Dexchange, local distributor for Emulex Corporation, the world`s largest supplier of Fibre Channel host adaptors, announced today the availability of the industry`s most comprehensive support for the Linux operating system. The Emulex drivers, tested and approved for use with Caldera, RedHat and TurboLinux operating systems, provide a rich feature set required in enterprise environments, including support for multi-protocol operation and switched fabrics. In addition, Emulex drivers support an array of hardware platforms, including current Intel platforms, Compaq Alpha platforms, and the emerging Intel IA-64 platforms.
The Emulex Linux drivers will be provided across the entire line of Emulex` LightPulse Fibre Channel host adaptors, and are fully backwards compatible with the installed base of LP7000, LP7000E, LP850 and LP8000 adaptors, providing a unique opportunity for customers in legacy environments to upgrade to Linux.
"The Emulex Linux drivers open the door to enterprise level storage accessibility for the Linux community," said Dean Taylor, Caldera vice president of marketing. "Efforts such as this will continue to expand the capabilities of both Linux and storage network technologies."
"RedHat is excited that Emulex fibre channel host adapters now supports our Linux operating system," said Cari Watson, RedHat senior director of relationship marketing. "Our relationship with Emulex will prove increasingly valuable as Linux continues its growth in the enterprise market, where Fibre Channel is an established technology for storage networking," she added.
"TurboLinux and Emulex have been working very closely to bring Linux to the forefront of enterprise computing," said Austin Walsh, TurboLinux strategic alliance coordinator. "Emulex host adaptors allow TurboLinux the robust features required in high end environments."
"Emulex is pleased to work with the Linux industry`s leaders such as Caldera, RedHat and TurboLinux to offer the most complete Fibre Channel strategy today," said Mike Smith, vice president of worldwide marketing. "We believe that Linux is a major opportunity in the enterprise computing operating space, and we`re taking the most capable Fibre Channel functionality into Linux. We`re also excited about being able to provide Compaq and Intel customers a true enterprise class Linux driver to support their Alpha and IA-64 platforms," he added.
The Emulex LightPulse host adapter family
The LightPulse family of Fibre Channel host adaptors provide a unique combination of features required for mission-critical enterprise applications, including full fabric support using F_Port and FL_Port connections, high data integrity, full-duplex operation, data buffering to support up to 10 kilometres of cabling, and support for all fibre channel topologies and service classes 2 and 3. Adaptors are available with GBIC or embedded interfaces, providing customers with flexibility to support a full range of cabling options, including copper, multi-mode fibre and single-mode fibre.
LightPulse adaptors are supported by a rich suite of software, providing support for storage protocol (SCSI), network protocol (IP), as well as multi-protocol (SCSI & IP) operation, enabling advanced SAN and network applications to be run over the same Fibre Channel infrastructure. Emulex provides a wide range of operating system support, including Windows NT, Windows 2000, Solaris, AIX, UnixWare, NetWare and Linux.
The LightPulse family includes the high-performance PCI-based LP7000E and open-server LP8000, LP9000, LP850 and LP950 host adapters, the new 2Gbps LP9002 host adapter family, the new S-Bus based LP8000S host adapter, the new LP8000DC dual-channel adaptors, the price-performance optimized LP3000 host adapter and the industry`s first digital re-timing Fibre Channel hub, the LH5000.
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