MCDTA Mcdata

Byte and Switch Insider Unmasks SAN Routing NEW YORK, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The storage industry has hailed routing as the next major advancement in SAN connectivity, but the market remains immature and muddled with many competing technologies, according to a new report from the subscription research service Byte and Switch Insider (http://www.byteandswitch.com/insider). The report -- Storage Routing Unmasked -- explains the surprisingly broad range of technologies that go by the name "storage router." It orders the market into a taxonomy of products and functions, and then provides in-depth analysis of the various approaches. "The potential benefit of linking and sharing resources among SANs is significant, if not massive," says the report's author, Byte and Switch Insider Senior Analyst Brett Mendel. "IT departments are desperate for ways to connect disparate, isolated SANs and improve resource utilization." At the same time, adds Mendel, "Storage routing products, not to mention definitions, clearly remain a work in progress." Among the report's conclusions: * Storage routing differs significantly from routing in traditional networks and remains far less mature. * Brocade, Cisco, and McData dominate the field of SAN routers, and each uses a different "routing" technique. * Standards for storage routing are relatively new and unlikely to have much impact on interoperability in the next few years. * Multivendor SAN routing relies on interoperability between routers and fabric switches, not other routers. Products from the following public vendors are discussed in this report: Adaptec Inc. (NASDAQ:ADPT), ADVA Optical Networking (Frankfurt: ADV), Alcatel (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP:PA), Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD), Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ:CIEN), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), Cisco-Linksys LLC, Computer Network Technology Corp. (CNT) (NASDAQ:CMNT), Crossroads Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CRDS), EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC), Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LU), McData Corp. (NASDAQ:MCDTA), MRV Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVC), Nortel Networks Ltd. (NYSE/Toronto: NT), and 3Com Corp. (NASDAQ:COMS). Products from the following private vendors are discussed in this report: ATTO Technology Inc., Bridgeworks, Bus-Tech Inc., Celion Networks Inc., InfiniCon Systems Inc., LightSand Communications Corp., Luminex Software Inc., Maranti Networks Inc., MaXXan Systems Inc., Meriton Networks Inc., Network Executive Software Inc. (NetEx), PacketLight Networks Ltd., RBN Inc., Reliable Data Technology Inc. (Reldata), SAN Valley Systems LLC, Sanrad Ltd., StoneFly Networks Inc., Topspin Communications Inc., Vicom Systems Inc., and Voltaire Inc. Storage Routing Unmasked is available as part of an annual subscription (12 monthly issues) to Byte and Switch Insider, priced at $1,350. Individual reports are available for $900. To subscribe, or for more information, please visit: http://www.byteandswitch.com/insider. To request a free executive summary of the report, or for details on multi-user licensing options, please contact: Jeff Claudino Sales Manager Insider Research Services 619-229-9940 For review copies, members of the media may contact: Gabriel Brown Chief Analyst Insider Research Services 44-20-7701-9330 DATASOURCE: Byte and Switch Insider CONTACT: Jeff Claudino, Sales Manager, Insider Research Services, +1-619-229-9940, or , or Gabriel Brown, Chief Analyst, Insider Research Services, +44-20-7701-9330, or , both of Light Reading, Inc., for Byte and Switch Insider Web site: http://www.byteandswitch.com/insider

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