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1-800 CONTACTS Sees Benefits of Network Appliance iSCSI SAN Solution

Posted on: Monday, 20 October 2003, 06:00 CDT

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 20, 2003--Network Appliance(TM), Inc. (Nasdaq:NTAP), a leading provider of enterprise network storage solutions, today announced that 1-800 CONTACTS, the world's largest contact lens store, has deployed a NetApp(R) iSCSI SAN solution to simplify its network storage, lower its storage TCO, and implement a disaster recovery and business continuance solution. 1-800 CONTACTS stocks more than 20 million contact lenses and sells as many contact lenses in a single day (over 150,000), as 2,500 retail optical shops combined. Price, convenience, and rapid delivery are the company's key competitive advantages, and its continued ability to rapidly record, verify, and fulfill customer orders requires a high availability, high-performance IT infrastructure.

By leveraging its existing Gigabit Ethernet network and integrating a NetApp iSCSI SAN storage solution, 1-800 CONTACTS was able to more efficiently store and manage the large amounts of data generated from processing as many as 10,000 orders a day by more than 300 call-center agents and 90 shipping agents using Microsoft(R) SQL Server based applications to meet the company's high standards for response time.

"The NetApp iSCSI SAN leverages familiar Ethernet technology to provide a cost-effective storage solution with the performance, scalability, and business continuance capabilities we need to provide a convenient and dependable service for our customers," said Todd Witzel, chief information officer, 1-800 CONTACTS. "The reliability of NetApp storage allows us to focus on other aspects of our business and IT infrastructure that require more attention."

The company rapidly deployed a NetApp fabric-attached storage system and NetApp NearStore(TM) system, and implemented an iSCSI SAN as soon as it became available, using an iSCSI hardware initiator from Intel. The combination of Ethernet technology and easy-to-manage NetApp storage systems resulted in a rapid iSCSI SAN deployment. 1-800 CONTACTS was running production data on the NetApp iSCSI SAN less than an hour after switching over to the new protocol and installing Intel(R) PRO/1000 T IP storage adapter cards.

Network Appliance offers highly available, scalable, and cost-effective storage consolidation solutions that incorporate the NetApp enterprise storage platform and the feature-rich functionality of data and resource management software to deliver storage with simplified backup and reduced recovery time, as well as the ability to add storage without downtime.

About 1-800 CONTACTS

1-800 CONTACTS offers consumers an attractive alternative for obtaining replacement contact lenses in terms of convenience, price and speed of delivery. Through its easy-to-remember, toll-free telephone number, "1-800 CONTACTS" (1-800-266-8228), and its Internet web site, www.contacts.com, the Company sells all of the popular brands of contact lenses. 1-800 CONTACTS offers products at competitive prices, while delivering a high level of customer service.

About Network Appliance

Network Appliance is a world leader in unified storage solutions for today's data-intensive enterprise. Since its inception in 1992, Network Appliance has delivered technology, product, and partner firsts that continue to drive "The evolution of storage.(TM)" Information about Network Appliance solutions and services is available at www.netapp.com.

NetApp and NearStore are registered trademarks and Network Appliance, and The evolution of storage are trademarks of Network Appliance, Inc., in the United States and other countries. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.

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