McDATAÌs SANavigator Demonstrating CIM Support and Multi-vendor, Multi-Device SAN Management at SNW

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – October 28, 2002 – McDATA® Corporation (Nasdaq: MCDTA/MCDT), the worldwide leader in open, ultra high-availability storage networking solutions, today announced its participation in the Common Information Model (CIM) demonstration at Storage Networking World (SNW) in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 27-30. McDATA will demonstrate the ability of its award-winning SANavigator®software to discover multi-vendor SAN devices in an exhibit by the Storage Networking Industry Association.

CIM is a platform independent data model that is utilized in the management of storage networking software products and applications. This standards-based model can describe applications with various structures ranging from standalone desktop applications to a sophisticated, multi-platform distributed, Internet-based application. CIM is designed to allow multiple vendors to represent their hardware in generic terms and to allow management vendors to access the resource model data.

The “CIM-SAN” demonstration at SNW is comprised of disk arrays, tape libraries, fibre channel switches, host bus adapters, routers, NAS appliances, virtualizers, and storage management software. In total, 32 products, from 19 vendors have established over 93 points of interoperability in CIM-SAN-1. Functionality that will be demonstrated includes zone management, volume management, LUN masking/mapping, asset management, and status monitoring using clients and servers.

“The seamless interoperability of multiple vendor products is essential in providing storage networks that are easy to manage,” said Sheila Childs, Chair of the SNIA Board of Directors. “It is through the relentless hard work and unfaltering support of our participating member companies in the CIM-SAN demonstration, that the SNIA Storage Management Initiative has now moved ever closer to its goal of managing storage networks through a highly functional, secure, extensible and interoperable interface.”

The focus of McDATA’s participation in the demonstration will be demonstrating how to manage diverse and complex multi-vendor vendor storage resources in a storage network using a common standards-based management interface (WBEM) and a common information model (CIM). McDATA also will demonstrate that a common management interface can create a kernel from which multi-vendor interoperability can be established.

“Standards-based, open initiatives such as CIM are what customers today need to simplify the management of complex, multi-vendor storage infrastructures,” said John Webster, analyst for the Data Mobility Group. “McDATA’s support for CIM and its participation in the CIM-SAN 1 demonstration at Storage Networking World shows its desire and readiness to team with other vendors to provide customers with the technology necessary to lower IT costs and optimize existing resources.”

The benefits associated with McDATA’s approach to providing a common model to manage SANs include:

• Management of all devices on a SAN with a single, consistent, web-based user-interface.
• Easy addition of devices to a SAN in a “plug and play” fashion allows for scalability of diverse technologies without “breaking” existing storage management infrastructures.
• Embedding intelligence at the fabric so devices can be actively controlled and configured by automated management agents.
• Open communications and integration capabilities between SAN management functions and enterprise management frameworks.
• Consolidation of Fibre Channel and IP SAN management from a single management application.

ÏMcDATA sees an opportunity to greatly simplify management for implementers of SANs through a common interface,Ó stated John Kelley, CEO and President of McDATA. ÏOur goal is to help solve problems with regard to current inability to manage SANs with a common integrated interface, and at the same time remove some recurring barriers to SAN adoption and implementation.Ó

About McDATA (www.mcdata.com)
McDATA (Nasdaq: MCDTA/MCDT) is the worldwide leader in open, ultra-high availability storage networking solutions and provides highly available, scalable and centrally managed storage area networks (SANs) that address enterprise-wide storage problems. McDATA's core-to-edge enterprise SAN solutions improve the reliability and availability of data to simplify SAN management and reduce the total cost of ownership. McDATA extensively pre-tests its solutions to provide IT organizations with the comprehensive tools, methodologies and support essential to robust SAN implementation. McDATA distributes its products through its OEMs, network of resellers and Elite Solution Partners. McDATA and the McDATA logo are registered trademarks of McDATA Corporation.