting the customer's investment." Roger Archibald, vice president of the Compaq ESG's Enterprise Storage Array division, added: "Compaq pioneered the SAN space. The MSA1000 is specifically designed for the more than five million ProLiant servers currently deployed by Compaq customers as well as those customers with other servers wishing to introduce SANs into their storage infrastructure. The MSA100 delivers state-of-the-art ENSA-2 storage technology to the entry-level and mid-range market." DtS Architecture - DAS to SAN The MSA1000 delivers SAN data migration in minutes, not days. With virtually instantaneous migration, data can be seamlessly migrated from Compaq Smart Array controllers simply by moving the disk drives into the MSA 1000 SAN configuration. Embedded Fibre Channel Fabric Switch With the optional embedded Fibre Channel fabric switches in the MSA1000, servers can plug directly into the SAN further reducing the cost and complexity of implementing the SAN solution. In addition, customers receive next generation bandwidth with 2GB/s (200MB/s) bandwidth. The embedded fabric switches also improve fault tolerance and availability, with the addition of a second switch and second array controller creating multiple redundant data paths from the servers to the MSA1000. For more information visit www.compaq.com/storage