SAN JOSE, Calif., March 30, 2004 - At next week's Storage Networking World in Phoenix, AZ., Cisco Systems, Inc.® and three independent software vendors (ISVs) will stage a technology demonstration of a new software feature being developed for the Cisco MDS 9000 Family that will allow appliance-based storage applications to take full advantage of the industry-leading reliability, scalability, and multiprotocol services available on the Cisco storage area networking (SAN) switch portfolio.

The feature, called the Cisco MDS 9000 Data Tap Service, essentially provides a protocol-based interface between the Cisco MDS 9000 SAN switches and third-party storage appliances, allowing these appliances to access servers and storage devices on a SAN without having to be directly in the path of the data. The high-performance benefits of deploying the Cisco MDS 9000 in combination with these storage appliances will be particularly useful in high-traffic SANs with high levels of input/output (I/O) transactions between servers and their storage targets, as the demo will show.

The three ISVs participating in the demo are Pleasanton, Calif.-based Alacritus, an innovator in disk-based data protection solutions, San Jose, Calif.-based Kashya, a leader in high-performance, cost-effective business continuity solutions, and Santa Clara, Calif.-based Topio, a leader in providing enterprise data recoverability solutions. According to research from the Gartner Group, the combined data replication and data backup/recovery software markets are expected to exceed $3 billion in revenue by 2006.*

"The simplicity of this approach is compelling, said John Webster, senior analyst and founder of the Data Mobility Group. "Cisco is adding a 'side door' to the switching fabric through which data can pass to storage appliances. Users can then adapt these appliances to a variety of applications in a non-disruptive way that also preserves the attributes of the switching fabric."

The Cisco MDS 9000 Data Tap Service will be available as a feature on one of the line cards for the Cisco MDS 9000 and will available for use on any of the modular chassis, namely the Cisco MDS 9216, the Cisco MDS 9506, and the Cisco MDS 9509.

"When available, the Cisco MDS 9000 Data Tap Service will be another milestone in making the Cisco MDS 9000 an open platform that combines the intelligent network services on our SAN switches with the intelligence provided by third-party storage software vendors," said Soni Jiandani, vice president of marketing in the Internet Switching Business Unit, now responsible for the development and marketing of the Cisco MDS 9000 since the completion of the Andiamo Systems acquisition. "It supports our multi-layer product vision for the Cisco MDS 9000 by offering our customers the utmost flexibility in storage software options that run seamlessly over a highly scalable, reliable, and intelligent SAN switch platform."

Demo Availability

The Cisco MDS 9000 Data Tap Service demo can be viewed at the Cisco booth (#P10) on Tuesday, April 6 and Wednesday, April 7 during the expo hours at Storage Networking World Spring 2004. SNW Spring 2004 will be held at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix from April 5 through 8.