Press Contact:
Robin Austin
Sr. Manager, Public Relations
(714) 513-8152
robin.austin@emulex.com
Hitachi Data Systems
Greg Peverill-Conti
(508) 878-4103
gregpc@blancandotus.com

Hitachi Data Systems Selects Emulex HBAs to Provide Connectivity for Thunder-class Storage Systems

Emulex LP982 and Hitachi Thunder 9500™ V Series Storage Systems Provide Market-Leading Performance and Reliability for Distributed SAN Environments

COSTA MESA, Calif., December 8, 2003 - Emulex Corporation (NYSE: ELX), the world's leading supplier of storage networking host bus adapters (HBAs), today announced that Hitachi Data Systems has selected Emulex's mid-range LP982 2Gb/s Fibre Channel PCI-X HBA as the connectivity solution for Hitachi Thunder 9500™ V Series storage systems in Windows and Linux operating environments.

"Hitachi Data Systems understands that customers are looking for SAN solutions that not only meet today's needs but can also easily expand to accommodate future demand," said Scott Genereux, Vice President, Global Marketing and Business Development, Hitachi Data Systems. "The capacity, performance and connectivity provided by Thunder 9500 V Series storage systems make them the ideal platform to match the growth plans for small and medium businesses. We chose the Emulex LP982 for its ability to fully complement our Thunder 9500 V Series storage systems in these environments with exceptional performance, scalability and flexibility".

"Hitachi Data Systems selection of the LP982 as the connectivity solution for its midrange offering validates Emulex's commitment to supplying cost-efficient solutions across all segments of the SAN market," said Mike Smith, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Marketing for Emulex. "The combination of features and functionality offered by the LP982 and Thunder 9500 V Series storage systems provides small- to medium-sized businesses with enterprise-class SAN functionality that may scale as their data storage needs increase."

The Thunder 9500 V Series storage systems offer nearly unlimited heterogeneous connectivity through virtualized ports, flexible configurations and intelligence for ease of management, plus high performance and capacity in a small footprint. Virtualized ports with secure multi-tenancy lower total cost of ownership and accelerate return on investment by simplifying the SAN infrastructure through the reduction in the number of switches and Fibre Channel cables . Combined with Hitachi storage software and the HiCommand® product suite, this system supports "set and forget" management, protects data assets and optimizes resources.

Emulex's LP982 Fibre Channel HBA is ideal for mid-range SAN environments based on Hitachi Thunder 9500 V Series storage solutions. Emulex HBAs offer a firmware-based architecture and operating system driver compatibility across Emulex's entire HBA product line, which provides customers with a simplified upgrade path, reduced management complexities and also ensures a lower total cost of ownership. Emulex HBAs, including the LP982, are also fully compatible with drivers that support the company's centralized HBA management suite, HBAnyware, which incorporates driver-based technology to enable complete management of Emulex HBAs and the ability to upgrade firmware anywhere in a SAN from a single console.

About Hitachi Data Systems
Hitachi Data Systems leverages global R&D resources to develop storage solutions built on industry-leading technology with the performance, availability and scalability to maximize customers' ROI and minimize their risk. By focusing on the customer's perspective as we apply the best hardware, software, and services from Hitachi and our partners, we uniquely satisfy our customers' business needs.

With 2,700 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts business through direct and indirect channels in the public, government and private sectors in over 170 countries. Its customers include more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.hds.com.

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 340,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2002 (ended March 31, 2003) consolidated sales totaled 8,191.7 billion yen ($68.3 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web site at http://global.hitachi.com.

About Emulex
Emulex Corporation is the world's largest supplier and developer of storage networking host bus adapters and a leading provider of embedded storage switching and connectivity technologies to the industry's foremost storage and server manufacturers. Emulex was recently named one of Forbes Magazine's 25 Fastest Growing Technology Companies in 2002, and ranked number 15 in Deloitte & Touche's 2003 Technology Fast 50. Corporate headquarters are located in Costa Mesa, California. News releases and other information about Emulex Corporation are available at www.emulex.com.