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Xyratex to Demonstrate Shared I/O Subsystem Using Enigmatec's Execution Management System at Spring Intel Developer Forum

Posted on: Tuesday, 7 March 2006, 09:00 CST

HAVANT, United Kingdom, March 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Xyratex Ltd. , a leading provider of enterprise class data storage subsystems, will demonstrate a new modular I/O (Input/Output) technology at the Spring Intel Developer Forum (IDF), March 7 - 9th in San Francisco, California. The demonstration will integrate Enigmatec Corporation's Execution Management System (EMS), an embedded policy-based management platform, to further showcase advanced high availability functionality from the shared I/O subsystem.

The new Xyratex I/O subsystem technology addresses some of the major equipment real-estate, system and operational cost challenges facing the SMB Data Center market where multiple servers are connected to multiple storage and network resources. The demonstration system will connect three servers to show how multiple hosts can share a common pool of I/O modules in order to save system cost, floor space and operating cost. The I/O subsystem demonstration uses an ASI switch fabric to create virtual PCI connections between multiple servers and multiple PCI-Express Modules, allowing software reconfiguration of server I/O resources and fast fail-over for high availability.

The Enigmatec Execution Management System (EMS) provides an embedded policy-based management platform, which enables automated failure detection and recovery of both applications and the underlying I/O subsystem. Using EMS's intuitive Design Studio, system administrators can define and deploy the policies and workflows to reconfigure server I/O resources on demand, with no operator intervention needed at run time. EMS includes a fully distributed, scalable automation software platform that eliminates the need for manual reconfiguration, significantly reducing the operational overhead required to manage complex I/O subsystem implementations.

"Xyratex has been working with our storage and server customers to define the shared I/O system architecture," said Will Leonard, SVP Business Development, Xyratex Storage and Network Systems. "The technology aims to reduce our customers' initial implementation costs, including a reduced foot-print for power and cooling savings, while offering significant long-term investment protection by lowering the total cost of ownership due to its lower system and operational costs over the long run."

"Enigmatec is pleased to demonstrate the power of our award-winning EMS automation platform to address the high availability needs of Xyratex's customers," continued Duncan Johnston-Watt, CTO of Enigmatec Corp. "EMS has been proven in mission critical deployments around the globe to significantly improve overall system up time while reducing operational overhead. "Our combined technology demonstration showcases how an affordable self-managed solution, offering high availability and disaster recovery services for critical business functions can be developed in the near future for the SMB Data Center marketplace."

The I/O subsystem can connect to external storage systems using standard HBA cards or to the network using standard NIC cards that employ the low-cost Express Module form factor. Xyratex will continue to evolve this shared I/O technology by adding features such as peer-to-peer communication between host processors and I/O Virtualization once the specification has been finalized by the PCI-SIG.

EMS 2.1 is available for customer evaluation today and ships with pre-built managed elements that provide support for a wide range of commercial and open source enterprise software products including databases, application servers and web servers. EMS 2.1 integrates seamlessly with infrastructure software products from leading provisioning, virtualization and systems management tools vendors. EMS 2.1 also supports custom integration using industry standard interfaces including Intel(R) AMT, IPMI, CIM, JMX and Web Services.

About Enigmatec Corporation

Enigmatec is the leader in policy-driven, data center automation solutions. Enigmatec's Execution Management System (EMS) is the first to combine policy design with policy execution to automate and improve data center operations. EMS enables the data center to respond automatically to failure or changes in demand, optimizing utilization and significantly lowering operational costs and risk.

Founded in 2001, Enigmatec is a privately held software company with offices in Silicon Valley, New York and London. Investors include Amadeus Capital Partners, Intel Capital and Pentech Ventures.

About Xyratex

Xyratex is a leading provider of enterprise data storage subsystems and network technology. The company designs and manufactures enabling technology that provides OEM and disk drive manufacturer customers with data storage products to support high-performance storage and data communication networks. Xyratex has over 20 years of experience in research and development relating to disk drives, storage systems and high-speed communication protocols.

Founded in 1994 in an MBO from IBM, and with headquarters in the UK, Xyratex has an established global base with R&D and operational facilities in Europe, the United States and South East Asia.

Xyratex Ltd.

CONTACT: Public Relations, Curtis Chan of CHAN & ASSOCIATES, INC.,+1-714-447-4993, cj_chan@chanandassoc.com, for Xyratex Ltd.; or InvestorRelations, Brad Driver of Xyratex Ltd., +1-408-325-7260,investor_relations@xyratex.com; or Public Relations, Ginette Walton ofEnigmatec Corporation, +44 (0) 20 7332 5964, ginette@enigmatec.net

Web site: http://www.xyratex.com/http://www.enigmatec.net/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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